Rockland to Honor Flanagan Family

https://knox.villagesoup.com/p/rockland-to-honor-flanagan-family-with-naming-of-recreation-center/1630830

ROCKLAND — Dan Flanagan and the Rockland recreation center were synonymous for generations of young people in the community.

And the Rockland City Council will honor Flanagan, who died on New Year's Day at age 80, by naming the community building the "Flanagan Community Center." Councilors voiced support for the naming at their Monday night, March 6, meeting, with a formal vote scheduled for March 13.

"He not only taught about basketball, but he taught about life," said Susan Ware Page, who is one of a group of local businesspeople who worked on the proposal and will raise money for the sign that will be affixed to the building.

She said it was incredible how many people he touched over three generations of Rockland-area children.

"He raised more than five children," she said of Flanagan, who had five children, but taught basketball to an untold number of youngsters.

The family found papers after Flanagan's death in which he wrote down his memories of the recreation center.

Flanagan's father -- James Flanagan Sr. -- was the recreation director at the building during the early 1940s and young Dan recalled as a child of 5 or 6 years old helping to lug coal from the coal bin to the furnace in the cellar.

The building was constructed in 1936 as part of the Works Progress Administration. People in need of jobs during the Great Depression were provided jobs that paid 15 cents per hour, which his research showed was a fair wage for those times.

He also recalled up to 400 people attending biweekly country and western shows at the community center.

His father coached the high school basketball team during World War II and Flanagan grew to love the sport.

"I can recall leaving a window unlocked on Saturdays, so I could sneak in on Sundays to shoot hoops by myself," he wrote in the paperwork found by his family.

During renovations to the building in the 1990s, Flanagan wrote that historical artifacts were found inside the walls, including matchbooks from the 1940s that encouraged people to buy World War II bonds. Coca-Cola bottles from the 1940s were also found inside the walls.

The supporters of renaming the community building have created a Facebook page, named Flanagan Community Appreciation. Page said the sign will not cost taxpayers anything. People interested can go to the Facebook page and contact the group.