Work to begin on Confederate monument
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Members of the local chapter of the United Daughters of Confederacy, Bethel Heroes 636, recently celebrated a dream come true.
About 10 years ago it was realized that the local Confederate Monument in Battlefield Park was in need of repair. Because of constant traffic near the monument and past vandalism, there were some serious deterioration and damages – steps have shifted and cracked, the statues of soldiers were vandalized and only two remain, one of the four column caps was damaged.
So under the leadership of the President Ellie Lee, the chapter campaigned to raise money to make these repairs.
On July 5 in the presence of the membership that has worked hard to raise the funds for repairs, current President Dottie Barrett signed the contract to finally make the repairs.
The monument was erected in 1917 and was funded by Col. Robert H. Ricks, a Rocky Mount native.
Restoration repairs were previously made in 1976 and financed by chapter membership, and the monument was rededicated to honor all Nash and Edgecombe county veterans of all wars.
The chapter’s membership has raised the funds for phase one of the required repairs, but have raised only half of the required $8,200 for phase two to replace the cap on one of the columns that had been vandalized.
The additional funding also will be used to repair two soldiers and return them to the front column. The city of Rocky Mount has approved the repair work but does not fund it. Therefore, the membership must ask for donations to fund phase two.
Bethel Heroes 636 is 501(3) tax exempt organization. Tax-free donations for the monument restoration can be mailed payable to Bethel Heroes 636 CMF, PO Box 64, Nashville, NC 27856.
On The Web: http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/community/hometown/work-begin-confederate-monument-1154921