Support continues to grow for a centennial project for the Winamac Town Park’s Memorial Bridge. Residents are raising funds to install a decorative lighting feature in time for the hundredth anniversary of the bridge’s dedication on July 4, 2023.
Project organizer Greg Henry told the Winamac Park Board last week that NIPSCO and its employees have expressed interest in donating, and they’ve also offered the use of equipment. Someone else has volunteered to paint the bridge’s approaches.
Henry has also met with the historian of Culver Academies, which was one of the participants in the bridge’s dedication in 1923. “They are completely on board with this,” Henry said. “They’re really interested and wanting more information so that they can put it into their museum, so it’s kind of a neat thing that they’re working with us. Plus, they want to get the artillery and shoot the cannon and all that type of thing, as we want to try to do the recreation of that day.”
Henry said he’s looking for an antique car club and teams specializing in old-time baseball, to try to take the Town Park back to the 1920s.
An account has been set up at First National Bank of Monterey to accept donations, and Henry expects a website to be online by the end of the month. He noted that once there’s some money in the accounts, organizers could then start applying for matching grants.
While Henry initially planned to raise money just for the lighting feature, he said the scope has now expanded to possibly include some of the upgrades called for by a recent bridge inspection, such as sandblasting and paint work.
Those interested in helping with the effort can attend the next project committee meeting. It will be held Wednesday, January 15 at 5:30 p.m. EST in the Winamac Municipal Utilities Complex.
