Mail Tribune 100, April 11, 1921
May 7—April 11, 1921
ASHLAND WILL ERECT MEMORIAL TO WAR HEROES
Ashland, April 11 — There is to be one spontaneous movement in this town absolutely devoid of "drives," "quotas," and even the semblance of a campaign. This refers to the Soldier Memorial, a tribute of respect and affection which has already passed beyond the blueprint stage, inasmuch as the contract has already been let, following the approval and acceptance by a committee of a specific design for an enduring memorial. Moreover, no requisitions will be made upon Italian marble or New England granite in the construction of this monument, for the Southern Oregon Granite Co., on or before May 30, is under contract to deliver and place in position this memorial shaft, which will be constructed of native material as quarried from local surrounding hills. The specific contract cost will be $700. As before mentioned, the donations are to be voluntary ones, without solicitation. Local banks will receive contributions, in fact the date set for acceptance of same was April 4, and it is confidently hoped that by this time the required amount has been fully, if not "over-subscribed." Any excess over the amount needed to apply on the monument proper will be diverted to care of the memorial plot, consequently the ideal thing to do in the premises is to make this fund at least an even thousand dollars, and we certainly cannot afford to do less.
The site of the memorial will probably be in Ashland cemetery, though many prefer a secluded nook in the city parks as a more appropriate spot, viewed from the standpoint of its being more accessible to the public gaze. The date of unveiling will be on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, a date in the calendar which will be more than ordinarily observed locally. The tribute will be one to the soldiers of all wars in which the nation has been engaged. If particular stress is laid upon honoring the memory of the young fellows who made the supreme sacrifice during the late way, it is due to the circumstance that the bereavement is well nigh a general one to those of the present day and generation. Time may have healed the scars of former conflicts, but today even those who have not met with a personal loss, feel prompted to pay the tribute of respect and to sympathize with and comfort those who mourn. In other words, the universal patriotic equation will be supplemented by the sympathetic one as individually expressed. Both military and civic organizations will vie one with another in giving the monument project material and moral support, and at a recent session the city council voted fifty dollars to the fund.
Over a year ago, at public exercises in this city, the nearest of kin of the boys of Ashland and vicinity who perished in the world war, were presented with honorary certificates at the insistence of the French government.
— Alissa Corman; acorman@rosebudmedia.com
