Tercentennial Memorial Plans Take Shape

By Kendra Bobowick

Although the town’s 300th anniversary already arrived and passed last year, the Tercentennial Committee has not finished commemorating the event.  More permanent than the memories shared and photographs taken in 2005 will be an interactive remembrance of Newtown’s heritage arranged in front of the Edmond Town Hall, explained Town Historian Dan Cruson and artist Brigette Sorensen, both committee members.

“It’s something to remind us of the tercentennial,” said Mr Cruson during a recent presentation to the Board of Managers, which oversees the care of Edmond Town Hall.

Ms Sorensen explained, “We can cultivate that space that anchors us to our community and makes us aware of what our identity is. You’ll see the paver, the logo and say, ‘I remember 2005…’” The “paver” is a circular, etched granite stone to be embedded in the town hall’s front walk and decorated with the tercentennial logo.

She stressed the memorial’s importance, saying, “Our committee wished to leave a monument to the town.” Ms Sorenson, who is a primary contributor to the design along with committee members including Mae Schmidle, described what the Tercentennial Committee had agreed upon for revamping the walkway and lawn in front of town hall. The proposal she revealed to the board this month details plans to remove the worn wooden benches and replace them with granite benches — several with double sided seating.

The small lawn area to the right as guests approach the building’s front steps would also be embellished with concrete stepping stones drawing visitors into the area. She sees staggered granite pavers of “smaller cobblestone style,” leading into the grass, she said. The space to the right already offers an entrance to the small lawn and will be transformed into a space welcoming to guests. In the center of its green space or “minipark” as Ms Sorensen describes, will be a central paved surface that will remain void. Whether itr becomes home to rotating art displays,  “The new layout invites room for more people,” she said.

Ms Sorensen stressed that the memorial space “should not be regarded as enhancement to Edmond Town Hall, but a gift created by the Tercentennial Commission and given by the people of Newtown.” Through the group’s efforts members designed a “park/memorial space” that happens to be in front of Edmond Town Hall, she said.

“The strongest aesthetic element of this memorial has yet to come, which will be experienced when the town actually visits and interacts with the space. There they will find the artistic language reflecting this tercentennial period and find an element of surprise...”

Centered in the main stone walkway approaching the hall’s front steps will be a four-foot by four-foot “paver.” The stone will sit flush in the sidewalk.

A Message To Ponder

Ms Sorensen described another added touch of nostalgia that would accompany the revised area. The park benches would be engraved with a message.

“We’re coming up with the language, something [visitors] can ponder while there,” she said. She hopes for “something simplistic,” and thought provoking.

“It could be about the past, but [also] make us think of the future,” she said. Already a group of people is considering the wording.

The concept behind the memorial is to aesthetically improve the area, Ms Sorensen explained. Landscaping is also woven into the memorial plans.

“We’re trying to approach this in phases from the center point out,” she said. “Some shrubs will come out, the old benches will be demolished.” New single and double-sided granite benches will replace the older seating. As visitors approach town hall, the left-hand side has a bench and flagpole. She envisions edging the base of the flagpole with stone.

The committee favors establishing the memorial at Edmond Town Hall because of the building’s historical significance, and close position to Route 25, Ms Sorensen said. The placement satisfies another purpose.

“It invites Newtown into the hub of our historic district…it’s expanding on the space of a staple location in our community, a place that has meaning to us,” she said.

The committee anticipates seeing work done in the spring, with a possible unveiling for Labor Day.

Summarizing the managers’ reactions to plans earlier this month was member Kathleen Madzula who said, “I fully endorse what she’s done.”

Donations in both materials and labor will boost the committee’s efforts in completing the project for which they had already budgeted $10,000.

Hollandia Nurseries will donate the landscaping said Ms Sorensen.

“They’re willing to come up with something very low maintenance,” she said. Ms Sorensen and Mr Cruson have also learned that the town will contribute the grounds-work, construction, and excavation. Granite materials and pavers will be purchased from Swenson Granite Works on Route 25.