NEW WASHINGTON — There will be a dedication ceremony celebrating the completion of the New Washington Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday, May 11 at 1 p.m. (A rain date
of Sunday, May 12 has been set.)
The event will take place in and around the park at 102 West Mansfield Street.
The schedule will include an address by Mayor Ben Lash, keynote remarks from Ohio State Representative Riordan McClain, and performances by the New Washington Town Band and the Buckeye Central High School Band.
Originally conceived in 2022 as a project of New Washington’s American Legion Post 405, the goal was to create a park that honored local veterans.
The goal was also to remind the community of the cost of freedom, and teach future generations about the sacrifices made on their behalf.
The project received widespread support throughout Crawford County and beyond.
The New Washington Village Council gave the park a home in a vacant lot beside the library on West Mansfield Street.
The Crawford Partnership offered strategic planning support, and The Community Foundation for Crawford County provided a vehicle for donations through their Projects Inc. fund.
Dave Riedel, committee chair for the New Washington Veterans Memorial Park project, grew up in New Washington, left for a career in the Marine Corps. He then worked at the Pentagon, and returned in 2019 to retire on the family farm.
“The project has definitely had a few challenges, like managing the rising cost of materials and not being able to control the weather,” Riedel said.
“But those small struggles are nothing compared to the overwhelming support we’ve had from the New Washington area community.”
Funding for the $330,000 project came from hundreds of individual donors from across the country as well as local organizations conducted fish fries, spaghetti dinners, pancake breakfasts, and a golf scramble to support the park.
The project has also received generous grants and corporate donations from area businesses.
The first phase of the park project was completed in October 2022 with a mural painted on the library wall by Whitehouse, Ohio muralist Dean Davis.
The second phase, which includes hardscaping and landscaping, installation of granite benches, memorials, fencing, and flagpoles, as well as resurfacing of a rear parking lot, is in the final stages and expected to be completed by the end of April.
Donations to the park may be made with a check made out to Projects, Inc. with New Washington Veterans Memorial Park Fund in the memo line and mailed to The Community Foundation for Crawford County, 254 E Mansfield Street, Bucyrus, Ohio 44820, or at the Community Foundation website, cfcrawford.org.
You’ll find the New Washington Veterans Memorial Park under the Projects, Inc. Fund.