Youngsters clean up Veteran’s Monument in Jewett after storm

JEWETT―There were no cell phones in sight and no texting going on when a devoted group of young kids showed up with shovels and rakes in hand at the saturated Veteran’s Monument in Jewett.

Five grandchildren of resident Bill Jones arrived last Tuesday morning to straighten up what Mother Nature had left a mess a week earlier.

Brown waters from heavy rains gushed off the nearby hillsides on July 29, gouging out the grounds of the memorial, which is also the site of a 9/11 Remembrance, along Route 23C, opposite the municipal building.

Jones has become particularly attached to the veterans’ monument since it was erected in the spring of 2025 after a highly successful fundraising campaign led by town Councilman John Giordano.

Jones served in the Vietnam War from 1969-72 with the 7th Marine Division, which only partially explains his ardent attentions. His name is among those engraved on the respectful granite along with compatriots from all American wars.

“I have to admit, it’s a little strange seeing my name on a memorial when I’m still alive,” said Jones, smiling, then quickly returning to the job.

He regularly stops by to do caretaking, including placing flags and watering the flowers―a task that wasn’t needed in late July as floods hit the region.

There was way too much wet stuff―a destructive over-abundance the grandkids remedied with an assist from Blue Mountain Excavation that provided mulch and other materials.

The crew consisted of Jones' daughter, Jen Dunne, and his grandees: Jonathan and William Dunne, Asher and Hedia Miles, and a fifth if you count Nathan Miles who helped with the Blue Mountain delivery.