Indiana Group to Preserve, Relocate WWI Memorial

ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana group is working to preserve and relocate a World War I memorial.

The 7-foot granite obelisk is inscribed with the names of six Anderson High School students who died while serving in the war, The Herald Bulletin reported. It was gifted to the school by the 1920 graduating class.

Local preservationists have grown concerned about the monument's fate as its surroundings change. A fire destroyed the school building in 1999 and its historic arena was repurposed in 2011 to become a nonprofit clinic.

Cecilia Calvert is the regent of the Kikthawenund Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She's leading the effort to relocate the memorial from the former high school's lawn to Maplewood Cemetery.

"We talked to John Dick at Maplewood Cemetery and he just really became a partner in that," Calvert said. "He went to his board, and the board agreed to pay for the base. We'll set it in the veterans section there, so he's donating the space as well. That pretty much made our decision, that it would be a permanent place, and so the next point was fundraising."

The group wants the project to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI, Calvert said.
The group will need an estimated $5,000 to clean the monument and rent a crane for the move, which is scheduled for the fall.