Rockwood veterans park among Somerset County's Community Foundation grant awards

Beth Ann Miller, The Daily American
·5 min read

ROCKWOOD – For the past seven years, borough residents have worked to make the Rockwood Veterans Memorial and Community Park a reality in their community, raising nearly $300,000 for the project through events like chicken barbecues, car washes, T-shirt and engraved brick sales and private donations.

Those efforts, along with two grants from the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, have moved the park from an idea on paper to a corner lot which, by fall, will be complete with a pavilion, concrete sidewalks and lighting that will bring the community together for everyday and special events, as well as welcoming visitors traveling through the area on the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail.

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On Tuesday, the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies held its spring 2023 grant awards announcement at the park to celebrate the community’s achievement and award a $5,000 grant to the project. The grant is part of $182,916 the foundation is distributing this spring to 67 projects across Somerset, Cambria and Bedford counties.

Rockwood residents and representatives of the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies gather for a group photo in the new Rockwood Veterans Memorial and Community Park. Seated on the bench in the front row are, left to right: Julie Cramer, Lladel Lichty, the foundation's Somerset County director and Kathy Brant. In the back row are, left to right: Mike Kane, the foundation's executive director; Sam Bartko, vice president of Rockwood Borough council; Jon Wahl, Dale Romesberg, Lee Sarver, Larry Mazer, Daniel Brant, Joe Dupont, Jim Marker, Jill Luster and Michael Lear of Somerset Planning and Engineering.

“We wanted to come here because of this project,” said Mike Kane, the foundation’s executive director. “The Community Foundation works for donors, and we work for donors to support projects like this, that not only provide financial resources to a project but actually help bring communities together. Building a park like this does exactly that.

“Every grant round’s a celebration. It’s a celebration not just about the money, it’s a celebration of community.”

Sam Bartko, left, and Jim Marker talk after the grant awards announcement in the Rockwood Veterans Memorial and Community Park.
Sam Bartko, left, and Jim Marker talk after the grant awards announcement in the Rockwood Veterans Memorial and Community Park.

Park project fosters community fellowship

The Rockwood Veterans Memorial and Community Park has been a collaborative community effort since the beginning, with civic-minded community members forming a committee to oversee fundraising and the development of plans for the park, said Jill Luster, a committee member.

“Without the partnership and friendship between the members of the committee, the Rockwood American Legion and the Rockwood Borough Council, this endeavor would not be possible,” she said. “We value the ideas and expertise contributed by each member, and the memorial park has already enhanced the sense of community and fellowship among those groups.”

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The borough offered the two lots on Main Street to the memorial park committee to construct the park, said Sam Bartko, council vice president.

“It has been a wonderful experience to see Rockwood Borough, the veterans community, the park committee as well as the Rockwood American Legion, working hand in hand to secure grants, conduct fundraising events and give monetary donations for this project,” Bartko said. “None of this would have been possible without all of you. We thank you very, very much.

“A big thank you to the community members that have been involved, contributed and helped make all of this possible, to make our town a better place. Thank you, sincerely, from the bottom of our hearts, from Rockwood Borough. We greatly appreciate everything you do, keep up the good work and we will support you in any way possible.”

A retaining wall, fencing, flagpoles, electric conduit, brick pavers and benches have already been installed at the park, and work on the pavilion, concrete walkways and outdoor lighting is expected to start in June and finish in the fall.

A sign at the Rockwood park includes a drawing of what the park will look like when the project is completed this fall.
A sign at the Rockwood park includes a drawing of what the park will look like when the project is completed this fall.

Over 500 engraved bricks have been installed at the park, another 55 are ready to be added this summer and brick sales are ongoing, said Larry Mazer, another committee member.

Luster thanked the foundation for the $5,000 grant and its support of the memorial park fund, as its recognition of their project has influenced others to contribute to the fund as well.

“We’re so grateful you’ve chosen us to have your press conference here, because it’s these kinds of events that bring the publicity and the excitement around the park that we really need,” she said.

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The park sits close to the borough’s veterans memorial and honor roll and it is intended to complement those structures, said Daniel Brant, a member of the Rockwood American Legion Post No. 279 and a co-chair of the memorial park committee.

“This park will be a place where veterans of both past, present and future will be honored and memorialized,” he said. “Our goal is that many can come to this park to seek peace (and) find solitude in this beautiful area and enjoy the time spent here.”

Somerset County grant awards

A total of $68,366 in grant funding was awarded to 18 Somerset County nonprofit organizations, as follows:

Boswell Borough: $3,500 for a holiday lights upgrade; Communities in Schools of Pennsylvania: $4,000 to host its Communities in Schools of Pennsylvania program in the Somerset Area School District; Confluence Creative Arts Center: $7,500 for its Eco-Art camp; Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County: $3,250 for its Goeb printing education project; Holsopple Historical Building: $1,000 to repair a pavilion at Border Grove; Mary S. Biesecker Public Library: $3,000 to refresh the children’s library and launch its basement community room; the Meyersdale Area School District: $1,496 for equipment upgrades; Meyersdale Public Library: $2,000 to expand its community newsletter; Next Step Center Inc.: $4,500 for its Transitions program; Rockwood Veterans Memorial and Community Park Fund: $5,000 towards construction of the park; the Salisbury-Elk Lick School District: $3,000 for Vrtex360 virtual welding; Somerset County: $5,500 for the Somerset Lake Nature Park Trail development project; Somerset County Library: $2,000 for Organize and Grow Children’s Services; Somerset County Mobile Food Bank: $5,000 for Feeding Our Neighbors; The Salvation Army: $3,120 for Somerset Back-to-School assistance 2023; Windber Borough Municipal Authority: $7,500 for signage at Windber Recreation Park; Windber Public Library Association: $5,000 for its Illuminated Thinking: Shed Some Light on Library Patrons project; and YWCA of Greater Johnstown: $2,000 for flooring in the young toddler room at Kuddle Korner Day Care in Windber.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Rockwood park among Community Foundation's spring grant recipients