The oft- and hard-hit Laflin Memorial Fence is up again at Pittsfield General Hospital.
If that old fence could get a concussion, it would be punchy by now. Once or twice a year, usually in the winter, you can bet that some motorist sliding down the Tyler Street hill is going to come crashing through the Laflin Memorial Fence.
The fence was put up the same year as the main building of the hospital, 1902. It was a memorial by George H. Laflin to his wife, deceased. Mrs. Laflin had been on the board of the hospital.
It's a rugged old iron structure that goes all the way around the hospital grounds and stands the test of time very well, except opposite Tyler Street.
Ah, but it's an ill wind that blows nobody good. Somebody, you see, has to fix the fence. Anyway, the insurance company pays for it, and nobody cares what happens to insurance companies.
They who fix the fence are the Triad Welding Co. of 516 East St. The Laflin fence has been a pretty good wind for them. Mrs. John MacInnes, who is running the business during her husband's illness, said the other day, "Oh yes, we have the pieces here. We usually have. This is what has kept us going for a long time."
The Laflin fence is sort of a tradition at Triad. A few years ago Mrs. MacInnes' brother was in Japan and sent back a picture postcard of the fence around the Imperial Palace. He inquired as to whether he should try to get the contract for fixing that fence for Triad.
Gilbert Lown, plant superintendent at PGH, says the fence has been hit twice this winter, about par for the course. Occasionally, he says, a motorist will carom and hit the fence twice on the same try. They get extra points for that.
Warren H. Harris is the welder at Triad who specializes in fixing the Laflin fence. He's developed an affection for the 60-year-old hunk of iron.
"It's a good fence," he says, "if they'd only stop hitting it."