New Hampshire Public Works Association Inc

Help Us Build A Memorial to New Hampshire's Public Works Employees Who Have Died In Service.

Have you ever wondered who the people are that plow during the winter, repair and maintain state and town roads during floods and emergencies, manage water supplies, drainage, sewer, and all other municipal infrastructure?   

Sometimes we take them for granted.


They are our Public Works employees and they are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - 365 days a year, working quietly and tirelessly whenever they are needed. And their work is dangerous. 
We know of at least 34 workers in the State of New Hampshire who have been tragically killed on the job over the last century.  We are sure there are more who were killed and hope with the help of all cities and towns researching their historical records that we will be able to identify them in the future.

We are the Memorial to Public Works Employees Committee and we are responsible for building a memorial to honor all these New Hampshire Public Works employees who have died serving their communities.


This is a rendering of the proposed memorial design that will be built on the grounds of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation at 7 Hazen Drive in Concord, New Hampshire. 

But we need your help raising $40,000 to begin construction of the memorial!  Any donations above and beyond our $40,000 goal  will be gladly accepted and placed in a State account for long term maintenance of the memorial  into perpetuity!

Your donations will be used to pay for special services and materials such as:

- The 24 shovels representing the 24 hours in a day a Public Works employee is on duty.
- Black granite stones for inscribing the names of those who were killed in public service
- The cost of inscribing the 34 names into the black granite
- Grey granite benches for seating in the reflection area
- Perennial flowers, plantings, shrubs, and trees for the reflection area
- Plumbing services for water to maintain the plantings
- Lighting for the flag poles
- A curved metal bench
- Stone and brick for the walkways
 
We already have volunteers eager to build the memorial including relatives and family members of those who have died in service, private contractors and individuals from the city, state and town Public Works community who want to see this memorial finished. All these people will be donating their expertise, labor and time to complete memorial construction by September 30, 2018 and many have already made generous donations, but we cannot raise all the funds alone.

Please donate and help the Public Works community of New Hampshire complete their project to honor those individuals who deserve recognition for losing their lives at work.  

You may share our Go Fund Me link freely with your family, friends, co-workers and community members. Share it with those who are out-of-state as well as in-state, in Facebook Posts, on Twitter Feeds, any other forms of social media, and with those in your email address book. We appreciate all of your efforts in spreading the word!

Please email us if you would like to be invited to the dedication this fall 2018 and we will send you an invitation!


A Few of the 34 Stories of Those Who have Died:

“On the day my father was killed, he was working in Dover, NH around noon time with a coworker and friend.  His friend was driving a large front end loader that backed over my Dad. He died about two weeks later from his internal injuries at the age of 66.”  Quote from Ron Demers, Son to Rudolf Demers, Dover Public Works who was killed June 1971.

 
“Bill Boynton, a DOT spokesman, said an employee working with Carswell saw the Cadillac hit Carswell, throwing him onto the car’s windshield and briefly carrying him along the highway. “He heard a loud “click, click, click’ and turned around and saw the white Cadillac riding along the guardrail just before it struck Daniel and carried him down the highway”…. “They live with this every day and yet somehow manage to do their jobs”…”Just the fact that you’re working in proximity to fast moving traffic makes it a risky situation.” Bill Boynton, NHDOT spokesman on behalf of Daniel Carswell who died September 24, 1997.

“Archie Page was called out for an ice storm on Christmas night December 26, 1973. When the accident happened, Mr. Page was in the back of a truck shoveling salt into a salt tube, the tube plugged, the road got icy, the truck rolled over and Mr. Page was killed.” Patti & Clark Page, son of Archie Page, who died December 26, 1973.

“Bridge operator Al Napolitano was opening the barrier gate at the Hampton River lift bridge. A car ran the stop light and auto gate, then hit the gate Al was opening killing him. Al was a retired textile worker and a WWII Veteran, very dedicated to his duties as bridge operator making himself available day and night.” As reported by Doug Deporter, NHDOT District Engineer for Al Napolitano who was killed May 28, 2004.

“Crew foreman Irenee Boissoneault was fatally injured at 9:56 a.m. this morning while directing workmen on St. Edmond Street near the St. Edmond Church. He was struck by a truck filled with snow backing up, slid under the vehicle and a wheel ran over him. Highway Department officials said Boissonneult had worked through the night since 11:00 p.m.” As reported by the Union Leader, Irenee Boissoneault was killed on February 28, 1969.

“John F. Conroy died 3 months later from injuries sustained while driving up Pine Street from the dumps in the southern part of the city about 6:00 p.m. The horse became unmanageable after Mr. Conroy pulled it up sharply to save a child who was playing in the roadway. He was thrown from his seat and received injuries from which he never recovered.” As reported by the Manchester Union Leader, John F. Conroy died December 14, 1898.