BOSTON TOWNSHIP’S MONUMENT MEN
Next April we mark the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War and what was once Decoration Day in May. That holiday eventually became what we now call Memorial Day. Also, in 2015 it will be 70 years since WWII ended.
Back in 1889 a crowd of 2,000 came to dedicate a monument to men who served their country from 1861 to 1865. It remained in front of the GAR Hall until all those veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic had passed on. It was moved to Cedar Grove Cemetery in 1932. The Hall became an American Legion Post and, at some point, a plaque honoring those who served in WWII was put on a boulder in front. When the building was saved from certain destruction and returned to being a GAR Hall-- one of only two in all of Ohio—the plaque went elsewhere.
If you have never visited Boston Cemetery it’s not likely you’ve seen what happened to that list of veterans. If you have,
perhaps you know one or more of the many names on it, or even have a story about one of the six men marked by a star. If you do, please share it with the Village Observer.
As for that statue Colonel Conger gave us? If you check the 148 names listed there, some will sound familiar enough. Stories collected by Bob and Jeanette Bishop are familiar to many. Now comes a story involving one of our Monument Men that deserves to be celebrated. It’s not everyday something ‘new’ happens about Peninsula’s past, so don’t miss historian Dean Smith’s talk on General Phil Sheridan at the Peninsula Library & Historical Society, 7PM on October 20.
| Ed Andros |