Towamencin hears to-do list for Veterans Memorial Park upgrades

Summer storms have left a recent mark on one of Towamencin’s newest parks, and township residents are asking for help to fix it.

Township supervisors heard an update Wednesday on a long to-do list for Veterans Memorial Park on Allentown Road.

“Here were some of the items: ‘Remove big, downed branches from the cemetery site.’ With each wind and storm, you get more branches down. Those are old trees that are down there,” said former supervisor Dan Littley.

In late 2022 the township supervisors adopted a new master plan for developing a Veterans Memorial Park plan for land located off of Allentown Road just west of Forty Foot Road adjacent to and including the Tennis-Lukens cemetery where several Revolutionary War veterans are buried.

Grant funding was awarded in April 2021 for that master plan, several drafts were discussed that summer, and the final plan included a central oval-shaped lawn surrounded by walking paths, featuring six small plazas, one for each branch of the military, with informational displays, memorials, parking and a restroom possible, and an overall estimated cost of roughly $2.2 million with a tentative five-phase plan to do so.

    Towamencin’s board of supervisors, inset, see a concept plan showing an oval lawn surrounded by six small plazas honoring branches of the military at a planned Towamencin Veterans Park, as presented to township supervisors on Nov. 9 2022.
 Towamencin Township   

That planning process was overseen by the township’s Veterans Committee, and Littley gave the supervisors an update on behalf of that committee on Wednesday night, detailing a list of recent issues and concerns those members have noted and are asking township help to fix.

“We need to rake the entire cemetery, removing all small branches, acorns, and areas of moss. That’s an endless task. But, it needs to be done, if we’re going to turn this into something people can go visit,” he said.

Most urgent on the to-do list developed by that committee is hiring what Littley turned “a professional tree surgeon” to cut out rotten branches from trees hanging over areas of the park.

“We’ve had a lot of high winds, storms, things of that nature. What we have failed to recognize: not only are the branches coming down, but if anybody’s out there in high winds, that’s a hazard. Those aren’t small,” he said.

    Dead branches hang from trees standing above graves in the Tennis Lukens Cemetery on Allentown Road, as shown in a slideshow from the township Veterans Committee during the July 10, 2024 Towamencin supervisors meeting.
 Screenshot/Vimeo 

As he spoke, the former supervisor showed a series of photos of ominous-looking branches in the trees above the park, urging quick action by an expert.

“You need to get a professional arborist to look at these trees that are in that cemetery area, these large ones, determine the health of those trees,” he said.

“If they’re worth saving, fine, take actions necessary to save the tree. But if they’re not, now you need a professional tree surgeon to bring those down, because this isn’t something (township staff) can do,” Littley said.

Other recommendations from the committee include filling in topsoil where needed, removing moss, and moving the chained gate at the top of the driveway farther back, while creating enough space for a vehicle to drive up and turn around, and removing a piece of concrete near the driveway.

    Former Towamencin supervisor Dan Littley, inset, speaks to the current supervisors about needs and requests from the township Veterans Committee for the Tennis Lukens Cemetery on Allentown Road during the July 10, 2024 supervisors meeting.
 Screenshot/Vimeo   

Another request: clearing a perimeter around the cemetery fence for those walking there from the nearby shopping center.

“There needs to be an area three to five feet outside that gets cleaned up, so visitors don’t have to go through all the acorns, tripping on things. For the handicapped, acorns are a problem,” Littley said.

“Provide some sort of a bench inside the cemetery. Doesn’t have to be fancy, has to be a bench though, that people can sit down, and reflect on who’s there,” he said.

    An American flag flies next to a grave marker inside the Tennis-Lukens Cemetery at Towamencin’s Veterans Memorial Park on Allentown Road in 2019.
 By Media News Group  

Perhaps most visible, hiring a professional restoration company to restore the headstones in the cemetery, which may be worn or falling from the centuries they’ve stood there.

“The headstones, you can see they’re leaning, back or forward. You really need a professional restoration company to come in and one, clean the tombstone up itself, and reposition it properly,” Littley said.

And one last request: create signs or displays showing the names of those interred in the cemetery, and displaying information about the Continental Army encampment that was stationed there, both of which could be timed to tie in with regional and national celebrations of the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026.

“A lot of people, a lot of residents, have no idea where it is,” he said.

As of Wednesday night, Littley told the board, he had been to the park the day before, and some of the items had already been started by township public works staff. Littley added thanks for current supervisor Joyce Snyder, board liaison to the veterans committee, for being “adamant” that the committee discuss those needs with the board.

Supervisors Chairman Chuck Wilson asked if staff could have cost estimates in time for budget season this fall, and township Manager David Kraynik said he forwarded the lists of requests to staff as soon as he received it, and would work on securing formal quotes for the work that can’t be done in-house.

“When I got that list, shared it immediately with Public Works, and it sounds like they’re already on it,” Kraynik said. “An arborist, restoration of any headstones, things like that, are going to require professional quotes. We will work on them, and share them with the board at budget time.”

Towamencin’s supervisors next meet at 7 p.m. on July 24 at the township administration building, 1090 Troxel Road. For more information visit www.Towamencin.org.

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