New flower bed built at Tom Prince Memorial Park
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GETTING READY FOR SPRING — Colfax public works employees Aaron Hodnett and Cody King hauled black dirt for the new flower bed at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Tom Prince Memorial Park October 20. The flower bed was built by Troy Knutson and Rod Larson with materials donated by Woods Run Forest Products. —photo by LeAnn R. Ralph
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — Maybe you have noticed the new flower bed in Tom Prince Memorial Park around the park sign and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Troy Knutson and Rod Larson donated their time to build the flower bed, and Woods Run Forest Products in Colfax donated the timbers and the spikes used to construct the flower bed.
The Village of Colfax provided the black dirt for the flower bed.
Knutson said he wanted to build the flower bed to highlight the Tom Prince Memorial Park sign and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Knutson also plans to have a plaque installed on the flower bed this spring.
As for planting the bed in the spring, Knutson is hoping to put in perennials since perennials would be less work to maintain.
Some perennials that might be a possibility could include peony bushes, bearded iris and day lilies.
If there are any service groups or clubs in the Colfax area that would like to donate plants for the flower bed or who would like to donate labor for planting the flower bed, you can contact Knutson at 715-962-3027.
Or, if you have suggestions for perennials that would work in the flower bed, Knutson also would appreciate hearing from you.
Tom Prince
When the work started to build a community ball park in Colfax in 1979, Tom Prince was chair of the Colfax Village Board’s Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Committee.
Over the next several years, Prince devoted a certain amount of his time to working on the ball field, obtaining bids and overseeing the work.
Countless other volunteers also worked to develop the ball field.
By September of 1980, black dirt had been hauled in to the ball field, the infield had been limed and a bid had been received for seeding and fertilizer.
Three teams of Little League players got in an hour of practice at Colfax’s new village ball field on June 8, 1981. Four Little League teams planned to play the first double-header June 9.
As of June 4, 1981, the village had spent $25,783 on the new ballpark, with the state returning $12,198 under the Outdoor Recreation Aids program. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources had approved a $30,000 project on a 50-50 basis.
On September 1, 1981, the first softball tournament on the village’s new field attracted 16 teams and plenty of spectators.
Larry Knudson, a member of the Outhouse team, claimed the one-of-a-kind distinction of belting the first over-the-fence home run on Colfax’s new softball diamond in the first tournament.
Tom Prince died December 6, 1991.
A ceremony on September 10, 1994, formally dedicated the Colfax softball field in memory of Tom Prince.
Vietnam
HELPING HANDS — Cub Scouts from Pack 42 of Colfax helped Troy Knutson plant some bulbs in the new flower bed by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Tom Prince Memorial Park sign Saturday, October 23. From left: Carter Baker, Bennett Baker (sibling who came along to help), Ethan Torgerson and Oliver Spielman. Knutson and Rod Larson built the flower bed with materials donated by Woods Run Forest Products. —photo submitted
In 1983, after the softball field was finished, the Colfax Village Board named the park the Colfax Area Recreational Park and dedicated the park to the veterans of the Vietnam war.
Thirty-five years later, a memorial for the Vietnam veterans still had not been placed at the park.
Gary Stene, village president, reported during the “communications from the village president” portion of the May 29, 2018, Colfax Village Board meeting that he had talked with Bill Yingst, Colfax school district administrator, about the Vietnam veterans memorial.
The Colfax Messenger became aware of the village board dedicating the park to the veterans of the Vietnam war while doing the “Out of the Past” column.
In the March 3, 1983, Colfax Messenger, under the headline of “Trustees dedicate Colfax park to Vietnam veterans” it was reported “Colfax’s softball field on STH 170 was officially named Colfax Area Recreational Park and was dedicated to the veterans of the Vietnam War at the February 28 meeting of the Colfax Village Board.”
The article noted “Mike Hansen, village president, suggested that the park be dedicated to the Vietnam veterans because he said they were the most forgotten and unthanked American soldiers.”
Knowing that Yingst, a retired Command Sergeant Major in the United States Army, makes a special point during the annual Veterans Day program at Colfax High School to recognize the veterans of the Vietnam war, the Colfax Messenger contacted Yingst about the village board dedicating the park to the Vietnam veterans in 1983.
Since a memorial to the Vietnam veterans has never been placed at the park, Yingst started working toward the goal of designing a memorial for the park.
The idea was to have the memorial made with new equipment purchased for the school’s Science Technology Engineering and Math program.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Tom Prince Memorial Park was dedicated on August 30, 2018.
The theme for the day was “Welcome Home” and “Thank you for your service.”
Another theme for the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was, “It is never too late to right a wrong.”
Dignitaries who spoke at the dedication ceremony included state Representative Rob Summerfield (67th Assembly District); state Senator Terry Moulton (23rd Senate District); and Jake Leinenkugel, former Senior White House Advisor to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and currently leading the VA’s commission on Creating Options for Veterans’ Expedited Recovery (COVER) to examine an evidence-based therapy model for treating mental health conditions.
William C. Yingst Jr., district administrator for the Colfax school district, a veteran of Afghanistan, and a retired Command Sergeant Major with the United States Army and coordinator of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedication, also was a speaker.
More than 60 Vietnam war and Vietnam era veterans and their family members, as well several hundred students from the Colfax school district along with perhaps three hundred members of the public attended the dedication.
American Legion Post 131 Russell-Toycen of Colfax performed military honors, and the Vietnam era veterans in Russell-Toycen Post 131 uncovered the sign and the granite memorial: Tom Dunbar, Dick Larson, Jon Scott, and Happy (Julien) Silva.
The stone installed below the Vietnam Veterans Memorial sign is inscribed with the years 1961 to 1975, the image of a UH-1 Iroquois helicopter (the “Hueys” used in Vietnam), the five insignia of the five branches of the military, and the inscription, “Dedicated to our Vietnam Veterans. In honored memory of all who served and gave the full measure of devotion to their nation in the Vietnam War.”
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was made possible by donations from the Colfax area community of time, money and materials.