Family of Brockton's first WW2 casualty leads groundbreaking ceremony at East Side pool

BROCKTON — Cousins of the first Brocktonian to die in World War II gathered Thursday to break ground on a major upgrade to the East Side pool that bears his name.

Lawrence R. Cosgrove perished with 99 other officers and crew when a U-boat torpedoed his destroyer off Iceland less than six weeks before the U.S. entered the war. The U.S.S. Reuben James was escorting a convoy from Nova Scotia to Liverpool.

"Sometimes we forget the real impact of losing someone in war," Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-8th) said in poolside remarks.

The memory added a somber note to an otherwise celebratory event. The city is using $3 million that Mayor Robert F. Sullivan secured from Brockton's Congressional delegation, plus up to $4 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, Sullivan said, to update the 57-year-old pool. In one invitation to bid that closed in July, and may not reflect the entire project, the city estimated about $4.6 million of work for pool and bathhouse modernization.

Shirley Cosgrove, daughter of Larry Cosgrove's brother Robert, was one of 11 family members who attended. She became emotional as she recounted what the groundbreaking means to her. She's fourth-generation Brocktonian on one side and third generation on the other.

"I'm Brocktonian through and through," she said after the ceremony. "There is nothing that would make me want to leave this city. I love this city."

Shirley Cosgrove shared a scrapbook of clippings with Sullivan, Lynch and other dignitaries. The scrapbook will in time be donated to the Brockton Historical Society, Sullivan said.

The new design would be similar to upgrades made to the Manning Pool. The renovation would make the Cosgrove handicap-accessible, add shaded areas and reconfigure the pool so that parents and lifeguards can see everyone at once. Under the current design, the parent of a 2-year-old and a 12-year-old would have to divide their attention between the splash pad on one side and the pool itself. When the pool reopens in June 2024, if renovation schedules hold, all swimmers would be in one continuous pool that goes from a splash pad through a wading area to a lap area 5-and-a-half feet deep, according Tim Carpenter, head of the city's superintendent of parks.

Some city councilors were underwhelmed with the plans presented in February. Carpenter said that since February, the plan has added more shaded areas and eliminated the double-fence design.

Attendees broiled in Thursday's swelter.

"Heat like this makes me wish this pool were already open," said Ward 5 City Councilor Jeff Thompson, who learned to swim at the Cosgrove.

Sullivan also has a connection to the pool, having served as a lifeguard there the summer of 1987 and 1988.

"This is considered the beach for many people here in the city of Brockton on the East Side and beyond," Sullivan said.

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