Looking back, I realize that summer has become a blur. When the
calendar is once again as full as mine, it’s hard to keep it all straight. I’m
gonna give it a shot, though.
Back on the rainy Sunday morning of June 16, Hubby, Dino and
I took off on a quick overnight foray to see our son in the southern part of
the state. I’m always about taking random detours, so we didn’t take the
shortest route there.
When I was going to college in La Crosse, I traversed part
of that route to get home on the weekends. I rode through the city of Wisconsin
Rapids many times throughout that year, but never had the chance to stop and nose
around. I always enjoyed riding down Highway 54 along the Wisconsin River, with
its parks and big old homes. One of those parks, Ben Hansen Park, was named
after Benjamin Hansen who was credited with beautifying the local riverbanks.
In 1996, the state decided to create a Wisconsin Firefighters
Memorial and the centrally located city of Wisconsin Rapids was chosen to be its
home. Beautiful Ben Hansen Park could not have been a better site.
I didn’t know any of this, that Sunday morning, when I asked
Hubby to stop at the park I had ridden past 35 years ago.
The mission of the Wisconsin State Firefighters Memorial,
Inc. is to establish and maintain a memorial honoring all firefighters in the
State of Wisconsin, recognizing not only those who have given their lives as
the ultimate sacrifice, but also to honor those who have and continue to serve
their respective communities.
Every year approximately one hundred firefighters die in
the line of duty in the United States.
The Wisconsin State Firefighters Memorial Board of Directors has chosen
to provide a unique and lasting way to pay tribute to firefighters from the
State of Wisconsin who have made this ultimate sacrifice while in service to
their communities. This tribute has taken the form of a Memorial Park dedicated
to preserving their memory.
The vision of the WSFM was to create a park with a
natural and scenic setting to house a memorial to our firefighting heroes from
across this great State of Wisconsin. The serenity of the setting allows park visitors
to be alone with their thoughts and emotions and at the same time realize that
their loves one will never be forgotten
(From the WSFM website)
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