Park filling with names
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Pavers and plaques were the main event of late in the Veterans Park.
Harvard H. Ellis Tech masonry students placed nearly 140 pavers in the Court of Honor recently. In addition, almost 600 pavers that honor veterans buried in Putnam cemeteries were also installed in the court. Those veterans honored in that set included 46 from the Aspinwall Cemetery; 370 from the Grove Street Cemetery, 62 from the Putnam Heights Cemetery, 118 from the Munyan Cemetery plus more from other small cemeteries. These cemetery pavers include veterans all the way back to the Revolutionary War.
Cemetery pavers for St. Mary’s Cemetery and the newly refurbished Day-Bowen Cemetery will be ordered in July and the Veterans Advisory Committee (VAC) hopes to have those installed before Veterans Day.
Three new bollards are due in. One to replace a broken one and two for spare. In addition, a very heavy, matching black chain that will encircle the Court of Honor.
The most notable work last week was the placement of two bronze plaques, one each on the two huge granite WWII monuments. The style follows the bronze plaque on the WWI monument. Mercer Monuments installed both plaques. Between the two plaques there are 1,486 names. The plaques weighed 500-600 pounds each. Robert Challinor Jr., chair of the VAC, said the creation of the plaques took a long time, with adjustments and additions of names.
In addition, Elliott Hayden, director of Masonry at Ellis, measured the rise between the edge of the synagogue parking lot and the flat area of the Veterans Park. He said the grade is close to perfect for a ramp. Challinor will use the information to make a proposal to the synagogue for permission to build a ramp from the parking lot down to the flat area of the park. The rise is so gentle that an “elevated walkway” would not even need handrails. Challinor said he’s hopeful that the “ramps” are approved and can be installed in the fall.
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captions, clockwise from top left:
Mercer installs the WWII plaques. At right is Robert Challinor Jr.
Pavers and plaques. Linda Lemmon photos.
Ellis Tech masonry students installing pavers. Expanded photo array Wed. night on our FB page.