Tribute to area veterans
Workers spent Friday and Saturday working to create a substantial tribute to area veterans at Sullivan’s Veteran’s Memorial Park.
Posted: Monday, April 23, 2012 11:09 am
Watertown Daily Times Online
Posted on
April 23, 2012
SULLIVAN — In the works for four years, an impressive tribute to area veterans took shape over the weekend in Sullivan at Veterans Memorial Park.
Under the direction of Brian Mattke — whose late father, William Mattke, came up with the idea for the tribute — as well as Tom Ball, owner and landscape designer of Ground Affects Landscaping, Inc. of Sullivan, workers spent Friday and Saturday pulling the tribute together at the downtown park.
“Tom and I are old friends and we had a good plan,” Mattke told the Daily Times Friday as the project reached realization.
At an estimated project cost of $30,000, many bricks have already been sold to help offset expenses.
Ball, who also serves as president of the metro Milwaukee chapter of the Wisconsin Landscape Contractors Association, said the group likes to perform Earth Day projects each year and the veterans memorial concept in Sullivan fit its goals well.
Mattke said Ground Affects jumped in with a complete design, working with the ideas from Mattke and others. The firm also provided volunteer labor, as well as bricks and block, trees, shrubs and other plants to decorate the site.
Providing additional assistance were the Sullivan Area Chamber of Commerce, VFW Post 10604, St. John’s Ladies Aid, the Aid Association for Lutherans and Operation Celebrate Freedom.
“This came to light as an Earth Day project for us. We wanted to do community service,” Ball said, adding initial schemes for the work were created in 2008 and flagpoles installed in 2010. More plans were drawn up, with additional input being received from various sources and the project gained momentum. It was finished on Saturday at 2 p.m.
“My dad, who died four years ago, had some great ideas for this project,” Mattke said. “It has been overwhelming getting the money together for this, things have been so good that way. I’m nervous and a little freaked out about this. It’s what I expected and more.”
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