Weatherly, Pennsylvania, honors its war heroes and veterans with several monuments.
The most prominent monument on the hillside near the intersection of East Main and Spring streets is the borough’s 1906 Civil War monument. The monument features a standard-bearer holding, in an uncommon pose, an unsheathed sword.
A dedication on the west face of the monument’s granite base reads, “1861-1865. Our country’s crisis. Erected by the citizens of Weatherly and vincinity, A.D. 1906, in memory of its noble defenders.”
The monument’s east face bears an excerpt from the conclusion of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address reading, “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
We’re not sure what material was used to create the soldier figure, but our best guess is that was cast in zinc and painted to resemble bronze.
On the hillside in front of the monument, a Rodman gun is flanked by two cannonball pyramids.
The hillside also features three monuments honoring Weatherly’s veterans of the two World Wars, Vietnam, Korea and Desert Storm.
The central monument bears a dedication reading, “Dedicated to the honor and sacrifice of our men and women who served their country. Let none forget they gave their all and faltered not when came the call.”
The monument’s World War I section lists four residents who died during their service, and the World War II section lists 15 names.
The Vietnam memorial lists three residents who died in the conflict and one who was reported missing in action.
Memorials to the Korean War and Operation Desert Storm do not list any local casualties.
The large school building in the background was donated to the town in 1903 by Bethlehem Steel president Charles M. Schwab and named after his wife, a Weatherly native. The building originally served all grades, and was expanded in 1936. Separate elementary and middle schools were built over the years, and the borough closed the Schwab school after opening a high school in 1990.
Tags: Pennsylvania