Eagle Scout Project Refurbishes East Haven Town Green

From Town of East Haven Mayor's Office:

One of the most distinguishing and recognizable items on the East Haven Town Green is the memorial Cannon that sits in memory of those East Haven residents who made the ultimate sacrifice during the American Revolution and the Civil War. The cannon was dedicated originally in 1911 and then rededicated by the East Haven Historical Society and Economic Development Commission in 1990.

During this past winter East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr. was approached by Troop 408 Scout Matthew Massimino, for permission to refurbish the cannon once again and also clean up the corresponding informational plaques on the monument, as Massimino’s Eagle Scout project. Once approved by the Mayor and with the appropriate acceptance of the town’s Public Services Union (Local 119), Massimino approached the East Haven Historical Society to ensure the job would be done with the Society’s input and expertise, as they were the last entity that refurbished the piece in 1990.

There will be a brief celebration of the completion of the project with Mayor Maturo, representatives of the Historical Society and the volunteers who assisted Scout Massimino on Thursday August 25 th @ Cannon on the Town Green beginning at 9:30 am.

The project began with Matthew enlisting George Miller of AAIS who volunteer to remove the lead paint from the cannon using a needle gun, which took two days. Following the removal, painting began and Massimino and his helpers also began to patch up some cracks and pressure wash the concrete base of the cannon. Finally, Massimino was able to enlist further assistance from Mike Nolan (Nolan’s Monuments) who assisted with the plaques. The plaques were first sandblasted and then painted over with the letters also sanded. The two plaques list the East Haven men who gave their lives for the American Revolution and the Civil War respectively.

In total the project took a total of 119 man hours, which was submitted as Matthew’s Eagle Scout project. Massimino would also like to thank his Troop 408 Scoutmaster Bruce Anderson; Chris Anderson of Eagle Scout Troop 408; Andrew McGovern, Jakob Zito, Greg Mastriano and Diana Kalman, who all worked with him on this venture.

Photo courtesy of the Town of East Haven Mayor's Office