FREMONT CENTER — Veterans Park in Fremont Center has a new addition just in time for Memorial Day. On Monday evening, Colleen Flynn, Tony Wayne, Brian Brustman, Mike Knack (retired member) and Catherine Hillriegel of the Fremont Center Parade Committee installed engraved paving stones to honor local veterans — the latest effort in the ongoing transformation of the space.

Committee member Colleen Flynn explained how the project came to be. 

“Dennis Bernitt, one of the members of the Parade Committee, always wanted a Veterans Garden,” she said. “He passed away in December of 2023.” 

Bernitt had been planning this project for over a year before his passing, so fellow members of the committee knew they had to see it through. To honor Bernitt — himself an Army veteran — the committee chose a stone with unique markings and placed it front and center among the others. Each paver bears the name of a veteran, the branch in which they served, and the years of their service.

The site currently features two flagpoles, a garden, a gazebo, and the new pavers, but more changes are coming. The Parade Committee plans to extend the pavers into a semicircle and install stone benches around its edge. 

Hillriegel noted that the bluestone markers were donated to the parade committee by Richard Mirch of Tompkins Bluestone in Hancock and engraved by Galloping Horse, who did the work at a generous discount. “Other engravers were more about the business and the dollar,” said Hillriegel, “whereas John [owner of Galloping Horse] wanted to be part of the community…He does a really nice job.”

Flynn says that anyone in the community can buy a paver, “We reached out to the community and said, anyone with a veteran — alive or deceased — can put one down.” 

Anyone that would like a paver can contact Lauren Roman at romanlauren@yahoo.com.

Wayne has been in charge of raising the flags for Memorial Day since 1995. He shared the park’s backstory, noting that the property was once home to a lively bar owned by local legend, Arnold “Arnie” Armstrong. 

“Everyone knew Arnie,” he said. “Today, it marks the starting point of the second-oldest Memorial Day Parade in New York State — a tradition that continues to bring the community together in remembrance.”