Monument to honor Rain Day Boys
The new World War I Memorial located adjacent to the Greene County Historical Society and Greene County tennis courts on Rolling Meadows Road in Waynesburg will be dedicated at a ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. Nov. 11.
The site will honor all of the 1,000-plus men and women who left Greene County to serve their country during World War I. Featured tributes will honor the 58 soldiers, known as the Rain Day Boys, who gave their all. A flowering dogwood tree will be planted along the access sidewalk to remember each of the fallen.
At each tree will be a solar-powered garden lantern displaying a Memory Medallion that will share the picture and life profile information of each soldier, as well as the identity of contributors to the project.
Glenn Toothman, founder of the Memory Medallion who, along with Candace Buchanan, a genealogist /archivist at Greene Connections, began putting this project together more than a year ago.
On the Rain Day Boys Facebook page, Toothman commented that the final phase of tree installation requires cooler temperatures for optimum transplants.
He said he is optimistic the trees will be planted in time for the dedication.
“There will be a remembrance tree planted at each post honoring each of the fallen,” he said
The dedication ceremony will feature Doug Wilson as master of ceremonies and Waynesburg University President Douglas Lee and Major General Bruce Hackett as speakers.
A wreath will be laid by the local Daughters of the American Revolution, bagpipe taps will be played and short readings from soldiers’ letters home will round out the hour-long program.
The estimated cost of this project is $30,000. This breaks down to be approximately $500 per honored soldier.
Toothman said donations are processed through the Greene County Legacy Association, a non-profit organization established for the completion of this community project.