Some of the repairs made in 2007 that set the 90-foot high flagpole in Shipyard Park in solid stead finally yielded to the elements last week, resulting in an upper section being disassembled for further examination.
“There was a problem with one of the pulleys at the top of the pole,” said Mattapoisett Highway Superintendent Barry Denham.
“Unfortunately, it became bound, so it wasn’t able to go up any further a month ago – we had to take it down,” said Mattapoisett Harbormaster Jamie McIntosh, who began overseeing the maintenance of flags for the town last summer. “There was nothing left in the bearings in the metal that holds the pulley together; it was binding on the line. It was able to go down but not up. We were able to take it down, a relatively quick fix, all in one day running around to different vendors in Mattapoisett and New Bedford.”
Last week’s repairs removed the flagpole one more step from the flagpole’s initial days at Shipyard Park, originally a second life for the old wooden mast from the whaling ship Wanderer. A segment of that original mast hangs in the Mattapoisett Museum barn that stores several other artifacts, including other Wanderer wood found in commemorative pens issued by the Mattapoisett Historical Society and on the gavel used by the town’s Board of Selectmen.
According to McIntosh, former Selectmen Ray Andrews and Freddy Brownell helped build the flagpole to what it is today. They created the base, the cylindrical portion of the mast that was once struck by lightning.
The lower half of the replacement mast is steel. The cross tree where the upper and lower portions join together is made of wood, but not original wood from the Wanderer, as was the original flagpole that once stood only a dozen feet away.
It turns out modern technology was still no match for Mother Nature.
In 2007, Frank Linhares donated a giant American flag that was showcased on July 4 of that year. But according to Andrews, it was left flying for too long. “We had a beautiful Fourth,” said Andrews, who said the flag stayed up until a windy day later that year when the mast cracked.
Tommy Brownell, Fred Brownell’s son, lowered the flag down and trucked the wooden upper piece down to a company in Connecticut that carbon-wrapped the upper mast. Andrews did the painting, and Brownell reassembled the pole. The carbon-fiber wrapping now on the pole is exponentially stronger than fiberglass, almost like a steel upper, according to Andrews, who says the lightweight material is also used on America’s Cup racing yachts and on F-16, 22, and 35 fighter jets.
In warmer weather, more maintenance will be performed as the flagpole shows heavy wear, including rusted steel requiring an application of two-part epoxy paint that cannot cure correctly in winter temperatures.
By Mick Colageo