In 2001, the Veterans Peace Memorial Wayside was established on Highway 53, two miles south of Spooner and directly across from the newly opened and beautiful State-owned Northern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
The Washburn County Peace Stones Initiative for the new wayside was created specifically by the County Board of Supervisors to also honor those who served.
This pristine wayside, with an incredible overlook, honors all those who have served, honoring veterans with a beautiful flag display at the entrance, a well-marked parking area, picnic tables and a full-service wayside facility, with its inside display of service plaques, along with vending machines and electronic up-to-date weather information.
Outside the building are sidewalks dotted tasteful with flat granite stones that list 24 names, living or deceased, the names of the veterans who have served honorably and have lived, worked or played in Washburn County.
With a new stone added every year, the Washburn County Veterans Service Office holds a dedication service for the families and the veterans listed on the stone as soon as it is set by the Lifetime Memorial LLC in Eau Claire. Each stone is delivered accompanied with its own base.
This June 26, which is a Monday, at 2:00 pm, there will be the dedication of the fifteenth stone and the Veteran’s Service Office welcomes everyone to attend this brief ceremony.
They also invite those who have never visited the wayside to make a point to do that very thing, the view is spectacular and a stroll through the grounds reading the other stones is always interesting.
This wayside, being county owned and operated, is closed during the winter, so put it on your to-do list before the snow starts to fly again.
Something else that you might want to do is write a donation for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier that is slated for the Spooner Veteran’s Memorial Park yet this fall, or early spring 2018, depending on donations.
The Tomb is an exact replica of the one in Washington D.C. and even though the tomb came without cost to Washburn County, there is much work to do before it can be placed and ready for viewing.
If you’re a veteran, both Lisa Powers and Ella Parker would like you to stop by their office at 1600 Co. Highway H in Spooner so they can give you a tax-deductable receipt for your donation and get to know you.
If you are interested in being on Stone 16, you need to dig up your DD214 and take it into the service office with $100 as the cost per name. This price hasn’t gone up since 2002.
For more information, contact Lisa Powers at lpowers@co.washburn.wi.us or Ella Parker at aparker@co.washburn.wi.us or just stop in and see them, with or without your checkbook. They’re here to serve you.
Last Update: Jun 18, 2017 8:29 am CDT
