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The statue of a Union soldier that is part of a memorial to Rock Island County's Civil War casualties. The statue and its name-inscribed pillar are damaged by weather and time, and a group is working to restore the monument. That group, as of Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016, has raised about $20,000. That is roughly 20 percent of what they need to carry out the renovation.
February 24, 2016 5:42 PM
From Quad Cities Online
By Anthony Watt
awatt@qconline.com
The group working to restore Rock Island County's monument to its Civil War dead has almost tripled its funds for the project.
The monument, at the Rock Island County Courthouse, is a stone pedestal and life-sized statue of a Union soldier. On the pedestal's faces are the names of hundreds of soldiers who fought and died everywhere Illinois regiments campaigned during the war.
It was dedicated in April 1869, and time and weather have since damaged the memorial. There are cracks in it, many of the statue's details have been worn away and many of the names are also eroding. The statue was put in storage in 2014 because of the extent of the damage.
A group working to restore the monument started with only about $7,000 of the $100,000 it estimates it will need to complete the project but has made significant headway fundraising recently, reaching almost $20,000.
"In the past six months, we raised $13,000," Doug Lambert, a group member, said.
The new revenue has come from a variety of efforts — a gun raffle, fundraisers held by Augustana College students, donations from members of the public, and other contributions from civic and veteran groups, he said.
Mr. Lambert said Augustana students from the college's fraternities and sororities have been assisting the group, but the women of Delta Chi Theta Sorority have been particularly helpful. They raised $1,140 through a car wash and a basketball tournament and have done marketing work and helped sell raffle tickets.
"Delta Chi Theta has really stepped up for us," he said.
Another revenue generator for the project has been the group's "Adopt-A-Soldier" program, Mr. Lambert said. The program allows a participant to pick a soldier's name from the monument, pay a donation and get a certificate that provides information about the soldier and his history.
The group — comprised of members of the Rock Island County Sheriff's Office, the Quad City Civil War Roundtable and the Rock Island County Historical Society — now has enough money to begin some of the renovation work, Rock Island County Sheriff's Capt. Ron Erickson said.
"I recently spoke to a sculptor who said we can easily begin the work with what we have raised to date," Capt. Erickson said. "We can do the work in phases as we raise money."
He said the group still has to discuss its next steps.
"Ideally we would like to have enough money raised to cover the cost of the replication of the soldier in bronze," Capt. Erickson said.
Mr. Lambert said the group wants to encourage more donations from businesses.
"So far only three local businesses have donated money to this project," Mr. Lambert said.
The captain said the group does not have a specific fundraising goal for 2016 but would like to have the project done by April 2019.
"This (target date) is the 150th Anniversary date of the original dedication of the monument," Capt. Erickson said.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE AT THE QUAD CITIES ON-LINE WEB SITE
The statue of a Union soldier that is part of a memorial to Rock Island County's Civil War casualties. The statue and its name-inscribed pillar are damaged by weather and time, and a group is working to restore the monument. That group, as of Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016, has raised about $20,000. That is roughly 20 percent of what they need to carry out the renovation.
February 24, 2016 5:42 PM
From Quad Cities Online
By Anthony Watt
awatt@qconline.com
The group working to restore Rock Island County's monument to its Civil War dead has almost tripled its funds for the project.
The monument, at the Rock Island County Courthouse, is a stone pedestal and life-sized statue of a Union soldier. On the pedestal's faces are the names of hundreds of soldiers who fought and died everywhere Illinois regiments campaigned during the war.
It was dedicated in April 1869, and time and weather have since damaged the memorial. There are cracks in it, many of the statue's details have been worn away and many of the names are also eroding. The statue was put in storage in 2014 because of the extent of the damage.
A group working to restore the monument started with only about $7,000 of the $100,000 it estimates it will need to complete the project but has made significant headway fundraising recently, reaching almost $20,000.
"In the past six months, we raised $13,000," Doug Lambert, a group member, said.
The new revenue has come from a variety of efforts — a gun raffle, fundraisers held by Augustana College students, donations from members of the public, and other contributions from civic and veteran groups, he said.
Mr. Lambert said Augustana students from the college's fraternities and sororities have been assisting the group, but the women of Delta Chi Theta Sorority have been particularly helpful. They raised $1,140 through a car wash and a basketball tournament and have done marketing work and helped sell raffle tickets.
"Delta Chi Theta has really stepped up for us," he said.
Another revenue generator for the project has been the group's "Adopt-A-Soldier" program, Mr. Lambert said. The program allows a participant to pick a soldier's name from the monument, pay a donation and get a certificate that provides information about the soldier and his history.
The group — comprised of members of the Rock Island County Sheriff's Office, the Quad City Civil War Roundtable and the Rock Island County Historical Society — now has enough money to begin some of the renovation work, Rock Island County Sheriff's Capt. Ron Erickson said.
"I recently spoke to a sculptor who said we can easily begin the work with what we have raised to date," Capt. Erickson said. "We can do the work in phases as we raise money."
He said the group still has to discuss its next steps.
"Ideally we would like to have enough money raised to cover the cost of the replication of the soldier in bronze," Capt. Erickson said.
Mr. Lambert said the group wants to encourage more donations from businesses.
"So far only three local businesses have donated money to this project," Mr. Lambert said.
The captain said the group does not have a specific fundraising goal for 2016 but would like to have the project done by April 2019.
"This (target date) is the 150th Anniversary date of the original dedication of the monument," Capt. Erickson said.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE AT THE QUAD CITIES ON-LINE WEB SITE
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