Veterans Monument moved

McCaysville landmark headed for Toccoa park

  • Lee Dillard operates the crane moving the Veterans Monument as Albert Queen helps guide it into position.
    Lee Dillard operates the crane moving the Veterans Monument as Albert Queen helps guide it into position.
  • The first step in moving the Veterans Monument was to safely break it loose from the base that has supported it since 1946.
    The first step in moving the Veterans Monument was to safely break it loose from the base that has supported it since 1946.
  • McCaysville Water Department Superintendent Davy Ensley watches as the Veterans Monument breaks free of its base. During the move, the monument was estimated to weigh six tons.
    McCaysville Water Department Superintendent Davy Ensley watches as the Veterans Monument breaks free of its base. During the move, the monument was estimated to weigh six tons.
  • Lee Dillard took extra care moving the monument from its base to a safe resting position on his truck.
    Lee Dillard took extra care moving the monument from its base to a safe resting position on his truck.
  • Albert Queen, Davy Ensley and Lee Dillard, from left, work to free the base of the Veterans Monument from where it has been a McCaysville landmark since 1946.
    Albert Queen, Davy Ensley and Lee Dillard, from left, work to free the base of the Veterans Monument from where it has been a McCaysville landmark since 1946.
  • Albert Queen secures the base of the Veterans Monument onto the flatbed truck that carried it from the intersection of Blue Ridge Drive and West Tennessee Avenue to the expanded Toccoa River Park.
    Albert Queen secures the base of the Veterans Monument onto the flatbed truck that carried it from the intersection of Blue Ridge Drive and West Tennessee Avenue to the expanded Toccoa River Park.

    There was no shortage of nervous onlookers last Wednesday when the historic Veterans Monument was moved from the spot it has occupied in McCaysville since 1946.

    A crew from Dillard Outdoor Designs was tasked with safely moving the monument from the intersection of Blue Ridge Drive and West Tennessee Avenue to its new home in the expanded Toccoa River Park.

    There, the monument will be the centerpiece of the park’s Veterans Memorial Garden, Michael Earley said this weekend.

    Earley, who is project manager for the park expansion, said the monument will sit in the center of a circle. It will be flanked with a semi circle of the United States and Armed Services flags that will all be lighted.

    Earley said the monument is expected to be in place, surrounded by the flags, in time for Memorial Day.

    This new location, “will allow folks to pay respects, take photos, and remember our local patriots,” Earley said.

    The Veterans Memorial Garden will also be home to the city’s Public Safety Memorial.

    The crew from Dillard’s, aided by several City of McCaysville employees, worked for well over an hour to free the monument from its base, load it onto a truck, and then carry out the same task with the base.

    The monument has anchored the same spot since it was erected by the McCaysville Garden Club. It initially contained the names of veterans from World War I and World War II, with the names of those who served in the Korean and Vietnam wars were later added.