Female Veterans honored with new statue at Veterans Park

By Sophie Horgan | Editor
WABASHA — A new figure now stands among the tributes to those who have served their country at Wabasha’s Veteran’s Park. Community members gathered Thursday morning, Sept. 10, for the dedication of a new female soldier statue, donated by the Wabasha American Legion Auxiliary Unit 50 to honor the women who have served—and continue to serve—in the United States military.
It was a mere three months ago when Dar Jones began to advocate for a female military statue to come to Veteran’s Park. In just that short time, the Wabasha community has proven what can be done with some support and inspiration. American Legion Commander Catherine Gallanberger presided over the ceremony, which included the national anthem, a dedication, the Pledge of Allegiance and a special presentation recognizing one of Wabasha’s female veterans.“Women continue to make history in the military today, pushing boundaries, taking on more roles than ever before,” Gallanberger said. “Thank you, ladies, for past and present for putting service above self. And today we honor you along with our male comrades who are here also.”
Gallanberger credited the collaboration between local veterans’ organizations, the City of Wabasha, Public Works, the park commission and community supporters for helping make the project possible. Specifically, she accredits the impressive collaboration of Dar Jones, Chris Kohler, our Legion Auxiliary President, Rosi Schmidt, the Le-Female Veterans honored with new statue at Veteran’s Parkgion Auxiliary members, SVJ, and all the other local, as well as out of state, donors.
Mayor Emily Durand also spoke during the ceremony, thanking the Auxiliary members for their work and the city departments that helped facilitate the addition to the public space. For Durand, the statue carried a personal significance. She recalled her grandmother, a Navy nurse, who was once believed to be the only woman veteran in the small county where she lived. When a statue was dedicated in Washington, D.C., her grandmother was invited to attend.
“I know how much that meant to her,” Durand said. “I think she would be very impressed.”
The statue, created by SVJ Creative Designs, adds another element to Veteran’s Memorial Park, which has undergone significant improvements in recent years.
“When we moved here, it wasn’t a park you would go to,” Durand said. “This is just now really a wonderful, wonderful gateway to our community, and to see our armed services honored here, I think is the best tribute.”
The dedication was followed by a presentation that highlighted another way the community continues to recognize its veterans.
Local quilters presented a Quilt of Valor to Ruth Tiffault, a female veteran who, according to Gallanberger, had somehow been missed during previous Quilt of Valor presentations. The quilt was made by her mother, Marilyn, alongside other local quilters Pam Christopherson and Margaret Carothers, with Irene Schultz also involved but unable to attend the ceremony. As Tiffault received the quilt, those gathered applauded and paused for photographs, adding a personal moment of recognition to a ceremony centered on a much larger tribute.
The new statue joins the other features of Veteran’s Park as a permanent reminder of the women whose military service has helped shape the country, and stands in harmony with the other statues already posed around the park.In remarks during the ceremony, Gallanberger described the way that women veterans live, work, and raise their families in rural communities, small towns and cities across the nation, noting that women make up 134 of the 1554 total veterans in the county according to statistics from 2020. That’s a little over 8%, while across the entire country women make up a similar 9% of total veterans. The statue gives those women a visible place of recognition in Wabasha—honoring their service alongside the generations of men who have also worn the uniform.
With the addition of the female soldier, Veteran’s Park continues to grow not only as a physical gateway into Wabasha, but as a place where the community can remember, recognize and thank those who have served.