Shovels dug into new ground at Gainesville's Kanapaha Memorial Park in anticipation of a new community center and everyone got a chance to throw some dirt. County government officials, architects and veterans all lifted shovels to commemorate the site for the new multipurpose building.
Alachua County Manager Randall Reid said the park is "one of our most used...for youth activities and it's also a veterans memorial." He added the new dynamic between the youth and the veterans using the park was "very healthy."
In a place the Native Americans called "The House of Palmettos," the repetition of history was a big theme during the groundbreaking ceremony. Without the lights, soccer field and bulldozers, the field might have looked the same to the Native American children who played where Gainesville kids currently compete in sports.
Don Sherry is the Chairman for Veteran Services Advisory Board and he says one of the benefits to the new center is additional space for more monuments. He says that because of the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, "we are out of space." Sherry adds that the veterans are planning to pay for a new monument to Medal of Honor recipient, Duane Dewey, who currently lives in Alachua County.
Mixing past and present, Kanapaha Memorial Park will soon have a place for everyone, whether they're playing sports or remembering the lost.