FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — The Fond du Lac Veteran Service Office hopes a remodel of the downtown veteran’s park will show pride and appreciation for Fox Valley veterans.
- The Fond du Lac Veteran Service Office is hoping to raise $200,000 in public donations for the renovations.
- The goal is to finish the park by Veterans Day 2025.
- The park will be a place for community and memorial events.
David Tellefsen moved to Fond du Lac in 2021 after serving 22 years in the Marines. He says the Fond du Lac community welcomed him with open arms.
“Anytime a veteran is in need, this community comes together,” he says.
So, for Tellefsen, the state of the Fond du Lac County Veteran’s Park was surprising.
“I didn’t know it was a veteran's park… the only thing that made it a veteran’s park to me was maybe the flags and maybe the Civil War statue,” he says. “It doesn’t say, ‘Fond du Lac supports its veterans.' It’s actually quite the opposite right now.”
The park was built in the 80s, but it hasn’t been renovated since then, according to Tellefsen.
The benches in the park are deteriorating, and the path through the park is made of uneven cobblestone not conducive for those with disabilities.
Tellefsen says the park should symbolize how the community treats its veterans.
“If we do nothing, it just falls apart and crumbles, and same thing for a veteran, that's why it's so symbolic, right?” he says. “If I have needs and problems that need to be fixed and help because of what I did in my service, and nobody helps me, I’m just going to fall apart and crumble, you know? And that's what's happening.”
Jason Turner is also a local veteran. He spent 12 years in the Wisconsin National Guard and was deployed three times. Now, Turner is the executive director of Salute the Troops, an organization that supports veteran-owned businesses.
Turner says he also didn’t know Fond du Lac had a veteran’s park when he first moved to the county.
“It’s a nice enough park, I guess, in the middle of downtown, but it doesn’t have a whole lot of visual significance,” he says. “It just doesn’t scream, ‘Hey, we’re a veteran’s park, and this park is meant for veterans.'”
The new design would remake the paths and add lighting for better ADA accessibility, build a memorial wall with custom engraved bricks, create an event stage and improve the landscaping.
Tellefsen says he hopes the park will become both a place of remembrance and a place for new memories and events.
“That’s what I think this park needs to be, is part memorial but also uplifting at the same time,” he says. “I can tell you everyone that I know that died would not want me walking around crying about their death, they would want me celebrating their life, to live my life to the fullest.”
Fond du Lac County agreed to donate $400,000 to the park, according to Tellefsen, but the total renovations will cost closer to $600,000.
“We get a lot of questions, like, ‘How can I support the veterans?’ and, well, this is a great way,” he says.
Donations can be made through the Fond du Lac Area Foundation.
Tellefsen says he hopes to raise the money by Memorial Day, so they can complete the park before Veterans Day 2025.
“This project I think will bring back to life people’s pride in veterans and they’ll see, oh yeah, this means something,” he says. “I know it’s just a park, right? But it’s more than that. It’s a symbol.”
