Monument of States

A couple of weeks ago
 I decided to visit Lakefront Park in Kissimmee, Florida. Almost 20 years ago we held a Family Reunion there and I just wanted to see the changes to the park.  At the entrance to the park is the Monument of States. 
A towering monument assembled after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor using rocks from every state. The Monument of States was dedicated in 1943 and is 40 feet high, it was built from stones furnished by tourists.   As I snapped a couple of photos I came across a couple intensely checking the monument out.   As I walked around, a gentleman wanted to share the reason for his visit.  "I have to check on my father's stone, do you want to see it?" he asked.  I accepted knowing he was so proud to show me and I would and hoped for information.  

Well, Mr. Ritzman and his lovely wife were from Ohio, they were here vacationing and checking on the stone his father brought down from their Ohio farm back in 1941.  His father had to donate a bag of cement to the project to have his name put in the surrounding stone.  Mr. Ritzman explained to me,  his father would vacation in Kissimmee every year. The stone came from their farm.  He was born in the same house that his father was born and still resides there. His story made my visit 100 times better than it would have been.  

  I snapped a couple of photos of the stone, then included them.  I did the same with their camera.  Thanks to Mr. Ritzman and his lovely wife I am well educated about the Monument of States.  Whenever I'm in Kissimmee I will check on the stone. I can now say "I met the son of the man that this stone belonged to."

Sometimes we can learn a lot by just taking the time to listen!!!

 If you are ever in Kissimmee, stop by the Monument of States and check on the stone from Ohio, there are 48 other states represented also, maybe one day I'll meet one of those families!