SIGN OF THE PAST – Hull Garden Club member Ginny Bradley, who led the effort to install a new ‘Welcome to Hull’ sign in 1994, is shown with signmaker David Hassan and crew as they built the base and attached the original sign 27 years ago. [Courtesy photo]
Thanks in large part to generous donations from the community, ranging from $20 to a $7,500 matching grant from a Hull donor, the Hull Garden Club’s fundraising effort for the restoration of the “Welcome to Hull” sign at the entrance to town is nearing completion.
“This project is a thank-you to the town,” Hull Garden Club member Sharon Browne said. “The support we’ve received has been phenomenal. We are only $230 short of the [$15,000] goal.”
The HGC contributed $2,500 of its own funds, with the balance coming from the community and the grant.
As background, in 1994, as a gift to the Town of Hull, the Garden Club took on the beautification project of erecting a new sign on George Washington Boulevard at the entrance to town. The project was spearheaded by then-Beautification Chair Ginny Bradley, assisted by member Mary Devin, recalled HGC member Candace Barone.
David Hassan of the Hassan Sign Company was hired to design, carve, and install the sign at its current location.
“Twenty-seven years later, the Hull Garden Club has re-contracted with him to restore the ‘Welcome to Hull’ sign to its original beauty,” Barone said.
Hassan will remove, refinish, and rebuild the sign and finish all the letters in 23-karat gold leaf. The base will be removed and rebuilt using durable, moisture-resistant Azek boards.
In addition, and in keeping with the restored sign, Hassan will create and install a ‘wave’ graphic on the new base.
“We expect the base and sign to be removed [soon] for repairs and for the entire project to be completed and reinstalled by the middle of July at the very latest,” Barone said. “It will then return as a beautiful ‘welcome’ for proud Hullonians, their guests, and visitors for another 27 years and beyond.”
Once the sign is installed, the area will be planted, landscaped, and maintained in a continuing cooperative effort — as it has been since the sign was first installed — among the Garden Club, the DPW, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which owns the property upon which the sign rests.
“We are hoping to use as many native plants as possible along with flowers,” HGC President Susan Short Green said. “This is a long time coming, and we’re looking forward to the completion of the sign. We thank everyone who has been involved with this effort, which will really beautify the entrance to our town.”
For anyone who is interested contributing to help close the remaining gap, there’s a “Welcome to Hull Sign” Go Fund Me page. Any resident or business may also send a check to the Hull Garden Club, P.O. Box 27, Hull, MA 02045, with a “Welcome Sign” note in the memo line.
