I was recently contacted by a long-time resident who was concerned about the condition of the Mom’s Memorial. For those not familiar with the monument, it is located on the south side of Auburn Road at Squirrel Road near the DEN (Downtown Educational Nook). The monument honors those that served, as well as, those who passed in theater during World War II.

The resident who contacted me noticed that one of the name bars had become loose and was about to fall off. When he touched it, it broke, and he wanted to give us the piece so it could be reattached. I was glad that this was brought to our attention. Although I pass by the monument quite frequently, I did not realize that its condition had deteriorated so much. Several DPW employees aided me in evaluating the problem and we quickly realized that it’s not going to be a quick fix. I’m not a metallurgist, but there appears to be metal fatigue or an environmental condition that has caused the bronze pieces to start flexing. This flexing has caused some of the screw heads to pop off.

Unfortunately, just reattaching the piece is not going to solve the problem. A more comprehensive solution will be needed. As we often do, I discussed the problem in one of our meetings at DPW and our staff members started weighing in on possible solutions. We have a number of veterans employed at the City, including a few at DPW. There are a lot of patriotic people here and as word of the problem spread amongst city employees we received a lot of interest in the Mom’s Memorial and suggestions on how to fix it. One of my colleagues suggested that we Google the name on the broken piece, and I was surprised to see how much information was easily found about the soldier, where he had fought, and where he died.

The Mom’s Memorial is a special piece of our City’s history. We all feel strongly that it deserves to be restored and cared for very carefully. Our Deputy Director is a combat veteran and this monument means a lot to him personally. He has taken the lead on researching the problem and determining the best solution. More to come in the future when we have further details to share, so stay tuned!

Stan Torres, Manager of Municipal Properties