New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
On Wednesday afternoon I paid a visit to the military museum at Fort Rodman in New Bedford. This is an amazing place to get lost in history, and if you are from the area you might even see memorabilia of an old family member which you did not know existed. I stumbled upon a photo of my uncle who served in Korea!
While there are endless stories I plan to cover, I felt obligated to address the concerns of the veterans who volunteer at the museum. When I told them I am a local journalist, every single volunteer pleaded that I help them get the signs repaired at the Fort. It’s a simple request, yet they have had no luck getting the City of New Bedford to complete this task.
When leaving the museum I asked myself, “How bad could these signs really be?” As I walked out the door one volunteer who is also a Vietnam veteran, gave me his final pitch and told me to go take a look for myself.
I took a walk along Fort Taber and snapped some photos of the displays which should stand as an educational resource to teach the public about the rich history of New Bedford. I will just post the photos and let you decide if these displays are something to be proud of…
Steven Richard photo.
Steven Richard photo.
Steven Richard photo.
Steven Richard photo.
I’ll take to liberty to respond, as the Fort Taber Park Wayside signs was my project, one of the last before I left City service in 2007. I worked with the late Mary Walsh and the FTFR Association for the text. I wrote and designed the panels in Macromedia Freehand 5.0 (now a defunct software app). For a very marginal additional cost (a bargain, really) we paid to produce a duplicate set of these fiberglass embedded panel inserts, expecting they would need to be replaced due heavy exposure to the elements down there, and any vandalism that might happen. The panels were placed in the custody of the Military Museum. I delivered them. The Parks Dept. is aware of this and is looking for them. Alas, the replacements have not yet been located. If any past FTFR volunteers can recall where the panels have been stored, please contact the Parks Dept.