Taking A Closer Look At Monuments On Memorial Boulevard

By Tom Dickau, The Bristol Press

June 29, 2021

This coming October, the City of Bristol, its Parks, Recreation, Youth & Community Services Department, and the Bristol Historical Society, along with the Bristol Veterans Council, Memorial Military Museum, and the extended community plan to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Memorial Boulevard which opened in 1921.

The following is part II of the sixth article in a monthly series written by Tom Dickau commemorating the centennial anniversary of the park by depicting the history behind the land, people, and events that helped shape it into the park Bristol treasures today.

THE COMMEMORATIVE SIDE OF VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK

The Commemorative Side of the Veterans Memorial Park is situated on the north side of the Memorial Boulevard next to the Pequabuck River. This area is dedicated to all men and women, who have entered our country’s military service since colonial times.

Moving from west to east from Mellon Street, the first memorial serves as an introduction to this part of the Veterans Memorial Park. The monument marker is inscribed:

“IN HONOR AND TRIBUTE

OF ALL VETERANS

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

LET US VISIT HERE

FOR GRATITUDE AND REMEMBRANCE.”

A green-painted wooden gate, adorned with an eagle mounted on its top, surrounds the memorial. The five insignias of our country’s service branches are displayed from left to right: Army, Navy, Marine Corp, Air Force and the United States Coast Guard. A walkway with two benches leads to this tribute.

SPANISH – AMERICAN WAR SOLDIER

Next to this remembrance marker, is the Spanish - American War Memorial. Placed here in 1983, it was formally dedicated on November 12, 1984. It reads:

“THE HIKER

SPANISH AMERICAN WAR SOLDIER

GIVEN BY

THE VANESSE FAMILY

IN MEMORY OF

DECEASED WORLD WAR II VETERANS

NOVEMBER 12, 1984”

This memorial is a replica of “The Hiker” located at the intersection of Park Street and Dutton Avenue, near both Rockwell Park and Muzzy Field.

Perhaps lost in history, the original monument stands on a separately named park. In 1929, the city council placed at the disposal of the fifty-member G. A. Hadsell Camp No. 21, a small tract of land at this location to be known as “The United Spanish War Park”. This association was comprised of Spanish-American War veterans from Bristol and the surrounding area.

On September 14, 1929, “The Hiker” donated by Nettie Rockwell from her Brightwood Estate on West Street, was dedicated to commemorate the service of area soldiers in the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection and the China Relief Expedition.

The title “The Hiker” was derived from the name soldiers gave themselves marching on long journeys through steaming jungles during the Spanish American War. This was similar to WWI soldiers being known as “doughboys”, and those that served during WWII being called “G.I. Joes”.

There were two styles of “The Hiker” manufactured starting in 1906. The first, located at the University of Minnesota, was dedicated to the school’s two hundred eighteen students, who served during the Spanish American War in 1898. The Gorham Manufacturing Company of Providence, Rhode Island purchased production rights in 1921. With the earliest statutes being erected on the East Coast, there are now over fifty “Hiker” memorials spread throughout the United States.

The next article, to be published in July, will complete the description of the Commemorative Side of the Veterans Memorial Park, including its focal point, The Bristol Veterans Tribute Walkway.