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Memorial bricks placed on Lyndeborough Common

LYNDEBOROUGH – In September, the memorials to veterans of World Wars I and II and Korea on the edge of the Lyndeborough Village Common were moved apart.

A larger stone, once the step at Citizens’ Hall side door, was placed between them to become a memorial for veterans of Vietnam and all conflicts since then.

A long-planned brick pavement was laid in front of the monuments Oct. 26, and on Nov. 2, 81 engraved bricks were arranged and then replaced plain ones.

In the center, directly in front of the central stone are two anonymously donated bricks. One reads, “To all veterans” and the other, “From a veteran.” While many of the bricks honor veterans and former residents, others commemorate everything from “The last sixth grade class at LCS” and “BSA Troop 10” to current residents.

“This is a memorial park, not just a veterans’ memorial park,” committee member and Captain of the Lafayette Artillery Company Walter Holland said.

The Artillery Company is a sponsor of the memorial brick project.

In the spring, landscaping will be completed, a brick walkway across the common laid out and new flower beds created. Anyone wishing to add a brick can contact Holland at 654-6987. Bricks cost $50.

The upgrading of the common in south Lyndeborough has been underway for more than three years, working toward the rededication of the area next Memorial Day when the space will be 100 years old. The common was created by members of the Village Improvement Society to beautify the area in front of the railroad station. The low hedges planted in 1914 are gone, but the lilacs and some shrubs have been rescued and are thriving.

The restorations began with the moving of the WWI and WWII/Korea memorials to the common from the library because of construction work. A committee was named at the time to determine where the memorials should be placed. That committee continued the restoration of the common area, both sides of the railroad track, and the foundations of the station, which was taken down in the early 1940s and covered by a parking lot for the church.

The original memorials were placed at the eastern edge of the common near the town’s old watering trough, and the Naval Parrett gun – a memorial to a Civil War soldier – was moved closer to the railroad tracks, away from the salt and snow along Route 31. It has been on the common since 1936.

An aging Christmas tree was removed from the center and a new one planted at one edge. Brush and poison ivy was cleared from the edges and along the railroad tracks, enlarging the area. New flower beds were planted and two memorial benches were added last year.

All of the work has been done by volunteers, using donations and money raised by the sale of bricks. Committee members include Holland, Walter Holt, Lorraine Strube, Lorrie Haskell, Scott and Stephanie Roper, and Paul Martin, assisted from time to time by others, including Road Agent Kent Perry.

Help will be needed in the spring to complete the work.