CRESCENT, Iowa — Countless volunteers have helped give Crescent something in which it can take pride.
The town found a way to beautify the area while honoring those who have served by creating the Old Lincoln Highway Veterans Monument Park.
The park features a brick-lined area with an Eagles of Honor statue as the centerpiece and a wall with plaques honoring veterans.
There's a shelter with picnic tables and benches, and a pair of grills nearby. Along the highway, a row of old-fashioned Burma Shave signs greet drivers.
"We're really proud of Crescent; we want to make it nicer," said Brian Shea, a member of the committee involved in creating the park. "We wanted to honor vets, and we wanted to highlight the Old Lincoln Highway."
Hitchcock Nature Center staff planted native prairie grasses, and other landscaping flowers, bushes and grasses are interspersed in the area.
"I think it's absolutely wonderful," said Brenda Gryskiewicz, a committee member. Her late husband, Robert, an Air Force veteran, is memorialized with a plaque on the wall. "My grandkids love to come here and see Papa's name up here," she said.
In 2007, Neola, Iowa, sculptor Russ Christensen sent a letter to towns throughout Pottawattamie County, proposing an eagle monument for each community. Like the people of Neola, McClelland, Treynor, Avoca and more, Brian and Jody Shea and others in Crescent loved the idea.
The city had recently acquired the land off the highway and approved it as the site of the plaza. With land and a plan, organizers formed a plaza committee and began raising money.
The first $25,000 came from the Pottawattamie County Board, which doled out that amount for each Eagles project. The committee raised more money through several fundraisers, Jody Shea said. And a number of Crescent-area businesses donated to the cause.
Plaques for the wall were purchased by individuals or groups that wanted "to show their support or to honor a veteran or loved one," Jody Shea said.
Brian Shea, who operates a retaining wall business, procured donated items and at-cost items from friends in construction, including asphalt grindings, fencing and lumber for the gazebo.
So far the project has cost about $70,000 to $75,000, when including the cost of donated materials and time, he said.
Brian Shea described the project as a community undertaking, with more and more people helping as construction continued.
"A lot of people came forward to help, especially many involved in the military. It started to snowball," he said. "People came forward and started helping because their dad or brother or sister — or they themselves — were in the military. They just wanted to help."
In September 2009, the city dedicated the eagle monument and continued work on the plaza. The park is now being used, though additional work is planned, including the installation of bathrooms and a sidewalk encircling the area.
"It's just beautiful; they did an awesome job. I can't believe how great it looks," Christensen said. "They went above and beyond."
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
