RUSSELLVILLE — A veterans park is being developed in Russellville after years of discussion, and historical monuments scattered through the city will be moved there.
Bill Eaton, a former mayor of the city and a member of the River Valley Veterans Coalition, said Veterans Memorial Park is being built on a 3-acre “beautiful, tree-shaded” site in the Bona Dea Trails and Sanctuary at 399 Lake Front Drive. The park will be at the east end of the area near Old Shorty Trail.
Ground was broken in September on the project. The city leases the property from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which gave approval for the park, and the Russellville City Council approved the plan as well.
The park will be built in three phases: Phase I is an asphalt parking lot, which is under construction at the east end of an existing lot; Phase 2 is a Walk of Honor. The 240-foot long walk will be about 11 feet wide, Eaton said, with curbs built at an angle and covered with 12-by-12-inch granite tiles people may buy and have engraved in honor or memory of veterans.
“It’s going to be a spectacular thing,” Eaton said. A Vietnam veteran, Eaton said he also served in the National Guard.
The tiles are $150 each and can be ordered by calling Ken Harper, veterans service officer, at the Pope County Veterans Service Office, (479) 968-6049, or going by the office at 107 West B St. in Russellville.
Eaton said about “roughly 430 to 480” tiles will be needed. Harper said last week that 108 tiles have been sold to date.
Russ Hall, a Vietnam veteran and a coalition member, said he expects the Walk of Honor to be meaningful.
“We hope to make it a very, very, very nice situation where, I basically look at it as a mini-Vietnam Memorial from Washington, D.C. I think you’ll be able to walk out there and see people on their knees, touching the tiles, taking a piece of paper and copying their names,” he said.
Phase 3 of the project will include the construction of a pavilion, Eaton said, which will have compartments dedicated to major wars and conflicts in U.S. history, beginning with World War I.
“Our pavilion is going to be quite large, with a stage that will have scaffolding built in where lighting, sound systems and things of that nature can be used, because this will be a city park,” Eaton said. “It will be available to anyone who wants to use that city park.”
The estimated project cost is $500,000, which is being paid for with grants and donations, Eaton said. The Advertising and Promotions Commission gave the coalition a $14,000 mini-grant to kick off the project, he said.
“They felt like it would be a draw to the area,” Eaton said. “We’re hoping to get more larger grants.”
The project expanded as it went.
Eaton said the idea came out of the city’s downtown master plan in 2013 when he was still mayor.
“On the west end of the [train] depot in town, there was an area in the plan that was designated for veterans’ use or a veterans memorial or something of that nature,” he said.
“We started talking seriously about that and what we were going to incorporate in there,” Eaton said. The coalition decided that existing veterans monuments in the city would be located in the space.
“The more we looked at it, the more we thought about it, it was just not going to be large enough,” Eaton said.
After considering several locations, the idea of using a part of the Bona Dea Trails and Sanctuary came up, and it’s a perfect location, he said.
The Russellville Recreation and Parks Department already oversees the site and provides upkeep, such as mowing, Eaton said.
“We are not using city money,” he said. “We are using city employees of Parks and Recreation to help with the construction that goes into that area. They have built our trails anyway. This is part of their normal duties.”
Mack Hollis, recreation and parks director, said he supports the project.
“That’s one of the best things you can do is honor veterans — the ones who are still alive and the ones who gave the total commitment,” Hollis said.
It will be the 23rd park in the city.
“I think it’s great; they’ve got a good design. It’s a really well-thought-out park,” Hollis said. Russellville architect Bob Hiegel did most of the design, Hollis said. “It will be a nice little area to just reflect. It’s surrounded by trails,” he said.
Memorials to be moved to the area include one at the busy intersection of Main Street and Arkansas Avenue.
“Nobody ever stops and looks at it and contemplates what it means,” Eaton said.
“Another one that is very, very meaningful — all of them are — is in what was the high school in town for
many years,” Eaton said. Gardner High School also served as a junior high school.
A marble stone is mounted in the wall and has a list of names of World War II veterans who died in combat, Eaton said.
He said the building is still owned by the school district and is used as an adult education center.
“The school gave us permission to remove that and, of course, restore the wall there. [The stone] will go in a pavilion we plan to build at our park,” Eaton said.
Hollis said he thinks moving the monuments will be “a challenge.”
“A couple of them are very old. I don’t think you’re going to be able to just move them. I think you’re going to have to dismantle them and put them back together,” Hollis said.
He said the Recreation and Parks Department had a damaged concrete plaque recently.
“They were looking at taking it apart, and it would have just crumbled. We ended up patching it and leaving it. They’re fragile, usually, so you’ve got to be really careful. I’m curious how many of those they’ll be able to move.”
Hollis said a monument at Mothers Confederate Park, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, will not be moved.
Eaton said another war monument that will be relocated is Crawford Park on Detroit Avenue, which was renamed Veterans Park for a while, but the name was changed back.
The park also has a flag pole, which will remain, and playground equipment, he said. Eaton said a veteran has offered to donate a larger flag pole for the new park.
He said no military equipment will be displayed in Veterans Memorial Park.
“We want it to be very tasteful, very serene,” he said. “We want it to be a memorial park to honor all veterans of all wars or conflicts and not resurrect the times of harshness.”
Russellville Mayor Randy Horton said he is in favor of creating the veterans park, too.
“All of the conceptual images that I have seen show a very well planned and attractive design that should engage park visitors in thoughtful and respectful contemplation about what the sacrifices of our veterans mean to all of us,” Horton said.
The mayor said he believes the logistics of moving the monuments will be “handled with professional advice to assure that it can be accomplished properly.”
Hall said it has taken a long time to get the project underway, but the coalition worked through the city and the Corps of Engineers.
“We’ll have to get some deep pockets to help us,” Hall said.
“I have not heard a single negative report from anyone,” he said. Often, he said, the response when people hear about it is, “It’s about time.”
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.