Dedham Tales

50 years ago, communities and businesses began observing the 200th anniversary of the founding of our country, beginning in April 1975 with celebrations and commemorations of the famous battles that marked the start of the Revolution. In the summer of ’75 the town of Dedham saw residents engaged in their own battle, one that could fittingly be described as “uncommon.”

Sometime around the 4th of July, residents in Precinct One were shocked to find the wooden railings surrounding the Town Common had been transformed from traditional white to a Bicentennial color scheme of red, white and blue. The reaction of the townspeople, especially those living on streets adjacent to the Common, was swift and strong. The new paint job was described as “garish,” “an aesthetic outrage,” “the worst of taste” and “inappropriate, incongruous and demeaning.” “It looks like the town trollop,” one woman remarked to a Boston Globe reporter.

As equally enraging to locals was the process by which the fence received its tacky paint job. Despite the existence of a Bicentennial Commission and a recently formed Historical District Commission, neither group was consulted before Public Works Commissioner Paul Sullivan supervised the work. Sullivan explained that several benches in East Dedham had already been painted the patriotic colors with no public complaint, and when it came time to repaint the Common fence, it seemed like an appropriate way to honor the country’s Bicentennial. “I think it looks wonderful,” he said at a mid-July select board meeting. “Our forefathers would turn over in their graves if they could see it,” was one response to Sullivan’s remarks.

At the July 15 meeting, the select board voted 3-2 to keep the patriotic paint scheme, despite the vocal disapproval of most of the 80-plus in attendance and the presentation of a petition signed by over 100 townspeople demanding the fence be repainted white. At times the meeting became heated, with residents and members of the select board shouting at each other, questioning the taste of those in favor of the red, white and blue color scheme and the patriotism of those opposed. The meeting ended with more than a few attendees asserting that the fence would be repainted white again, one way or another. Hours after the crowd dispersed, a midnight caller to the Transcript calling himself “The Dedham Militia Man” stated “We do not like the fence red, white and blue. The fence now has black crepe paper on it and soon it will be white.” Such threats of civil disobedience were taken seriously by town officials, and a 24- hour police guard was posted at the Common for the next few days.

News stories throughout New England took a rather bemused tone when describing the kerfuffle, but Dedham residents, especially those living near the Common, took the matter very seriously. Throughout the summer, members of the various historical committees continued to meet to resolve this issue. But for the time being, the fence would keep its “Andy Warhol type pop-art” color scheme.

PART 2 Coming next week: A little history of the Town Common and the resolution to the ongoing disagreement