FALL FESTIVAL 2017
Page 8
Rock stars
Rotary Club leads restoration of historic monument
Christina Vega had no idea two
years ago that a conversation with a
couple visiting the cigar shop in
Plymouthwhere sheworkswouldhave
such a lasting impact on her personally
and the entirePlymouth community.
The couple, on vacation from
Plymouth, England, explained that the
trees presented by a visiting delegation
from the City of Plymouth in 1967 were
still flourishing in their home town.
They remarked, too, that the visitors
from their native city, including the
Lord Mayor of London, presented a
piece of American and English history
to the City of Plymouth. Fifty years
ago, those visitors from England
brought a piece of rock from the steps
leading to the famous Plymouth Rock
in their country, the historic area from
which the original pilgrims departed
for America more than 400 years ago.
The exchange visit was part of the cele-
bration of the 100th anniversary of the
City of Plymouth. Vega said she was
somewhat taken aback as she had
never heard of such a historic relic
after having lived in the city for more
than a decade at that time andworking
at La Casa Plymouth, where she met
the visitors, for 15 years.
“Here are these people from
England tellingme things I didn't know
about my own town,” Vega said. She
pursued the situation and soon discov-
ered that the English couple's informa-
tion was accurate. The symbolic rock,
along with an engraved brass plaque
commemorating both the exchange
visit of the Lord Mayor of London and
the history of the artifact, was in an
unprepossessing spot on Main Street
beneath a tall pine tree, between the
front doors of the library andPlymouth
CityHall.
The monument showed the effects
of the five decades since it had been
dedicated. It was dirty, weather beaten,
much theworse forwear and obviously
in need of some maintenance. Despite
that benign neglect, the inscription and
the significance of the rock impressed
andmoved Vega, she said. She decided
such an important piece of American
history here in her own community
deservedmore respect, and care.
“I thought something needed to be
done, to at least clean it up a little,”
Vega said. She began asking other city
residents if they knew about the rock,
andmost hadno idea it existed.
One of the people she asked about
the rock was PlymouthDistrict Library
Director Carol Souchock, a fellow
member of the Plymouth Noon Rotary
Club, who agreed that a symbol of
American heritage this significant
deserved some intervention.
“The timing couldn't have been bet-
ter,” Vega said, “as the library was
undergoing renovation and a lot of con-
structionwas going on.”
It took them two years, but
Souchock and Vega were determined
to restore the 50-year-oldmonument.
Vega approached City Manager
Paul Sincockwho encouraged the proj-
ect and offered to have the DPW clean
the stone andbrass plaque.
Souchock and Vega approached the
architects from Merritt Cieslak Design
who were involved at the time in the
library renovations, explaining the
importance of the neglected interna-
tional gift. The architects took a look
and agreed to donate plans for inte-
grated LED landscape lighting and a
handicap accessible brick paver walk-
way to themonument.
Vega then approached her fellow
members of the Noon Rotary Club
Incoming Rotary President Christina Vega, left, and Rotary Club member
Plymouth Library Director Carol Souchock dig into the restoration project of the
Plymouth Rock monument.
Photo by Dave Willett
