It’s not often you get to help with a project that makes a difference to those in your community in a real, direct way. That’s what Buechel Stone was able to do that with it’s contribution to the Veteran’s Memorial in Chilton, WI. The project was two years in development, with Buechel Stone playing a key role in bringing it to reality.
“It first started with committee members coming to us and asking if we would be interested in contributing to the project. They were hoping we would give them some break on the cost of the stone. So when I told them we’d donate whatever they needed they were really excited.” Tim said. “It just felt like the right thing to do.” In the video, Rich talks about the undertaking of putting this project together and making it a reality.
Not only did Buechel Stone donate the material, Tim and Scott personally made sure the project was done on time by doing a lot of the work themselves. They also installed much of the stone on the project as well.
In this video, Tim talks about the donation and those who helped make the project a reality.
“We really have to thank Wayne Geiser and the rest of the guys in our cut stone department as well. We are very busy right now, and to put this project through the shop the crews had put in some extra time to get this finished.” Tim said. “We’re really lucky to have such a great workforce… They know we’ll do whatever it takes to get a project done.”
“Even as we were working on the project, it was really something to see all the people that would come through the memorial. There was everything from people taking pictures of the names on the memorials to people just standing quietly seeming to reflect,” said Scott.
“To finally see it come to fruition is pretty special,” said Rich Appel, the chairman of the committee for the Veterans Memorial of Chilton.
Committee members raised nearly $200,000, partly through selling memorial nameplates to honor both living and deceased veterans.
“I’ve had Vietnam jungle patrol guys explain how they were able to at the last second get a trip wire off their boot. I’ve had widows sit in my kitchen and cry,” said committee member Donald Kampfer.
The construction started this past spring, which many businesses donated labor and materials for.
“Part of it is because it’s our 50 year anniversary and it’s important to the community. It’s fun to just be associated with a project like this,” explained Scott.
The memorial’s design features life-sized statues representing the six branches of military — Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines — and includes women who served.
“Really does take each individual no matter where they served Coast Guard, U.S. Army, Marines, whichever service they were in and it really personalizes it for them,” added Appel.
The architect’s concept sketch shows statues in a semi-circle, flanking a centerpiece eagle perched on a natural stone spire. A walking path takes visitors on either side of the eagle and statues.
The design is the work of former Chilton resident Jim Suttner, who owns an award-winning architectural firm in Baltimore.
Committee members say it’s amazing to see the memorial finished.
“When I saw the Korean Veterans Memorial in Washington, I got goose bumps. I get goose bumps when I come up here as well,” said Kampfer.
