It was a long night at the hearing held on June 26th to consider the naming of a small park adjacent to Highway 104. VFW and American Legion had urged the Planning Board to recommend to the City Council that the park be named Veterans Memorial Park or, alternatively, Veterans Park. A number of our members attended the meeting wearing their covers. We had organized a petition drive to have Edmonds residents support our endeavor, and I believe we were successful in that effort. However, there was no accounting for the number of letters submitted to the Parks Department. To our amazement and disappointment, the Board chose an alternative name, an individual who recently passed away. Like Harry Potter’s nemesis, Lord Voldemard, his name will never be mentioned or written in this newsletter. Had there been good justifications on the part of the Commission, their refusal to honor our request would have been somewhat palatable. They felt the veterans deserved a “grander park” – we simply wanted our patch in Edmonds. They said there was no parking—there is parking within 100 feet on the street. They said it was too noisy-I’ve got news for the Planning Board that every veteran has dealt with noise and if I want silence while I’m in the park, I’ll turn off the hearing aids. They said we already had two parks in Edmonds; the stone tablet in front of the Museum (soon to be moved to storage), and Memorial Park which is the island outside City Hall dedicated to our sister city Hekinan, Japan. Great parks for recognizing veterans. They said ferry traffic folks use the park for a dog run; nope—there is an area on the north end completely separate from where our memorial would be placed. Finally, not one single member had taken the opportunity to view the park and the director of the Parks Department scrambled to find it on Google Earth. So guess what folks, we now get to wait and see what “grander park” is in our future. Edmonds is already 124 years old without a veterans park so don’t hold your breath.
