PLYMOUTH — The mood was proud and patriotic Friday evening as residents gathered in downtown Plymouth to celebrate the rededication of Veterans Park.
The American Legion Post 447 Color Guard and the Patriot Guard Motorcycle Group were in attendance, along with village officials and citizens.
“Volunteers are the heartbeat of a community. I am so pleased with how the people of our village have come together to honor our veterans,” said Mayor Cassandra Fryman. “It is my hope that any member of the military that may stop here feels the love that has been poured into this park.”
Veterans Park was founded nearly 30 years ago, but had since fallen into disrepair. In March, the Plymouth Improvement Committee decided to restore the space.
“It’s just been a space that people have forgotten about and we wanted us to breathe life back into it,” said Katie Veletean, a member of the Plymouth Improvement Committee.
“We were thrilled when the first park was built. But over the years it just kind of was neglected and it was time for a facelift,” added Susan Moore, a fellow committee member and member of Plymouth Village Council.
After securing donations and sponsorships from local businesses, the committee cleared out the overgrown trees and unkempt landscaping, installed new planters and commissioned a new concrete pad and brick pavilion.
Two new concrete benches flank the memorial and medallions honoring each branch of the military line the northern edge of the park. Plymouth’s historic fountain stands at the south side.
The committee also gained permission from a neighboring salon owner to paint an American flag mural on the building adjoining the park.
Arden Kessler, a longtime resident of Plymouth, said the park is “100 times better” than it was.
The rededication ceremony was part of the village’s Summer on the Square, a joint effort by the Plymouth Firefighter’s Association, Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, Plymouth Library and the Plymouth Improvement Committee.
The Plymouth Improvement Committee will continue maintaining the park, along with spearheading other projects to revitalize downtown.
“We are enormously proud of what has happened here, we really are,” Moore said. “We have a lot of positive things happening.”
