JAY – The newest donation for the World War II monument came from an industrial construction company.

BE & K donated $500 last Friday toward the enhancements at the memorial on Main Street. Two new monuments recognizing all branches of the service and Congress-sanctioned wars have been added along with four new granite benches and landscaping.

Jay voters raised $10,000 at the annual town meeting, and a variety of fund-raisers have been held and donations given to help defray the costs of the estimated $30,000 project.

So far, eight sections of steel ornamental fence have been funded, including two donated by Howie’s Welding in Jay. The company plans to make the fence and to donate a gate as well.

Each 10-foot section of fence cost $500. A plaque will go on each section of fence recognizing donors and those remembered. Initial estimates called for 27 sections of fence.

According to veteran Erlon Rose of Livermore Falls, the large monument that graces Chisholm was made from granite from the North Jay quarry.

He gave a history of the monument during a Veterans Day service.

The memorial, which has a brass name plate, holds the names of service people from Jay who served during World War II.

According to records available, Rose said that two committees were involved in the planning and construction of the World War II monument. One was the Chisholm Civic Club and the other the Town Committee.

The club committee was made up of Dr. Thomas Croteau, Louis Fournier, Jim Reed, Leon Frechette and George Deshaise. Members of the Town Committee consisted of Philip Raymond, Louis Fournier, Richard Bryant, Albert Miller, Ernest Harlow and Ernest Smith.

Louis Fournier was assigned the position of engineer in charge of construction, and as far as Rose said he could figure, Fournier sent out bids on Oct. 16, 1945 for the concrete base and wall of the monument.

Philip Raymond, general manager of the Maine and New Hampshire Granite Corp., and his crew had drawn up plans on how the two committees wanted the monument to look, Rose said.

According to a quote in a local newspaper in 1945, Rose said, Dr. Croteau had stated that “The Jay War Memorial will be a work of art and so unique in design that it promises to be the only monument of its kind in all the eastern states.”

“That is exactly what it is, a work of art,” Rose said.

In 1947, the monument was completed.

The words inscribed on the monument were: “Honoring the men and women of this community who have served in the armed forces of the United States in the global war.”

Inscribed on the two new monuments that flank the World War II monument, are: “In memory of those who served and those who fell fighting for our country.”