Historical society receives $10K gift to help relocate military monument
The Export Historical Society has a good jump on relocating Export’s veteran monument, thanks to a $10,000 gift from former borough resident Gary Wuslich.
“He noticed that the memorial was a little bit hard to see or recognize unless you knew where it was,” said borough councilwoman and historical society board member Melanie Litz.
Wuslich, who now lives near South Bend, Ind., returned to the borough in December 2018 for the funeral of his uncle, World War II veteran Brando Sachet.
Sachet’s name is among those on the honor roll memorial, which currently sits outside the former American Legion hall on Kennedy Avenue, after it was moved several decades ago from its original location outside the former Export school building.
“Between my father, my aunts and uncles, I think we have four or five names on that monument,” said Wuslich in October. “With the 75th anniversary of World War II’s end coming, I felt that the monument should be in a more prominent place.”
That place will be near the Westmoreland Heritage Trail, which runs through downtown Export where it runs parallel to Kennedy Avenue. The monument will be placed near another upcoming project: a replica of the borough’s former train station.
It is an ambitious goal, particularly considering Litz and historical society members hope to have both the relocation and the train station complete in time for the borough’s annual summer festival in mid-August. Borough officials would like the festival to be themed around the 75th anniversary of World War II’s end.
To further that mission, the historical society is selling memorial banners in honor of local veterans. The $150 banners are roughly 2-by-4 feet, and will be hung on utility poles throughout the borough.
Litz estimated relocating the monument will cost between $30,000 and $40,000, and thanked Wuslich for getting the ball rolling.
“This wasn’t even on the radar until he came to town, so credit is due to him,” she said.
Banners can be ordered at the society’s newly launched website, ExportHistoricalSociety.org.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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