by Kevin Lilly
Pharos-Tribune
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The rebuilding efforts of the Roll of Honor monument in downtown Logansport have hit a stumbling block.
While progress on the project has been made, the Cass County Veterans Council cannot seem to find any takers on constructing a new monument. After two attempts of securing bids for reconstruction, they have come up empty.
What its need is someone skilled in building with blocks.
“The council is in dire need of community support,” said Cass County Veterans Council president Jeff Mercier.
The Cass County Roosters and Terbush Construction demolished the old Roll of Honor earlier this year. The footer for a new foundation has been poured so the site is construction ready.
The council wanted to keep the project local so money donated to the cause would remain here. That has worked out with the engraving of new nameplates as the council selected Cass County resident Sandy Henry, who is owner/operator of Precision Design.
But, for reconstruction the council may have to look elsewhere.
Mercier had been in contact with a few local contractors who expressed an interest in the project but did not enter a bid. Mercier also left bid packets at American Legion Post 60, but he got no takers.
“We just can’t seem to get the interest,” Mercier said.
A third request for bids will be placed in the newspaper in June. This time the council will go outside Cass County for the work.
The council is hoping to have the project done by Veterans Day, which is Thursday, Nov. 11. It will be accepting bids from June 15 to 30.
The project consists of fully restoring the Cass County Roll of Honor.
Built in 1945, the monument is a tribute to the men and woman who served in World War II from Cass County. The foundation for the old structure had cracked causing it to settle to one side, and the sun faded many of the nameplates.
The council intends to recycle materials from the original Roll of Honor. The columns seen from Broadway will be reused, as will the glass, the eagles that sat atop the monument and the oak panels that contained the nameplates.
“We tried to save everything we could from the original,” Mercier said.
Henry will laser engrave the 4,200 names onto several two-foot long pieces of black marble that will fit inside the oak panels. She will be replacing the wooden nameplates, which had been engraved then hand painted. She tried matching the original Helvetica font. Those who lost their life in the war will have an engraved gold star next to their name, like the old nameplates.
Henry has been engraving professionally for more than 15 years.
Her business consists of engraving text onto control panels for the medical and music industries. Two vintage amplifiers she engraved recently appeared on American Idol.
Henry will do the work for $24,000. That price includes the month of labor expected and cost of the material.
The veterans council continues to raise funds to cover all of the project’s expenses. Fundraising efforts initially raised more than $23,000, which Mercier thought would be sufficient. But, price quotes for replacing the nameplates with a product that would withstand the test of time caught the council off guard.
The council believes it has enough to pay for rebuilding the structure but won’t know for sure until they receive bids. Construction costs will determine how much money will have to be raised to pay Henry.
For fundraising, the council will be present at Pioneer Days in Royal Center and the Cass County 4-H Fair in July. They have also been approved by the city to conduct a roadblock fundraiser in August.
As for distributing the old nameplates, Elizabeth McQuinn will be at American Legion Post 60 from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday nights throughout the summer. She will also be at the Post following the Memorial Day parade.
If anyone needs to add a name not previously listed on the Roll of Honor, they need to contact the council by Aug. 1 to do so.
• Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at 574-732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com.
