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Soldiers' Memorial unveiled as final piece of LU plaza
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By Christina Knott
cknott@newstribune.com
A sprinkling of rain fell on the Soldiers' Memorial unveiling at Lincoln University on Wednesday afternoon, baptizing the ceremony just as it had nearly a year ago during the groundbreaking.
With rifle blasts, the tarps were pulled. Applause.
Bronze testaments to the founders of the historically black university were revealed - soldiers of the 62nd and 65th Colored Infantries laying down their weapons, picking up books and lifting up each other to a pillar of education.
“They inspire us to be our best ... and give back,” university president Carolyn Mahoney said about the figures. “I think this is one of the proudest moments in Lincoln University history.”
Clouds soon dropped rain in torrents, driving the crowd away. But the statues stood their ground as a permanent etching on the historic campus.
Earlier, hundreds were seated indoors and nearly as many stood along sides of the Scruggs Center. City officials, community members and others joined students, alumni, faculty and staff to dedicated the memorial for its formal unveiling.
The memorial to the university's founders is the first such monument for the 141-year-old campus. Mahoney said the soldiers embody sacred ideals.
With little to start with, the soldiers scraped together what they could find to build a school to educate black Americans after the end of the Civil War.
“All they had was a great vision,” Mayor John Landwehr told the crowd. “
State Sens. and Lincoln University alumnae Yvonne Wilson, Maida Coleman and Rita Days presented Mahoney with a Senate resolution congratulating the school on its progress.
An honored Mahoney said the distinction took her breath away. “I'm gasping for breath right now. This is so important to us,” Mahoney said.
The Soldiers' Memorial Plaza project was initiated by Mahoney's predecessor, former university president David Henson, before he retired in 2005. Henson died that same year.
A project several years in the making, when the time came, the project seemed to together with ease with help from a multitude of supporters.
“Everything fit perfectly,” sculpture Ed Dwight told the crowd. “That's how smoothly this thing was.”
With rifle blasts, the tarps were pulled. Applause.
Bronze testaments to the founders of the historically black university were revealed - soldiers of the 62nd and 65th Colored Infantries laying down their weapons, picking up books and lifting up each other to a pillar of education.
“They inspire us to be our best ... and give back,” university president Carolyn Mahoney said about the figures. “I think this is one of the proudest moments in Lincoln University history.”
Clouds soon dropped rain in torrents, driving the crowd away. But the statues stood their ground as a permanent etching on the historic campus.
Earlier, hundreds were seated indoors and nearly as many stood along sides of the Scruggs Center. City officials, community members and others joined students, alumni, faculty and staff to dedicated the memorial for its formal unveiling.
The memorial to the university's founders is the first such monument for the 141-year-old campus. Mahoney said the soldiers embody sacred ideals.
With little to start with, the soldiers scraped together what they could find to build a school to educate black Americans after the end of the Civil War.
“All they had was a great vision,” Mayor John Landwehr told the crowd. “
State Sens. and Lincoln University alumnae Yvonne Wilson, Maida Coleman and Rita Days presented Mahoney with a Senate resolution congratulating the school on its progress.
An honored Mahoney said the distinction took her breath away. “I'm gasping for breath right now. This is so important to us,” Mahoney said.
The Soldiers' Memorial Plaza project was initiated by Mahoney's predecessor, former university president David Henson, before he retired in 2005. Henson died that same year.
A project several years in the making, when the time came, the project seemed to together with ease with help from a multitude of supporters.
“Everything fit perfectly,” sculpture Ed Dwight told the crowd. “That's how smoothly this thing was.”
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