Remembering Dick Winers Roundtable - A Conversation wtih Friends

Put this event on your calendar and buy your tickets TODAY!  And even if you're unable to attend, we hope you'll consider making a donation

http://RememberingWintersRoundtable.eventbright.com

How's the Statue Coming Along?? - The Latest from the Artist

Some of our supporters have asked how the statue is coming along, and the artist, Stephen Spears,

was kind enough to send us some photos & a description of where the statue is in the process.  Here's what he sent us:

"Using many of the same tools used to sculpt the original, the wax is “chased”. This gives the Art foundry a wax replica of the artists’ original sculpture. This wax replica will be used to create a bronze sculpture that will be an exact replica of the artist’s original.

Sprucing begins once the Wax Chasing is complete, sprues (wax bars) and the pouring cup are carefully attached to the wax pattern to insure the proper flow of metal and to control the metal solidification.

Up to a dozen layers of ceramic are applied to the wax positive ensuring that the wax pattern and sprues are fortified by an outer ceramic shell that becomes the final mold after the shell is fired and the wax is "lost" (melted away).

The shells (still containing wax) are then placed into the kiln and heated to 1600 degree F. At this point the wax is “Lost” (melted away) leaving a hollow ceramic shell that is ready to accept the molten bronze.

Next comes the pouring of the bronze metal. The Art foundry uses electric melting in their bronze foundry because it is cleaner, faster, and offers more control over this important step. After the dewaxing the molten metal (bronze at 2000 degrees) is poured into the shell and allowed to cool.

The ceramic shell is removed from the metal and the sprues are cut off. Art Castings sandblasts the bronze sculpture to remove any ceramic remaining from the casting process to ensure a clean casting for the welding department.

The process is going smoothly and more pictures will follow.

So there you have it!!! We're excited for this latest update and looking forward to more to come, so stay tuned!

Winters Leadership Memorial Project Has Gotten a Little Press Lately!

July has been a busy month for the committee working on bringing the Veterans Plaza and Winters Leadership Memorial to Ephrata.  The result has been that we've gotten some nice media coverage here in Lancaster County.  Here's the run down:

Ephrata Review (July 9):  The Ephrata Review, our local community newspaper, published an update on our progress:  http://www.ephratareview.com/news/major-winters-memorial-project-still-going-strong/

Blueridge Cable 11 (July 9):  Our local cable TV station interviewed Dick Winters' good friend, Bill Jackson, while he was in town for an interview with Diane Dayton of "Behind the Lines".  http://youtu.be/OFCo97sF91s

Diane Dayton, Behind the Lines:  Bob Hoffman, Larry Alexander, Bill Jackson & Rebecca Gallagher were interviewed for a 30 minute cable TV program, "Behind the Lines".  The program will air sometime in August, stay tuned for dates & times!!

Lancaster Intelligencer (July 21):  The Lancaster Intelligencer ran a story titled, "Ephrata Celebrating Heroes, Including Dick Winters, Brick by Brick" to update the community on our progress with the plaza and memorial and let them know about some upcoming events we have planned.  http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/winters-memorial-plaza-in-ephrata-gains-momentum/article_4a0d72d8-0ecd-11e4-a4a3-0017a43b2370.html?mode=image&photo=1

We also continue to set up our table-top at local events to help raise money and spread awareness about the project.  You can see where we're planning to be on our website: http://www.wintersleadershipmemorial.org/events.html  If you have suggestions of places we SHOULD be, please let us know.

And if you feel as passionately about this project as we do, consider becoming a volunteer.  We've got plenty of things for folks to do!!  Contact us at WintersLeadershipMemorial@gmail.com.

WWII Weekend 2014 at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum

Wow!  What an amazing event, it's hart to believe it was just over a week ago that we were experiencing all the sights, sounds, smells and personalities that go along with an incredible Airshow PLUS extraordinary reenactment event.

Huge thanks go out to everyone who took the time to stop by and visit with during the course of the weekend.  We were overwhelmed by the support and well-wishes!

Many also entered our drawing to win either a Winters Leadership Memorial Baseball Cap or the Grand Prize, a Commemorative Brick in our Veterans Plaza.  In case you didn't see our email or post on our facebook page, here are the results:

Our Grand Prize Winner:

Don Kolessar is the winner of our commemorative brick!  It's especially fitting since Don is a WWII Veteran who actually knew Dick Winters personally.  A Philly resident, we hope Don will be able to attend our dedication ceremony next year!

And the Winners our our Ball Caps are:

Ethan A. Smith, Jr.
Hermann Pfisterer
Chris McCaulley
Jim Witham
John Commero, Jr.

 

 

For anyone not lucky enough to win the raffle who would still like to have a brick in Ephrata's Veterans Plaza, you can still BUY a brick for just $250 each.  

• Click here to print off a form and mail in your payment
   

• Click here to order a brick online

And if you'd like to simply make a donation to the project without buying a brick, click here.  We're grateful for everyone's support, not matter how large or small, every bit helps us get closer to our goal!

A Little Shout-Out to Some Friends:

And finally, we'd like to share a few photos of friends and supporters who stopped by!  Thanks for all your support and encouragement, it means so much and is truly appreciated.

Larry Alexander & Bill Jackson

Cynthia & Brian Domotrovich, Bill Jackson, Larry Alexander & Rebecca Gallagher

Our new display for events like WWII Weekend

Larry Alexander & Bob Hoffman

Gearing Up for WWII Weekend in Reading

We're excited to participate in WWII weekend at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, PA this weekend.  We'll be sharing a table in the hanger with Larry Alexander, using it as an opportunity to help spread the word about our effort to build a replica of the  Winters Leadership Memorial in Ephrata, PA... and hopefully raise some additional funds while we're at it.

If this weekend isn't on your radar, here's the link for more info!  http://maam.org/maamwwii.html

We hope LOTS of people will stop by to see us and learn more about the project.  In case you need an extra incentive, we'll be having a number of drawings during the weekend.  We'll be raffling off baseball caps... but the BIG raffle prize will be a commemorative brink in Veterans' Plaza!  If you can't get to the Air Show but want to participate in the drawing, email us your name  and phone number for a chance to win! (WintersLeadershipMemorial@gmail.com)  All winners will be announced on our blog at the end of the weekend.

All funds raised from the sale of bricks, hats, bracelets or ANYTHING of that nature go 100% toward building the Winters Leadership Memorial in Dick Winters' hometown and final resting place, Ephrata, PA.

The latest step on our Journey - we've got a Logo!

Welcome to the new blog for the Winters Leadership Memorial in Ephrata, PA. 

Our small team of committed volunteers is working to bring a replica of the Winters Leadership Memorial to Dick Winters' hometown in Lancaster County. 

Our journey began in the spring of 2013, and since that time we've made great progress toward achieving our goal.  The latest is that our project now has a "Logo"... a graphic image that tells the story of who we are and helps us spread the word about our endeavor.

So... here it is:

More news and updates on the project will be posted on our blog, so stay tuned!