Edwardsville Garden Club to Rededicate WWII Memorial in City Park on 80th Anniversary

Eighty years to the day after the Edwardsville Garden Club placed a plaque in City Park in memory of those who died in World War II, its members will host a rededication event to again honor the veterans’ heroism and sacrifices.

The ceremony will take place in City Park, 101 South Buchanan Street, at 2:30PM Saturday, April 5, the same time and day as the original 1945 event. The Edwardsville Parks & Recreation Department will plant a black tupelo tree, which is native to the region, ahead of the ceremony; the original plaque will be placed in proximity to the tree, just as it was in 1945.

“We want to honor our 1945 club president who got this started, and honor the men and women who served or were killed in action,” Edwardsville Garden Club President Cheryl Green said of the rededication. “As a garden club, if we can help preserve history, we want to do that.” The public is invited to attend the ceremony, which will faithfully replicate the original event by featuring garden club members, veterans and their families, clergy, musicians and local dignitaries.

Mayor Art Risavy, who will attend on behalf of the city, praised the longstanding tradition of the Edwardsville Garden Club to beautify the community and preserve the legacy of its heroes. “It’s an honor to be asked to participate in an event that will both educate and memorialize our area service members.”

The original tree that served as a place marker for the plaque is long gone, and over the years the bronze and limestone memorial ended up tucked away in a safe but easily overlooked location in the park. The new site will be at the front of the park, along South Buchanan Street, near other tributes to veterans: the Blue Star Memorial Highway Monument, the Ryan Garbs Gold Star Monument and the Victory Mothers of Edwardsville Monument.

Green, the garden club president, noted she is grateful to Edwardsville’s Historic Preservation Commission members, who brought the plaque and upcoming anniversary to the club’s attention. “We want this to be in a prominent place,” she said. “When people go by and see it or the Blue Star Memorial, we want them to have this connection to the past to honor our World War II veterans.”

The Edwardsville Garden Club dates back to 1939 and has long intertwined its beautification activities with community projects. National, state and local garden clubs historically led initiatives to honor America’s veterans. It was a New Jersey garden club that created the first of what became a nationwide series of Blue Star Memorial Highway projects to pay tribute to U.S. armed forces. The World War II plaque the garden club commissioned for City Park in 1945 was a precursor to the Blue Star memorials; the Edwardsville Garden Club raised funds to establish Edwardsville’s Blue Star Memorial Highway monument in 1977.