JOPLIN — A 25-year tradition in Joplin marked a new milestone Saturday with the dedication of a new Veterans Wall of Honor inside Joplin Memorial Park.
(WATCH: Veterans Wall of Honor becomes newest addition to Joplin Memorial Park)
The ceremony was held during Joplin’s Art in the Park and Car Show, both of which are annual events that bring families, vendors and visitors back to town. The wall was created to honor veterans from Joplin, the Hi-Line, and beyond.
Jada Fraser, a member of the Joplin Memorial Park Board, said the wall was a goal of the previous park board before members retired. She said she wanted to help make sure the project was completed.
“This was one of their goals, and they didn’t get it accomplished,” Fraser said. “And I was like, I’m going to get it accomplished because I think it’s important.”
The wall includes tiles honoring veterans who are living or deceased. Fraser said the wall is not limited to veterans from Joplin, Liberty County or even Montana.
“We just want the veterans to be honored because what they’ve done is so important and so special,” Fraser said.
The wall was built this spring after years of planning. Fraser said locals helped make the project possible by donating materials, time and support. She said 64 tiles were sold before the wall was built, with room for about 90 total.
For Fraser, the project is also personal. Both of her grandfathers and her father are honored on the wall. She said the park already includes other pieces connected to her family, including their notable gazebo.
The dedication also came during a milestone year for the park’s largest annual event. Art in the Park is celebrating its 25th year, while the Joplin Car Show is in its 24th year.
Tina Wood, a member of the car show committee, said the car show began one year after Art in the Park and has grown over time. She said the show had about 80 cars this year, with participants coming from across the Hi-Line and as far as Alberta.
“This is our big event of the year,” Wood said. “This is the event in Joplin.”
The park itself has a much longer history.
Original park board members Priscilla Pimley and Dorothy Burnham said the space started about 55 years ago as an empty area filled with weeds. They said families helped clear the land, plant grass and trees, raise money and build the park over time.
Pimley said seeing the Veterans Wall of Honor completed is meaningful because it was one of the last additions she and Burnham had hoped to see in the park.
“That’s the last thing Dorothy and I wanted was a veterans wall,” Pimley said. “And that’s for living or dead, and they don’t have to be local. Any veteran.”
Fraser said the board hopes to eventually fill every available tile on the wall, preserving the names and legacies of veterans connected to families in and around the community.
Anyone interested in purchasing a tile can contact the Joplin Memorial Park Board for more information.
