I’m at my wit’s end trying to understand this decision.
According to the coverage in the Morning Journal, a veterans group has expressed interest in purchasing the park property.
So that’s all it takes? An unnamed group wants to buy the park, and the city is more than willing to put it up for sale in order to make that happen.
Why?
It can’t be because of the cost of maintaining the park. It’s tiny! A two-man city crew could probably mow and edge it in about a half hour. And the Lorain Elks – to their credit – have been maintaining the Big V for years. So the park is hardly a drain on city workers or finances.
What is going on here? Why is this park – a small, charming green space in a historic neighborhood – an issue at all? And why now?
To make matters even worse, it has been suggested that the winged victory statue could be moved to Lakeview Park.
Anyway, the winged victory statue was dedicated with great fanfare ninety-six years ago in a community and civic celebration unrivaled in its day. It would be a disgrace, and an insult to all the soldiers who were wounded or died in World War I, for the City of Lorain to sell the park.
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| The dedication, April 6, 1922 |
13 comments:
Very sad. I do not understand "why".
Thank you for the coverage Dan!
There isn't a sound reason this should come up for sale at all. If a Veterans' group is interested in it, let the City make a deal between the two entities, where the City retains ownership, but the group takes care of maintenance, &c. Pretty simple. No reason to sell any parts of it. I have other ideas but will stop there
Oh Dan good questions and I wish I knew and why didn't anyone put this into committee for discussion and why only three of our council people saw fit to say no? I agree with you about Monument Row at Lakeview totally out of historical context. Seems Lorain moves her historical worth around like dated décor… eventually to end up as a photo in a file on 10th street...… her tangible history negated...….
Dan the Thomas Williams mentioned in the article is my best friends uncle , a businessman on Broadway and a driving force for that little park back in the day.. ironically they also have his WW1 uniform that they offered to LHS but was turned down.... sigh
Also, Dan, do you have the newspaper article you posted, transcribed somewhere or is there a slightly higher resolution copy I could view so I might be able to transcribe the whole thing? Thanks!
Lorain is so clueless regarding its history! If the public sale proceeds I hope there is some provision made for retaining the World War l memorial. Knowing the way things work in Lorain the new owner will probably get the parcel rezoned and build a Dollar General store and a self storage facility. Just kidding --- I hope!!
I was told the city has 55 parks and the problem is mowing. And 90% of the citizens of Lorain don’t know where the WW I memorial is. They contacted the Veterans groups and no one objected.
I guess it means something to only a few. 😢😢😢
Are we talking VFW and American Legion? I might have more confidence in their stewardship, than the politicians in Lorain. Who else is a "veteran's group" in Lorain? I grew up one block east of the park on 5th. I would like it to remain intact.
I wondered why too when I read about it. My guess is it's a combination of greed and the fact the younger people are more interested in taking endless photos of themselves trying to appear cool than they are in learning about and showing respect for other people's sacrifices.
I am a life member of DAV Louis Paul Proy Chapter 20 , I have a high respect for Our Wonderful Current Commander Navy Cross/ Purple Heart Veteran Sam Felton. But he does not hold the purse strings. The Adjutant does. The current Adjutant does not even live in Lorain County. DAV bought their current location 6/13/2011 after they sold their other location. Many may not realize that Veterans posts can and do sell property and move. Many may not realize that some Veterans Organizational Social Chapters do close down and their assets get sold off. None of us know what the future holds
Dan I have linked your posts to a post this morning on my blog I was incensed at the thinking in todays MJ
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2018/11/10/lest-we-forget-lorain-administration-forgot/
They should make Giardini mow it.I bet if there was a dollar to profit from it he would be there in an instant.
Lorain should be renamed Giardiniville.He has the city administration pretty much locked up.
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