030. Hudson Veterans

On Veterans Day, 2025 we take a look at one Massachusetts town's war veterans memorial remembering those local residents who have worn their countries military uniforms.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to another episode of the New England on a Pedestal podcast. I am your host, Doug Farquharson.  If you have returned after listening to previous episodes, thanks for sticking with us! We purposefully design each episode of our podcast to be a stand-alone chapter in the story of New England as told through its many and varied statues, sculptures, memorials, and monuments. And we hope that once you have heard one of our podcasts, you’ll be inspired to take a listen to our other episodes. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to us through your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review for us. It will help us reach more listeners and expand our audience. Thank you!

The Eleventh of November is known as Veterans Day. All over New England, in virtually every city and town, you are likely to find at least one, if not several statues, monuments, or memorials dedicated to the local veterans of that area. Sometimes they’re dedicated to a particular group. World War II vets. Korean War vets. Vietnam veterans. You can almost always find an old monument, centrally located and dedicated to Civil War veterans. Often, they are dedicated to a specific company or regiment of local citizens who answered the call and marched south when the Union needed them the most. 

Hudson, Massachusetts was historically known as a mill town along the Assabet River. It’s in the Route 495 belt in Middlesex County between Boston and Worcester. Like Marlborough to the south, Hudson was once known as a shoe town. Refer to episode 14 for more information on The Shoemakers. Today, it is known more for its revitalized downtown area with a lively mix of shops, restaurants, and craft breweries. In the works there is an exciting arts center to be housed in an old National Guard armory. Just off a rotary where state routes 85 and 62 meet, you can find a small church, the public library, and a historic firehouse. Sitting amid these is Liberty Park on the banks of the Assabet. It is the home of Hudson’s War Memorial. Notably, it has a different look than many of the other veteran memorials I have seen around New England. At the time of the American Civil War, Hudson was part of Marlborough and known as the Fentonville village of the town. In 1866, the state approved a local petition, and Hudson became its own town. It did not, however, have its own Civil War Memorial. In 1927, citizens voted to dedicate a memorial to veterans of three wars, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, and World War I. From over two dozen design proposals, eight were chosen by a committee and put out to a popular vote. The winning design was by John G. Hardy.

What I personally like about the war veteran memorial is that it is quite different than most of the ones I have seen. It depicts a young male who appears to be a warrior of long ago in perhaps the classical era. He is bare foot and bare chested. Basically covered by only a long flowing cloth draped over him. He is kneeling on one knee and gazing skyward. On his left arm is a shield and his right holds a sword. An inscription carved in the stone behind him reads “ In honor of those who fought for our country.” The stone pedestal on which he kneels reads “Hudson” and the following years: 1861, 1898, 1917, 1941, 1950, and 1965. Here is a description taken from the Massachusetts Civil War Monuments Project’s website. “The statue was meant to represent the allegorical American Soldier. A local clergyman described the concept as follows, saying it symbolized…” “…Self-sacrifice inspired by lofty idealism. The sacrifice is voluntary…the head suggests the poised strength of spiritual exaltation of one who, motivated by high ideals, is deliberate in his self-giving. With breast bared, YOUTH is ready to receive the stroke. Nor does the accoutrement of the soldier spoil the symbolism. The shield thrown wide makes no attempt to parry. The sword is grasped not by the aggressive hilt but by the cutting edge.” The original source for this quote is from the 1928 Annual Town Report of Hudson, MA. During the original dedication on June 17, 1928 there were at least three Civil War and one Spanish American War veterans present. A later addition was built to honor World War II service members, and another was again built to represent veterans of the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War. Earlier this year, the town hired a company to come in and perform restoration measures, cleaning, and repair work on the monument. I think they did a fantastic job.

John Gabriel Hardy, a sculptor and etcher during the early 1900s, was from the Warwick and Edgewood areas of Rhode Island and is primarily remembered for his sculpture tributes to veterans of the Civil War and World War I. The Lest We Forget statue in nearby Marlborough is his. It depicts a doughboy from WWI. There is also a copy of this piece standing in Harrisburg, PA. The Congressional Medal of Honor (Valor) plaque in the Massachusetts State House in Boston was done by him as is Carry On the WWI memorial in North Providence RI.

If you find yourself in Hudson and have a couple hours to spare, you need to visit the American Heritage Museum. There you will find an incredible collection of military equipment from around the world. If you come on one of their special event weekends, you will also have access to their airplane hanger housing an impressive collection of historic planes and to the barn containing an antique automobile collection. They have an impressive amount of actual working models including WWI planes and WWII tanks. Be prepared to spend some time there. It is well worth it.

I mentioned the downtown area earlier with its shops, restaurants, and craft breweries. I couldn’t possibly recommend just one to you. Medusa and Clover Road are two great craft breweries. Medusa’s summertime biergarten is not to be missed with live music in the afternoon and evenings. Rail Trail Flatbread Company and Wellys Hudson are both right on Main Street by the rotary. The New City Microcreamy serves delicious ice cream. Less Than Greater Than is a funky, cool speakeasy that serves the best craft cocktails. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention The Horse Shoe Pub and Finnegans Pub on South Street or TC Landos on Main for the best damn steak and cheese subs around! If you’re a fan of the dive bar, Find PJ’s Pub. I could go on and on! So, let’s just say Hudson offers a lot. 

As we mentioned before, the concept behind New England on a Pedestal is rather simple. Travel around our six-state area, find some interesting statues, and discuss them. We have an ever-growing database of statues, monuments, memorials, and sculptures that we will be covering over time, but we certainly do not know all of them. That is where you can assist us. Shoot us an email at newenglandonapedestal@farqie.com and tell us about a favorite or unique or odd statue you know. If you have additional information or maybe a correction about something we have already shared, please send it our way and perhaps we will add an addendum to a later episode.

We would love to hear from you. Let us know what you think. What are we doing right? What can we do better? Let us know of a statue with a story near and dear to you. We can be reached via email at newenglandonapedestal@farqie.com. That’s New England on a Pedestal all one word at F A R Q I E dot com.  Go to Facebook and like the New England on a Pedestal page. Follow us on Instagram. We post photos and links on those social media platforms from time to time. You can now find a fan mail link in the description of each episode to send a message to us. There is also a voicemail and text line where you can reach out to us. Call or text (857) 410-0464. If you’re calling from outside the United States, remember to add the +1-country code. 

As always, I want to thank Jason, Jake, Sam, and Bekka for their artistic and technical help in producing this podcast and Steffani for her administrative assistance. But, most importantly, I want to thank you, the listener, for tuning in and sticking with us. Without you, there is no podcast!

Join us next episode when we venture to another New England town and dig into some local history there. Until next time, be safe, be well, be kind and keep discovering. Thanks for listening!