Brick sale benefits Veterans’ Park
The Frankln County Archives are selling bricks for their Veteran’s Park Memorial Park. Chris Ozbirn and Nick Nichols stand in front of the memorial.| Nathan Strickland/FCT
The Franklin County Archives and Research Center will be running a special for the entire month of May for those who are interested in buying a memorial walkway brick to be placed in the Franklin County Veterans Park.
The memorial bricks will be marked down from $50 to $30 for those who want to either remember or honor those in the past or present.
“Lots of people buy the bricks to memorialize military members,” said Chris Ozbirn, who serves as volunteer director of the Franklin County Archives and Research Center.
“But they are really for anyone who wants to remember or honor someone who was either close to them in relation or did a great service in the community.”
Each brick consists of 3 lines with 15 spaces and numerous ways of remembering or honoring someone who has since passed on or is still alive.
“One of the bricks on the walk way consists of the persons name and the ‘Masons’ emblem, because he was an active member of the ‘Masons’ organization,” Ozbirn said. “So there are lots of different things we can print on the brick, of course taking in consideration the size of the brick.”
There has been a total of 453 out of around 1,050 bricks already sold and have been placed in the memorial walkway.
“Joseph Patrick Nichols was the one who came up with the idea for the walkway and we would really like to see it fill up with names,” said volunteer Nick Nichols.
Ozbirn said she hopes one day the walkway will have to be extended and would like to see it lead up to a “troop carrier” that she is working on getting for the archives.
“I think it is important for people to be remembered and honored because they are the reason we are here today,” she said.
“And I just believe we have to do something to keep their memory alive and this is the way we have come up with to do it.”
The Franklin County Archives and Research Center is a non-profit organization that is funded by fundraisers, club dues and donations only. Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information, call 332-8827.
