A project to create a book preserving Huron County’s war history and revitalizing local cenotaphs is getting positive feedback from the county council.
Local historian David Yates and photographer Conrad Kuiper attended the July 3 council meeting to request $5,000 in funding. They hope to create a book featuring Huron County’s 14 cenotaphs and the stories behind their creation, according to Yates.
Communities 100 years ago chose different ways to honor their war dead. The names on the cenotaphs were once real people known to those communities. Every community in Huron County has a unique story about their cenotaph.
Huron County’s cenotaphs vary in age, with the oldest in Hurondale from 1919 and the newest in Clinton from 1966.
The not-for-profit project will use Kuiper’s photos and Yates’s stories, with any profits going back to preserve the region’s cenotaphs.
Yate’s stresses that Kuiper and himself are not looking to make any money from the project.
Councilor Paul Klopp supported the project and suggested county staff prepare a report on the funding request to follow the regular process.
Councilor Trevor Bazinet agreed with Klopp and it was recommended that Council receive the presentation by David Yates and Conrad Kuiper, titled “Huron County Cenotaph Book Project,” for information.
Written By: K. Milhomens