Ms. Jane Guinn was born in 1927. After college she moved to Lapel, Indiana to start her career as a school teacher in 1950, where she taught for decades. During that time she was always concerned the town had no acknowledgement of the sacrifice of the military veterans, especially those who served during war time. She lived through World War II, her husband served in the Army during the Korean Conflict, and she watched the young men and women of Lapel go off to war throughout the years.

At the age of 84 she decided Lapel needed a War Memorial. The residents of the town said, Ms. Guinn would not take no for an answer, when she asked for support for the memorial. When she talked to Mark Steffen and Pete Douglas of Steffen Welding the tide turned. They decided to build a gazebo and place it in the center of Woodward Park, the recreational center of town. Ms. Guinn solicited donations to supplement her own contribution. She then requested the approval of the town officials for placement in the park. Mark Steffen worked on the design  Stu Shane, Architect, completed the details of fabrication including the vertical scrolls forming the shape of a heart. Those hearts represent the heart of Lapel and the hearts of the veterans who gave so much. Now every Lapel community gathering, sporting event, or town festival is celebrated around the War Memorial in Woodward Park. Ms. Guinn feels the visibility of the memorial in the park will keep the memory of every veteran on the townspeoples minds for decades to come.

You need only to view the memorial to see the creativity displayed in the design. The brightly colored roof, the visitors benches and the open scroll supports make this a memorial that can be both seen and used. Mark and Stu discussed the corrosion protection method. With limited funds available for ongoing maintenance, galvanizing was the clear choice for long term corrosion free life. The galvanizer was very happy to be included in the project and provide the galvanizing services at no charge.

The clear span roof structure was too large for most galvanizing kettles, yet the large kettle at the galvanizing facility was able to process it in spite of the size of the free standing roof structure. The designer, fabricator, architect and galvanizer collaborated on design and a successful project was the result. Now the next generation of Lapel residents will have a permanent reminder of the sacrifice of its war veterans.