WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — Four new trees dedicated to those who have served now stand in front of Wyoming’s veteran memorial honor roll monument.
Sprucing up the monument in the area of Lee and Porter streets was a joint effort by the Wyoming Historical Commission, The Greater Wyoming Community Resource Alliance, Friends of Grand Rapids Parks and The Tree Amigos.
Estelle Slootmaker, chair of The Tree Amigos, has three family members listed on the wall:
“My great-great-grandfather was in the Civil War, Elias Langdon. And then my grandfather, Howard Slootmaker, was in World War I. He was a ‘Polar Bear’ in Russia. His house is right over here that my great-grandfather built. And then my dad was in World War II. He served on the USS Essex in the Navy in the South Pacific,” she listed.
She said her father didn’t get along well in school, but had the drive to protect his country.
“He didn’t quite fit in, and the last time the teacher tried to rap his knuckles with a steel ruler, he knocked him out cold and jumped out the window and joined the Navy,” she recounted the family tale. “He was 16 years old. His dad, my grandfather, decided to let him to stay in and he ended up getting a Purple Heart for a kamikaze attack in the South Pacific.”
The monument, which was originally dedicated May 30, 1945, is a Wyoming staple. Slootmaker said her father used to point it out to her as a child, showing her their last name. It was important to her, and many others, to keep it tidy and cared for.
“It means a lot to me, this neighborhood means a lot to me. Especially when the people that you love so much pass and then it means even more,” Slootmaker said. “He just was a wonderful, wonderful father, so I’m kind of doing this for him.”
The trees will add a breath of fresh air and beautify a land veterans fought hard to protect.
“These are eastern redbuds. They will grow to max canopy of about 20-ish feet. They will get a bit wider. But the beautiful trees, they bloom in the spring and they really have purple-ish pink flowers that will really attract some attention to this area,” Robert Cloy, an urban waters ambassador at the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council, said.
At a Monday service, West Michigan veterans of World War II and the Korean War were thanked for their service by Wyoming Mayor Kent Vanderwood and others who hope the community will notice the new trees and offer veterans their gratitude.
“I hope (my father) can see this today and know how much I love him and how proud I am of him,” Slootmaker said.
A joint grant proposal has secured funding for the city of Wyoming and The Tree Amigos to conduct an urban tree canopy assessment. One hundred trees will also be planted over the next two years.
