Two West Branch women spearhead downtown veterans memorial
23.02.12
WEST BRANCH – Two women – with the support of a community – have raised $36,000 towards a veterans memorial in West Branch.
They’re optimistic they’ll get the $29,000 more needed for completion by Veterans Day in November, but not without help.
“I’m confident that we’ll have enough money by that time… but we need to get the word out more,” said Pat Bickford, 63. “It is hard to raise money, especially in these economic times. We are hoping that people will come through.”
So far, people have come out in strong support of the project, called Appreciation Park .
According to Bickford, they’ve received help from Boy Scouts, the American Legion, the Masons, the Lions’ Club, individual donors, and a grant from Cedar County. Anyone can donate , she said.
The idea started in 2007 when Bickford was sharing her traditional morning cup of coffee with Phyllis Sondergard, 88. The two decided West Branch was in need of a veterans’ memorial, and began scouting out ideas in other communities. They decided a 20-foot long, 6-foot high granite wall could best display names of veterans with ties to West Branch – whether they served in a war or not.
Source: Eastern Iowa Life