December 22, 2024
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News - DeKalb County

Mayor Lang: New Sycamore Grove will be tribute to veterans

By Curt Lang - Sycamore Mayor
A local group led by Sycamore Mayor Curt Lang is working to create a new tribute to veterans along Route 23 called Sycamore Grove. The plan is to raise private donations and plant hardwood trees to honor those who have served. Pictured standing with the sign announcing the project are (left to right) Sycamore Park District board President Bill Kroeger, District 427 school board member Eric Jones, Dave Dozier of Sycamore (U.S. Army, retired), District 427 school board member Jeff Jacobson, and Lang.

A local group led by Sycamore Mayor Curt Lang is working to create a new tribute to veterans along Route 23 called Sycamore Grove. The plan is to raise private donations and plant hardwood trees to honor those who have served. Pictured standing with the sign announcing the project are (left to right) Sycamore Park District board President Bill Kroeger, District 427 school board member Eric Jones, Dave Dozier of Sycamore (U.S. Army, retired), District 427 school board member Jeff Jacobson, and Lang. (Provided photo)

One of the first experiences I had as a newly elected mayor of Sycamore was Sycamore’s Memorial Day celebration.

It was impressive to be at the Sycamore Vet’s Club and see the presentation celebrating veterans’ service. The venue was centered around pictures of veterans who lost their lives, recognition of all veterans in attendance, singing of patriotic songs and a talk from a recently returned veteran.

All of this combined would make any American proud.

I remember that my father, a U.S. Air Force veteran, almost never spoke about his experience in World War II. The only story I recall is one he told when he gave me a picture of him and his flight crew holding a sign saying “The Lucky 7.” When I asked about the sign, he simply said, “we all returned home to our families.”

After that Memorial Day presentation, I wanted to do something that would allow Sycamore residents to personally honor and recognize veterans. I had heard of a tree-lined highway in Ontario that recognizes Canadian veterans.This sparked an idea to try to have our own tree recognition program.

My wife, Karen, and I both have fathers who are veterans, and thought that others inevitably felt the same about their loved ones who have served as we do about our fathers and their service to our country.

So the “Sycamore Grove, A Tribute to Veterans” was established. We have been working to find a suitable location for two years and have recently been able to coordinate with the Sycamore Park District and Sycamore School District 427. We are going to use the new trail on Route 23 next to Sycamore Middle School as the site for “Sycamore Grove.”

We hope to have the grove funded through private donations rather than public funds. Our idea would be for a family who would like to honor a veteran to fund and purchase a tree for their posterity to enjoy, visit, and memorialize. The concept would be to plant a 3-inch hardwood tree, which will become a full-grown tree over the years. The tree would be a memorial and a family statement that future generations could enjoy.

The grove project will begin next year with the planting of about 50 trees with commemorative identification tags. If we are successful, adding as donations allow, we would like to include benches, a program area, flags, signs about branches of service, and of course, more trees.

We hope to have District 427 use the grove as a teaching tool to discuss veterans and their sacrifices, as well as history and service as the staff feels appropriate.

For further information, please visit our website at www.sycamoreveteransgrove.com, regarding tree dedication or questions. All donations will go through the DeKalb County Community Foundation earmarked for the Sycamore Grove Fund.

• Curt Lang is the mayor of Sycamore. Reach him at 815-895-4517 or email clang@cityofsycamore.com.

OpinionColumnDeKalb CountyVeterans