Ledyard’s Memorial Garden, with the quiet strength of its large stones, has sat, incomplete, next to the Bill Library for close to 20 years.
First created in 1989, the Memorial Garden was originally designed to be a memorial to the men and women who have fought for the U.S., from the American Revolution to the Vietnam War. Each of these wars is commemorated with a large, majestic stone, honoring those who served.
But as the stones were being placed in the garden, the stone for the American Revolution was broken, leaving a very noticeable gap in the center of the garden and at the core of our national history. For various reasons the garden remained that way, unfinished, unfulfilled, for 19 long years.
That is until Ledyard Lion Steve Novic, chairman of the Ledyard Memorial Day Parade, and Ken Geer of Locust Grove Landscaping & Stone Wall Construction, took it on as a personal quest to find the perfect stone to complete the garden.
“Ken Geer and I have been searching for the right stone to complete the original design,” Novic said in a letter. “The more we looked, the more it became apparent that not just any stone would work. It would take a special stone to complete the desired picture.”
As Novic attested, the search had its ups and downs, with many prospective stones spotted but none meeting their standards upon closer inspection. Their quest took them all over town to various rock-strewn areas like Blonders Park, where Novic realized that if, indeed, he found a stone he’d need to talk with Parks and Recreation Director Don Grise before attempting to remove it.
Novic stated, “I told Don, ‘I’m looking for a rock.’ Well, let me tell you, that kind of statement only gets you one kind of comment: ‘Really!’ I told Don my story and asked if I could have a stone if we found one that fit the design of the garden. Looking at me and smiling Don said, ‘Go for it.’”
With the backing of Parks and Rec, Novic and Geer continued their search until they happened upon the perfect stone which was right underneath their noses, lying face up next to the picnic table behind the Parks and Rec building.
So, with a crane secured to lift the 10-foot-long, 14,000-pound behemoth, Novic and Geer oversaw the placement of the new American Revolution stone in the Memorial Garden on the morning of May 15. And on May 25, during the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Ledyard Memorial Parade, the Ledyard Lions dedicated the “American Revolution Monument” and completed the Memorial Garden after 19 years.