American Legion Memorial at the Logan
County Safety Complex gets a facelift
Send a link to a friend
[June 02, 2024]
If you’ve driven down Broadway Street recently,
especially driving away from the Logan County Courthouse square, you
may have noticed that the American Legion Memorial at the Logan
County Safety Complex has been changed.
|
![](../images/060324PIX/IMG_6645_small.JPG)
The new memorial is very bright and stands out much
more than the previous memorial did. On a sunny and slightly windy
day, the stones really shine, and the flags really come to life.
![](../images/060324PIX/IMG_6639_small.JPG)
Lincoln Daily News got the chance to sit down with
Gene Hickey to learn about some of the details of this project.
Hickey shared that this work was completed by the 40 and 8 with
funding from the American Legion. He also shared that the Lincoln
Ace Hardware donated all the landscape blocks that were used to make
the border around the memorial.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jun/03/images/ads/current/debbiesfloral_lda_052824.png)
When asked about the work that was done, Hickey
shared that the members of the 40 and 8 started by pulling up bush
stumps. The bushes that used to be there were poisoned by lime that
leaked into the ground from the limestones of the old memorial. They
then used acid and a pressure washer to clean the old stones.
Hickey then came up with the idea of including
statues, which include a female soldier, an eagle, a marine, and a
rifle, boots, and helmet. He then contacted Steve Goodman, someone
who helped to tear down the old jail back in the day. Goodman had a
few stones left over from the old jail and donated half of one to
the project.
[to top of second column]
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jun/03/images/ads/current/ldn_smallsda_BUSINESSMAG_2023.png) |
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jun/03/images/ads/current/aeps_lda_013124.png)
![](../images/060324PIX/DSCN2451_small.JPG)
![](../images/060324PIX/DSCN2450_small.JPG)
![](../images/060324PIX/DSCN2452_small.JPG)
Hickey was then asked about why the 40 and 8 had
decided to do the work that they did. He said that the work needed
to be done. It did not look very good before, and they wanted to fix
that. Also, the 40 and 8 hope that when this new work starts to show
its age, someone else might take care of it at that time.
Hickey then provided some more information on the 40 and 8, starting
with the fact that they are an honors society within the American
Legion. They were initially formed during World War I in response to
the high demand for nurses. The 40 and 8 started sending nurses
overseas where they were most needed. Today, one of the main goals
of this organization is to provide scholarships to nursing students.
If you have not yet had the chance to see the new American Legion
Memorial, you should take a drive by the Safety Complex on Broadway
and take a moment to appreciate all the hard work that was put into
it.
[Matt Boutcher] |