New Park Project Will Honor Mahwah's Veterans

This Veterans Day, Mahwah’s Beautification Committee plans to unveil its latest project, 12 monuments placed around Veterans Park that it says will serve as a permanent tribute to township residents who have served time in the armed forces.

According to a presentation volunteer committee member Susan Stedtler recently made to the township council, the group met with representatives of the VFW in town before deciding on the design for the monuments.

“There will be 12 monuments, each one representing a different war our veterans fought in,” she said. “They will be bronze on a granite base, and will be permanently installed, with landscaping a foliage around them. They will be low maintenance, but they will be beautiful.”

The idea for the project, Stedtler said, came about after group members said the township should look for new ways to pay tribute to its veterans, and the sacrifices they made.

“This is a town center area, people pass by there a lot,” she said. “It’s the perfect place for something like this.”

Now that the designs for the memorial have been complete, the committee is working to create awareness about the project, and solicit donations from local residents to help fund it. The monuments, which cost $700 a piece, will be entirely funded through donations.

Though no private names will appear on the monuments - only the names of the wars - committee members said the names of everyone who donates to the cause will appear on a program during the ceremony in November unveiling the new monuments.

“We are confident that we will have enough funding to do it,” Stedtler said. “[I think] people will be proud to contribute whatever they can.”

Once the donations are collected, it will take about 12 weeks for the monuments to be crafted and engraved. Stedtler said she is cofident they will be ready and installed in the park by Mahwah’s annual Veteran’s Day ceremony.

She also said she hopes this is one of many future projects the committee can work on around the township.

“We look forward to continuing to make Mahwah beautiful,” she said.

Anyone interested in learning more about the new stones, or donating to the project, can contact Stedtler at susan.stedtler@verizon.net.

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