HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Allegan County’s World War I memorial at the West Side Park will be rededicated Monday as part of the Memorial Day ceremonies.
Retired Brig. Gen. Robert Secrist is scheduled as the guest speaker.
The Women’s Clubs of Allegan County made sure the monument was installed in 1925. It honors Allegan County’s World War I dead and recognizes the veterans who returned.
Over time, two trees have grown large enough to block a clear view of the memorial, which now needs masonry repairs.
Participants scheduled to be at Monday’s ceremony include members of the Saugatuck Women’s Club, Fennville High School band’s ensemble, and Allegan County’s facilities manager, Shawn Stenberg, a veteran of the Iraqi and Afghanistan conflicts. He supervised monument repairs and site update.
Secrist is a 43-year veteran of the U.S. Army, who enlisted in the National Guard when he was a high school junior.
The Allegan Community Foundation managed donations from groups and individuals to the renovation project.
It’s been 100 years since the first Great War ended. May 28’s rededication ceremony also marks the 100th anniversary of the first World War I battle involving American forces, the Battle of Cantigny, France. They won.
Monday’s ceremony starts at 2:30 p.m in the park, 2152 Lakeshore Drive, in Ganges Township.
