Lynn workers proud to help build Marshall plan

LYNN – They are seasoned ironworkers who have helped to construct buildings throughout the Boston area, yet they are taking special pride in the job they are working on in their hometown.Frank Barker, Steve Bennett, Norris Gibson and John Hennessy are part of the crew building the new Marshall Middle School on Brookline Street. The work is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2016, with students and staff moving in that fall. Walsh Brothers, Inc. of Boston is the general contractor on the projectBarker is a journeyman ironworker with Ironworkers Local 7 out of Boston. A lifelong Lynner, he attended Ingalls Elementary, Eastern Junior High (now Marshall Middle School) and Lynn Classical. He graduated from Local 7?s three-year apprentice program in 2001.?It?s nice to see something being built in my hometown,” said Barker, who also worked on the CVS at the corner of Commercial and South Common streets.Barker and his wife, Karyn Dow, have three children, Justin Dow, Frank Barker and Brooke Ashley Barker.Also a lifelong Lynner, Bennett is an ironworker and welder with Local 7, for which he has worked for 15 years. He also worked on the Lynn Classical building.A 1997 Tech grad, who also attended Callahan Elementary and Breed Middle School, Bennett said he appreciates the opportunity to work close to home. “I?m glad to see Lynn building better schools for the kids,” he said. “It makes me proud.”Bennett lives with his wife, Wendi. His parents, Carl and Cindy, are also Lynners.Gibson, a former Lynn Classical soccer coach, is a carpenter?s steward on the Marshall job. He has lived in the city since 1984, having moved here from his native Trinidad and Tobago. He started in the carpenter?s apprentice program in 1986 and became a journeyman after four years. He has been a steward for 10 years and previously worked on KIPP Academy in the Highlands.Hennessy is a West Lynner who graduated from Tech in 1977 after attending Sacred Heart and Breed. He is a steward for Laborers? Local 22 in Boston and works for S&F Concrete in Hudson. He worked for 24 years out of Local 290 in Lynn before moving to Local 22.?This is a great thing for Lynn,” Hennessy said, “to be able to give the kids a first-class school to be educated in. We?ll bring this in on time; that?s what we do.”Hennessy has worked on a variety of projects in his hometown including North Shore Community College, Lynn Water & Sewer Commission and Union Hospital. He has two adult children – Susan and Kevin – and his parents, Patrick and Helena, are also Lynners.