Stillwater Veterans Memorial to undergo $200K expansion
The Stillwater Veterans Memorial committee is working on a $200,000 expansion that will add 500 pavers to the 1,500 engraved pavers already on site memorializing local veterans.
'It's not quite full, but we're planning this expansion now because, two years from now, we anticipate we will have filled up all the existing space,' said John Kraemer, the memorial committee's board chairman.
The Stillwater City Council approved plans for the second phase of the expansion at the memorial, located at Third and Pine streets, earlier this year, and the committee is working to raise the necessary funds. The first expansion was done about 10 years ago, he said.
The memorial, which includes a 53-foot steel spire and a Wall of Honor, is amid several parking lots across from the Washington County Historic Courthouse. The second phase of the expansion can be done because the city now has additional parking spaces available in an adjacent parking lot to the north of the site, Kraemer said.
The Stillwater Veterans Memorial, dedicated in 2004, features a walkway from Pine Street that leads to a circular overlook area where the spire is located. The Wall of Honor includes the names of veterans from Stillwater area schools who died serving their country. The names date back to the Civil and Spanish-American wars.
The memorial expansion will 'ensure an ongoing legacy of honor and respect for all who have served, are serving, and will serve,' said Kraemer, a retired financial planner from Stillwater and a Vietnam-era veteran of the Air National Guard's 148th Fighter Wing in Duluth.
Plans also call for new walkways and additional landscaped areas, including shrubbery on both sides to separate the memorial site from the surrounding parking areas, he said. 'We're trying to make the memorial a little more intimate,' he said. 'We want to create a larger public space for gathering and contemplation.'
The enhanced symmetry of the site will ensure all memorial pavers will have 'equal access,' he said. 'That's certainly our objective.'
A fundraiser for the Stillwater Veterans Memorial will be held May 17 in downtown Stillwater. 'Dine Her, Dance Here' includes a full day of free music, including live bands and a DJ – all with a 1970s disco theme, said organizer Rachael Kozlowski.
There also will be a white-line dining experience on the Chestnut Street Plaza near the Stillwater Lift Bridge; tickets are $129 per person.
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The price of the dinner includes passed appetizers, salad, bread, dual entrée, dessert, two raffle tickets, two drink tickets and gratuity, Kozlowski said. Drinks from Lift Bridge Brewing, Domacin Wine Bar and Proper Bartender, will be served.
Tickets for VIP tables that will seat eight people also are being sold; those include preferred seating, charcuterie board, two bottles of wine, plus an additional raffle ticket and drink ticket per guest.
Reservations are encouraged as seating is limited; the reservation deadline is Sunday.
For more information, look for 'Dine Here Dance Here' on Facebook.
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