Getting the general ready for his closeup

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

Joshua Craine pays attention to the details on Hooker's trusty steed.

By Globe Staff

It was about time the general got a touchup.

So Joshua Craine of Daedalus Inc., a Watertown conservation firm, ascended in a blue lift today to the top of the statue of Civil War Major General Joseph Hooker at the State House to do some spring maintenance.

Clifford Craine, president of the company (and Joshua's father), said that, with the improving weather, it was time to wash, touch up the acrylic coating, and wax the bronze statue of "Fighting Joe" and his steed.

Craine said his company has the contract to maintain most of the statues outside the Statehouse, including statues of John F. Kennedy, Mary Dyer, Henry Cabot Lodge, and Horace Mann. The company also does a number of statues in the adjacent Boston Common and nearby Public Garden.

Craine said the statues have been specially treated to prevent corrosion due to acid rain. The coating has a lifespan of 10 years. But in the meantime, it needs to be touched up so that the wind, snow, sleet, and rain can't find any way in.

"I view it as important work. Essentially, it's an attempt to preserve our cultural history," he said

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