Sunday, April 28, 2024
Community leader Julia Pannell may not be the Friends of Memorial Lane chairman anymore, but she still calls it her “baby.”
Pannell officially stepped down as chairman during the USS Arizona Dedication & Remembrance Ceremony in December, naming Laura Fisher as her successor.
“She (Fisher) has been on the board for about six years, so she’s very dedicated and very passionate,” Pannell said. “I feel very comfortable of not being on the executive board, but I'm still going to remain on the board. As long as I can physically be on the board, I’m going to choose to let other people be in charge of the event so that they can grow, learn, and we can expand our outreach.”
Back in 2007, the late J.C. Campbell told Pannell he had planned to raise some money to build a fireman statue for the Jim Burks Firefighters Memorial Park.
The Jim Burks Firefighters Memorial Park is a place dedicated to the memory of those lost in the line of duty and honors all those serving or who have served, according to the city of Granbury website. The park is situated on the Hike & Bike Trail at the North Travis Street Intersection.
To add to the momentous occasion, Campbell asked Pannell if she could write a poem to honor the fireman statue.
"I said ‘Well, I need to meet some firefighters. I don't know who they are,'” Pannell said. “So, I sat around the table and found out they're all volunteers. I mean, I did not know that at the time, and I literally put my head down on the table and cried. I mean, volunteers giving their lives for me?”
After writing the poem, she asked Campbell if there was anything else she could do to help. He suggested she serve as the fundraiser chair and $252,000 later, the lone fireman statue was dedicated to the park.
"Underneath that statue is J.C.’s handprint and my handprint, so I loved it,” Pannell said.
But deep down, Pannell felt there was still something missing in the park. It wasn’t until she was driving back from a trip to Branson, Missouri, however, that the idea finally came to light.
"At almost every restaurant, every place you go, they'll say, ‘Would you like to make a donation to our veterans?’” Pannell said. “They are really veteran-orientated and really support the veterans. I was coming home, and it was raining and I was crying and Bob (Pannell’s husband) said, ‘OK, what's the matter?’ I said, ‘We don't do enough for our first responders in Hood County.’"
Pannell then met with City Manager Chris Coffman and told him about her idea to expand the park, with all the details written on a napkin.
Coffman told Pannell to “get her act together” and form a plan — and that’s exactly what she did.
Pannell had originally planned to only add a military dedication to the park, but she later decided to include law enforcement as well.
After she brought the idea to Granbury City Council in early 2016 and it was approved, the Granbury community joined together to make Pannell’s idea a reality by raising funds and volunteering their time and labor, according to the city of Granbury.
"Every single penny for that entire park has been raised by citizens, grants and fundraisers,” Pannell said. “That park would not be here today if it was not for Aaron McLain (parks and recreation director) and his team. But as far as dollars, every flag, every event we put on, everything over there is through the citizens’ participation.”
On May 16, 2016, the community celebrated the groundbreaking, and the site was officially dedicated on July 1, 2017.
Pannell said she came up with the name, Memorial Lane, when she was walking around the park one day during construction.
“I was going over there watching them getting ready to pour cement and I said, ‘You know, this is just like a sacred lane,' and then it just came to me. I said, ‘Memorial Lane,’ and the city approved it," Pannell said. "So, it became known as the Memorial Lane located at the Jim Burks Firefighter Park.”
According to the city of Granbury’s website, renowned artist Mike Scovel developed one-of-a-kind life-size statues to honor law enforcement and the military.
Within the law enforcement section, there is a statue of a young girl with her head bowed, holding a folded flag. The statue is called “Tears for the Fallen.”
The military section is enriched with the figure of a service dog bowing at the military cross for fallen military. The statue is named “Homage to a Compatriot.”
“You'll see little kids running up to the dog, and they get on that dog and just love on that dog and it's wonderful,” Pannell said. “It just makes your heart (melt). People say, ‘Well, do you tell them to get off?’ I say, ‘No. I'm not gonna tell the little kids to get off.’ It's become a place that people go to. It's used by the community and I'm glad.”
Pannell said thanks to the efforts of Kay and Stan Wasielewski, Friends of Memorial Lane received a piece of the ship's hull from the USS Arizona. This piece will be permanently displayed in a prominent spot at Granbury City Hall, safe from the elements.
“We're the only entity that has received a piece of the USS Arizona. Most have gone on to big museums or big organizations like that, so I'm just very honored to play a small part in all of that and to be able to see all that blossom,” Pannell said. “We are proud to be able to label ourselves as the only known park in the world that has all three entities, plus a Space Force, plus a USS Arizona in one park, so that's quite a destination. I always tell people we are now a true destination.”
While Pannell will miss being involved with Memorial Lane, she said she is excited to start celebrating her wedding anniversary again.
"Our anniversary is 9/11 and we've not celebrated that anniversary outside of being at home since we started having 9/11 events,” she explained. “And so, with me not being on the executive board, we have nine events. I can miss one. I don't have to be the one that makes sure we have insurance. I have Laura Fisher that I have great confidence in, there's a board that's all willing to still work, and when you have that, it makes it easier for you to step back.
“I would like to take on a supporting role, and that feels really good. I've been honored to be in that position, but at the same time I'm 82 and it's time for us to do some traveling."
