Kimberley has always been known as a city of volunteers and one of the more impressive volunteer efforts of recent years is being built front and centre in the downtown area.
That effort is the new cenotaph, which is being built by the volunteers of Military Ames, the local support and camaraderie group for veterans. And it has attracted volunteers from all across the community to assist the veterans in the building of the new Kimberley Veterans Memorial Park.
The snow is now off the park, located right across from the Platzl on Wallinger Avenue, and the City of Kimberley has begun work on the sidewalks surrounding the park. The new sidewalks, says group facilitator Cindy Postnikoff, will be done in the same cobblestone grey as the ones going into the park. It is hoped the new sidewalks can be poured in the next couple of weeks, as temperatures warm.
“We are putting boulders in and we have the trees ready to be planted. They will be put in as soon as the sidewalks are done,” she said.
The monument for the new cenotaph itself still doesn’t have an exact time for arrival in Kimberley.
It is painstaking work building a granite monument that size, Postnikoff says, and it has already cracked twice during the sanding process and had to be restarted. Having to restart is not costing Military Ames anything extra, but it is delaying the arrival of the monument. Postnikoff is hopeful it will be here by the end of June.
“It’s going to be amazing once its installed,” she said.
Meanwhile, fundraising continues. The current fundraising effort centres around the sale of plaques. The plaques will contain information and education around military history and Kimberley’s war effort. Large plaques are 10 by 12 inches and sell for $699. The smaller 5 by 8 plaques go for $395. The sponsor will be engraved on the bronze plaques under the information.
So far, sales are going well and Postnikoff hopes to have all Kimberley sponsors rather than reaching out beyond the community. If you would like to sponsor a plaque, call Postnikoff at 250-919-3137.
Military Ames volunteers are also planning a garage sale for the weekend of May 12, 13 and 14. They are looking for donations now — no electronics or clothing please. If you have an item you’d like to donate call the above number.