NORTH SMITHFIELD – All lit up for Christmas, it sits atop a hill greeting travelers on School Street and watching as residents come and go with municipal business at the building below.
And now, a plaque at the North Smithfield Town Hall gazebo recognizes the individual who first thought to have it built – and then worked to see the project through to construction.
Family and friends of the late Maurice “Mo” Bourget gathered on the hill above Town Hall on Friday, Dec. 27 to dedicate the gazebo in his honor.
Bourget, who died in 2019 at the age of 90, was a charter member of the North Smithfield Kiwanis as well as the North Smithfield Heritage Association. He served on the North Smithfield Planning Board for 22 years and also had a stint as the town’s building inspector.
Suzanne Bernier, a member of the Kiwanis who also serves on the town Personnel Board, was the impetus behind the dedication initiative.
“He was never looking for recognition,” Bernier said this week of the late Bourget, noting she had hoped to spearhead the dedication before his passing, but had no luck with a prior administration.
This year, Bernier brought the idea to former Town Administrator Paul Zwolenski and Town Councilor John Beauregard. Beauregard sponsored a resolution on her behalf, which passed unanimously at a council meeting in October.
The town’s Department of Public Works installed the plaque, complete with solar lighting, and DPW Director Ray Pendergast was among those to attend the dedication.
“Mo was a very, very good friend of mine,” said Bernier, noting it was Bourget who first had the idea to build the structure years ago, and got the Kiwanis involved.
Bourget did much of the work himself, with the club paying for some of the materials and construction students from North Smithfield High School helping with the labor. It was finished around 2016 at the site of the former Kendall Dean School playground with plantings added by the North Smithfield Garden Club – another group in which Bourget was involved.
It has since served as a backdrop for weddings, adding beauty to the Town Hall grounds and providing a gathering space for events including the town’s annual tree lighting.
“I wanted to do this because this was his idea,” said Bernier, noting that in addition to all of his civic involvement, Bourget was also known for picking up litter around town. This guy was unbelievable. He got the Kiwanis Club involved in a lot of things. He deserves this for everything he did.”
Born in Woonsocket, Bourget was the son of the late Dorias and Delina (Ducharme) Bourget and was husband to Geraldine (Filion) Bourget. He worked as a self-employed investment builder and contractor for many years, was a member of the Woonsocket Jaycees, and was also a Civil Air Patrol member during World War II.
On Friday, a delegation from the Kiwanis, the NSHA and the Garden Club were present, along with Zwolenski, Beauregard and Town Administrator Scott Gibbs. Zwolenski discussed how Bourget mentored him and convinced him years ago to take on the role of town planner.
The dedication was a surprise for Bourget’s daughter, Charlotte Bukowski, who also attended.
“It’s beautiful,” said Bernier of the new plaque. “I’m very, very happy.”
Editor’s note: An original version of this article stated that the dedication took place on Sunday. We apologize for the error.
Nice! Lovely sign design. Wonderful memorial and well-deserved!
And to think, it only took a total of 47 yrs to get a sign on Harkness Rd to show which side was NS! Lol….
I imagine nobody from NS or Blackstone bothered because it’s the Millville section that’s screwed. The NS & Blackstone sections make total sense, numbering is consistent with the two towns and the intersecting roads. Now the Millville section has a different name for the road, Harkness Road, and the odd numbers are on the wrong side of the street, even when compared to Providence St in Millville, it’s wrong.
All ‘Harkness Road’ addresses are Millville, ‘West Harkness’ is NS/Blackstone.
Josh, the whole street is a mess. Name and numerical. Meaning, they have 3 like-numbered houses on the street, in Mass and on RI sides! So it seems whosoever the town planner was in 1975-1977, when planning more NS side houses, on the right side, and same for Blackstone and Millville on the left side, never paid attention to the already-existing numbers, thereby creating havoc with deliveries or services for all those involved.
My parents constantly had to bring mail to a Millville Ma house and vice versa. As you alluded to. The NS police, initially, when doing well-check for me, as I live out of state, had me on the tel trying to find my parent’s house. Ever since 1977-2023 there were delivery issues…..which made me approach the TA, Mr Z, who did nothing but take away a custom mailbox which angered my remaining parent. Never needed to do this. Never asked permission. It was numbered well. Matched the house. It solved NOTHING. He said he would enjoin Millville as to a fix, but never contacted them….he did nothing to fix the issue. I contacted planners in all 3 towns. No one offered a fix as simple as a sign!
A NS city official did eventually, have a sign made, for NS side, which I thanked immensely. This was not a selfish request, but one meant to help all those homes get proper deliveries and services. So now, there is one. At least on the NS side….and should be helping Millville.
It is important for town planners, and town leaders, to pay attention to detail when planning streets, and house numbers. 47 yrs of havoc is not funny, esp when it comes down to emergency medical services……to reach the right house, and as fast as they can.
I am also surprised to see that the police and rescue had not, from the onset, travelled it when built, to note the time it took for their services to reach these homes. They would have noted a problem. My town does runs to time themselves, and so that they know the streets, report to city…..thus my interest from the get-go when I became aware of the problem, and the confusion it presented. Attention to detail….caring. Teamwork.
So now, all has been fixed thanks to ONE NS town official who listened. Who wished to remain in the background, and I will respect that. Thank you so much.
And I hope Blackstone and Millville have less issues too. It takes towns working together not ignoring a problem thinking it will fix itself and go away. It had not for 47 yrs!
As for the differentiation between the West Harkness label, it was not always labeled as West….it used to be East! Then nothing, then finally West. Which further added to it all. And sometimes still no designation using West in mailings, but the mail comes through Woonsocket for NS Harkness residents, so the mail person knows the houses. All this, which could have been avoided had someone paid attention yrs ago….in a nutshell! You just cannot make this stuff up!