On May 18th, the Lower Makefield Township Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the LMT Veterans Committee’s request to invite contractors to bid on Veterans Square Monument after two years of planning and fundraising. The project was advertised in early June, and the winning lowest responsible bidder should be announced in mid-July. The committee hopes that interested contractors and suppliers will donate labor and materials so that the overall cost of the monument will come down.

Interested parties may contact the veterans committee at 267-274-1195 or email info@veteranssquare.org. Construction should begin in early September. This will coincide with a special Labor Day Evening Ground-Breaking and Concert on Monday, September 5th.

The Veterans Committee will be holding the first of what it hopes will be an Annual Labor Day Concert at Veterans Square Park, on the corner of Edgewood and Heacock, featuring the Pennsbury Community Band. The band was put together by Pennsbury District Music Coordinator Frank Mazzeo and is comprised of about 40 members – music teachers, members of the community, and a few Pennsbury High School seniors.

The ground-breaking for the monument will begin at either 5:30 or 6:00pm, followed by the concert. The event is free for the community, but it is hoped that people will support the monument if they attend. There will be basket raffles, and food and beverages available to purchase. The Veterans Committee is seeking Sponsors at the $1000, $500 and $250 levels to offset the cost of the event and to raise funds for the monument.

Additionally, the Veterans Committee has announced its collaboration with the Artists of Yardley for a special project. Robert Girandola, the sculptor who is designing the life-size bronze eagle that will grace the top of the monument, is creating a dozen small-scale replicas of the eagle entitled “Freedom” that will be painted by various members of AOY in any whimsical way they wish. This is similar to the mules of New Hope and other animals in cities around the country.

The Veterans Committee will have the “Eagles on Parade” during the summer at various locations around town, and then auction them off at the Labor Day Concert/Groundbreaking.