There’s exciting news to report since I first wrote about the efforts of American Legion Post 2505 veterans and committed East St. Louisans to replace the World War I monument in a forgotten corner of the city. First and foremost, the Post’s war memorial committee has secured funding for Phase I: the replacement of the central obelisk with a new piece of granite and the construction of sidewalks, flagpoles, and lighting. In celebration, a groundbreaking was held on March 7. The old monument had been removed and placed in storage, and yet another automobile crashed across its out-of-the-way location several months ago, leaving deep, muddy tire tracks. If you believe in such things, you might take it as a sign—confirmation that the old site was no longer worthy.
The Weiss Monument Works of Belleville has already poured the concrete foundation at the new, safer site for the monument: the entrance to Jones Park. Now they are engraving the names on the new stone—with some corrections, thanks to committee member and historian Larry Kritis. He says seeing the results of his research carved in stone is a special moment for East St. Louis: “This was our people who gave their lives, not just for the cause but for the United States.”
Get a weekly dose of home and style inspiration
Subscribe to the St. Louis Design+Home newsletter to explore the latest stories from the local interior design, fashion, and retail scene.
Update: I visited the Weiss Monument Works on Friday, where owner Phil Weiss and employee Warren Pitchford were busy at work on the giant upper block of granite for the memorial. In order to carve the names and designs onto the stone, they first placed rubber stencils onto the block, which then must be carefully cut out with Exact-o knives. Then they will gently sand blast the stone, being careful to use even pressure to carve into the stone. Too much pressure in one place will remove the rubber stencil and ruin the design; therefore they must maintain a steady hand as they pass over each of the sides of the memorial.
Now that Phase I of the monument’s construction has been secured, Kris Wells has produced additional renderings of Phase II under the direction of Bob Winters, who envisioned the first plans. Wells’ images show how beautiful the completed monument will look, creating a cogent and renewed entrance to Jones Park, which is one of the jewels of East St. Louis. “I had never designed a memorial before,” he says, “so I took a look at other memorials, like the Washington Monument and the World Trade Center Memorial, and I used those with my design.”
“The renditions are magnificent—I can’t wait to see them in reality,” says Al Katzenberger, who first alerted me to the war memorial effort last year.
Winters adds, “This is all about making a place. This was about making people able to visit the monument site with the plaza. Phase II expands the memorial and allows for future additions.”
Since the monument was dedicated before the outbreak of World War II, the committee feels that Phase II is an opportunity to recognize the sacrifice of those who served in the wars after 1918. And instead of being stranded out on a traffic island, the memorial will now be integrated into the fabric of the park, including not just the obelisk but sidewalks and benches.
At the March 7 groundbreaking, the East St. Louis and larger St. Clair County community came together at Jones Park in a unity that defied the cold weather. Felicia Peters, a member of the American Legion Post, organized the event and received steady praise for her efforts, but she shrugged off the tributes: “I just think this is a wonderful way to honor our servicemen and women.”
Claude Bush, who chairs the memorial committee, reflected on the day afterward: “I thought it was a wonderful cross-section of every facet of our East St. Louis community—public servants, veterans, fraternal organizations, government organizations… They sat together harmoniously. It was beautiful. It was a coming together.”
One of the civic leaders who spoke at the groundbreaking was St. Clair County Chairman Mark Kern, who was instrumental in providing funding for Phase I. East St. Louis Mayor Emeka Jackson-Hicks and park director Irma Golliday also took the podium. Post commander John Holman gave a brief history of the monument, and post chaplain Frank Smith and the Rev. Dr. Derienza Johnson said the opening and closing prayers. Of course, no groundbreaking would be complete without some earth moving, so the assembled dignitaries grabbed shovels and dug in while the audience applauded.
Holman spoke to me after the dedication, remarking, “I think the ceremony went even better than we planned. It was one way on paper, but when all the pieces came together and all the speeches were given, it just was a big picture of how big of a community effort this is.”
He expects the same of the unveiling and dedication ceremony, which will be held Saturday, May 25, and open to the public. Kritis found the program for the original monument’s dedication, and out of respect, the committee has decided to recreate much of that ceremony, with a few modern additions. Final preparations have begun, the fundraising continues, and committee member Jimmy Rice sums up the sentiment of everyone involved: “I’m excited to see the final results of all of our hard work.”
Chris Naffziger writes about architecture at St. Louis Patina. Contact him via email at [email protected].
