Honoring veterans with Dillon’s newest memorial
by Elaine Spicer

Dillon Tribune
Wednesday , February 12, 2003

The main thing veterans want is to not be forgotten.. That’s the way Ronnie Lake thinks, anyway, and he has a plan for how residents of southwest Montana can honor their loved ones who have served their country.
Surely everyone who has passed by Kiwanis Park, located off of Montana Street, has noticed Lake’s current labor of love, Veterans Memorial Park. It’s hard to miss, being made of concrete and stone.
Lake began working on the project last October, and plans to have the first of three phases ready for dedication ceremony planned for Memorial Day. In order to complete the memorial, though, people have to purchase bricks, to be laser-engraved, in honor of veterans. And the memorial will have plenty of space for those honorable vets. A total of 1000 bricks will fit into the current design. “ the laser-engraved bricks is real pretty,” enthuses Lake.
Lake came up with the idea of the memorial when he was thinking about a brick in honor of his uncle on the veteran’s memorial in Ennis. That got him wondering why Dillon didn’t have a similar memorial to honor veterans in this area.
He started talking to people about how to get the ball rolling, including people who were instrumental in getting other veterans memorial built. He got lots of ideas, and once Lake gets an idea, there’s just no stopping him.
“I’m one of those people who can see things before they exist.” he notes. And surely he was the right person to spur the project onward, with 27 years of masonry under his belt. The
memorial will feature moss rock, petrified wood, and river rock, and will be high-lighted with eight flags.
The structure will hold 1,000 square feet of stonework and a handicapped accessible sidewalk, which will be stamped concrete. Six 18-inch bronze emblems featuring the logos of the various branches of the military will be included on a 35-foot tall central pillar. Eventually, a fountain and a cannon will be added. It’s never ending.” Lake says, “it’ll always keep filling with brick.
Veterans are taken for granted, “says Lake, who adds that he has been proud to participate in the project. Others are proud of it too, as Lake says quite a few people and businesses in Dillon have offered their support. “So many people want to be in it.” Lake says. We’ve gotten so much support from the community”.
Lake says the memorial is for any veteran, living or dead, and they don’t have to live or have lived in Montana. In fact, the Ennis memorial includes vets from 26 different states. Thus far, The Southwest Montana Veterans Memorial in Dillon will pay homage to veterans from ten different states.
Each brick costs $100. A larger brick, eight-by-eight inches, can be purchased for $500. All donations are tax deductible. “The only thing slowing us down is brick sales, “he notes. “We cant make it without the bricks.” So far 75 bricks have been sold.
“A lot of other towns want one, too,” Lake comments. “What a great addition to Dillon.” We will have the prettiest one in the state.”

Lake has had a lot of help from his friends, keeping the cost of the project much more affordable, including Kim Baker, LS Ready Mix, Don Moore, Kanta Block and R. E. Miller and Sons. “Their help is very much appreciated,” he comments. As is the assistance of the State Bank and Trust, Pioneer Federal Savings and Loan, United Way of Beaverhead County, Blacktail Station and Mac’s Last Cast.
It’s all quality work,” Lake says, noting again the help he has received from his bricklayer friends and various businesses. Much of the materials were donated, including steel, rock, concrete, and block.
A number of locations were considered for the memorial, but the Kiwanis Club was able to make an arrangement with Union Pacific Railroad to place the structure an Kiwanis Park.
Of himself, Lake says he always wanted to be a bricklayer . He remembers, as a kid, wanting to emulate his uncle, and he also remembers seeing the rock wall at Gracie’s New and Used.
To purchase a brick, make a donation, or for information, contact Harvey Lake at 683-4514 or Larry Chambers at 683-5073. 
The memorial is featured on a website at www.beaverhead.com/veterans.

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