Lower Gwynedd Township is pleased to announce that it will honor America’s veterans with its 5th annual ceremony, on Saturday, November 10, 2018, from 10:30 a.m. to noon, at Lower Gwynedd’s Veterans Memorial Park. Veterans Memorial Park, located at the intersection of Penllyn Pike and Bethlehem Pike, in Spring House, is home to the seven-foot high metal “Wreath of Honor” sculpture, which the Township dedicated in 2006.
As in years past, the 2018 ceremony will include remarks by veterans of the Army, Marine Corp, Navy, Air Force and/or Coast Guard, including a WWII veteran of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, an elite group of trained skiers and mountain climbers, which defeated the Nazis entrenched in the snowy mountains of Italy; the Wissahickon School District’s Superintendent, who, while in the USAF, was part of the contracting team that brought desktop computer systems to the Dept. of Defense, is spearheading the WSD’s Veteran Memorial Project; a fitness instructor, who served 8 years of Army active duty in Iraq, where she helped other soldiers get back into shape; a USAF active duty Master Sgt., whose deployments included Iraq, Afghanistan, and Border Patrol; and a former Marine, who serves as Montgomery County’s Veterans Program Coordinator. Patriotic musical numbers will, again, be performed by the Wissahickon Middle School Marching Band, and the Bethlehem Baptist Church Men’s Choir. Also participating will be veterans from Ambler’s Daniel W. Dowling American Legion Post 769.
As in prior years, Lower Gwynedd restaurants, including Arpeggio, Bánh Street, Il Giardino, Spring House Tavern and Tony Roni’s will provide complimentary “Taste of Lower Gwynedd” refreshments, immediately following the ceremony.
Members of the Veterans Day ceremony committee include Township veterans and other residents, the Township’s administrative personnel and police force, the Wissahickon Fire Company and the Lower Gwynedd Business Association.
“The ceremony, in its 5th year, represents a joint effort by local residents, community organizations, businesses and institutions, and the Township,” said Lower Gwynedd Board of Supervisors Chair Kathleen Hunsicker. “The Township is only too pleased to work with the dedicated group spearheading this ceremony.”
All Township residents and neighbors from surrounding municipalities, as well as all veterans and their families, are invited and encouraged to attend the ceremony. Traffic at the Penllyn Pike and Bethlehem Pike intersection will be diverted during the ceremony. Free parking will be provided. Outside heaters will be stationed at the ceremony location, to assure that those attending the ceremony will stay warm and comfortable. In case of inclement weather, notice will be given, on Lower Gwynedd’s website (http://www.lowergwynedd.org) that the ceremony will be moved to the Lower Gwynedd Township Building.