MONTOURSVILLE, Pa. — The TWA Flight 800 Memorial honors the 21 students and chaperones from Montoursville Area High School's French club that were killed in a plane crash in 1996. Memorial Gardens, located behind the Montoursville Area High School, was in dire need of a makeover.
"The root system has wreaked havoc with the existing brick walkway to the degree where it just wasn't safe anymore," said Dale Ulmer, a member of the Memorial Gardens Care Committee.
The restoration of the Memorial Gardens began this week. The committee that oversees the memorial has raised $116,000 since their campaign began this summer. The hazardous brick walkway will be moved away from the tree roots that were causing issues. The walkway will also be built using concrete pavers.
"They moved it 18 or 20 feet, something like that, to avoid the root system. Our circle is now a little tighter, but it still has that same symbolism."
Ulmer says the entire project will be finished by the spring, but he is hopeful the walkway will be completed by the end of the month.
"They have really moved along. With the weather nice, they can get things pushed ahead, and hopefully, that will continue."
The care committee is still asking for donations to help preserve the memorial over time.
"Some of the changes that we are going to make will lower the annual maintenance cost, but yeah, we will be fundraising for a little longer," Ulmer said.
Bricks from the old walkway with the names of the victims will be repurposed for the new memorial renovations.
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