TimesLeader.com

Monument repairs are necessary

It’s a difficult time to conduct a fund raiser but next Saturday’s walk to raise money for repairs to the Wyoming Monument is a project that we cannot afford to ignore. The monument commemorates the 1778 Battle of Wyoming and a ceremony doing likewise has been held there every year since the 100th anniversary of the battle in 1878.

The Wyoming Monument was damaged by lightning just about a year ago. Cracks in the monument and a plaque listing the survivors, while visible, may not be all that threatening looking to the casual observer. But we live in a climate where the freezing and thawing of water that seeps into such cracks can be catastrophic to a stone structure such as this. Hence the urgency.

Repairs, if done properly – and properly is the only option here – will run $110,000 or more. As the monument is a registered National Historic site it cannot simply be patched, but must be repaired as close to its original condition as possible.

That may sound like a big number, but not when you consider the importance of the monument.

Next Saturday, August 8, the Wyoming Monument Association hopes to raise a good portion of that amount with an event aptly named “A Walk for History.”

Participants will leave from the Monument at 10 a.m. Saturday. Pre-registration is $25 but late arrivals may register for $30 beginning at 9 a.m. at the Monument. Preregister at Gerrity’s Supermarket in Wyoming, the Wyoming Borough Building and Wyoming Library.

The walk will cover about two miles.

Everyone who completes the walk will receive a commemorative plate while supplies last.

For additional information, please contact Mayor Bob Boyer at 570-613-1401.

Boyer has taken the lead in this project and we commend his efforts.

Marisa Burke from WNEP TV is the honorary chairperson of Saturday’s walk. Pepsi, UFCW, Roof Pro, Januzzi’s Pizza, Diamond Manufacturing, and Kasarda’s Greenhouse have signed on as sponsors.

If you cannot make the walk, donations to the Monument Association may be sent to: Wyoming Monument Repair Fund, Wyoming Borough Building, 277 Wyoming Ave., Wyoming, PA 18644.