by Bea Peterson
Hoosick Falls Veterans Memorial Committee Member Robert Becker, a former Trustee of the Village Board, said work on the expanded Veterans Memorial in Wood Park has had to overcome several hurdles to reach its present stage. Right now the ground has been excavated and the soil set aside to be filled in again. The footings have been poured. Both Becker and Memorial Committee Member Jerry McAuliffe hope the
frost walls will be poured by Friday of this week and the site backfilled. “We’re playing it by ear,” said McAuliffe. It’s a case of when volunteers are available to do the work and if the weather holds.
According to Becker, the plan was to begin the work in August. Unfortunately, he said, the area for the expanded memorial interfered with the underground electric line that feeds the Park’s lights. “It took nationalgrid a month to schedule in the fix.” When the project began the Committee had a commitment from a contractor working in the Village to donate the concrete work now underway. The contractor reneged, said Becker.
Mike Brennan of Mathnick Builders in Troy stepped in and poured the footings at cost. He will do the rest of the concrete work as well.
Becker said certain commitments for donations have not come through yet. “This is causing a cash crunch,” he said.
Becker has lined up some quality masons to do the block and brick work in their spare time. McAuliffe said that if the weather stays above freezing, they hope to get the masonry completed soon.
Funds Still Needed
The community is welcome to make contributions toward the Memorial at the Village Hall. To date, contributions have been received from Clough Harbour & Associates, Robson & Geraghty, GSS Fire Extinguishers, Bob’s Auto Parts, Thomas O’Connor, Carlton Coon Heating (Becker said he is supplying the block), Mathnick Builders, Overhead Door Co., Capital Tractor and Harlan-McGee of North America. The Walter A. Wood High School Alumni have contributed $1,600, and the Edith Reynolds Foundation awarded the project $2,000. American Legion Commander Walter Zwinge has supplied the heavy equipment for the excavating, said Becker.
Collecting The Names
According to McAuliffe, Part A is the building of the memorial. Part B is collecting a list of veterans names to be placed on the bronze plaques that will be installed on the expanded Memorial walls. Becker said the first step in that process is to establish a criteria for whose name should be on the plaques.
Once that criteria is established, Louis Miller Museum Director Charles Filkins and Town Historian Phil Leonard will compile a list of those names. Some work on that may be underway now. At some point the collected names will be published and then people can submit names of veterans not included on the first list.