By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – A photo of some of the old, wooden memorial benches that used to be installed throughout Port Angeles was posted on a local, members-only Facebook page Thursday morning, and it sparked a lot of comments.
Some people felt the image of the benches stacked haphazardly outdoors along with what appears to be one of the original plaques seemed a little disrespectful to the families of those who donated money to have a loved one memorialized. Others didn’t know why the benches had been removed in the first place.
We reached out to the City of Port Angeles to see if someone there could clear things up. Jessica Straits quickly got back to us via email with the following;
“After many years of use, the wooden memorial benches included as part of the City’s former Memorial & Donation Program (est. 1991-2002) were determined to be in poor or failing condition. That program was put into a moratorium until a new program could be developed. In 2018, the Parks & Recreation Department established the Adopt-A-Bench Program, which offers more durable, carbon fiber benches as developed by the local Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC).
To recognize the participants, families, and loved ones of the original program, the City purchased and installed three carbon fiber benches at three prominent locations, including the Waterfront Trail near Hollywood Beach, Marine Drive, and Sail & Paddle Park. Next to each of those benches is a metal plaque engraved with the names of those commemorated by the original program.
During the implementation of the Adopt-A-Bench Program, the deteriorated wooden benches that sat along the Waterfront Trail, City Pier, Marine Drive and Ediz Hook were uninstalled. Families and participants of this program were notified via letter at that time. Since then, many of the benches and plaques have been delivered to those families at their request.
Unfortunately, contact information for many families was found to be out of date. While some benches have been donated to the Extreme Sports Park, the remaining unclaimed benches and plaques continue to be stored on City property. The City has been keeping these items just in case a family member reached out to inquire about their bench or plaque. In the future, the Parks & Recreation Department will be removing the plaques from the old wooden benches, discarding the old benches and recycling the frames. This project will likely happen this winter.
Participants and family members of those commemorated by the original program are welcome to contact the Parks & Recreation Department at (360) 417-4550 or parksandrecreation@cityofpa.us to inquire about their bench or plaque.
(Photo courtesy of Daniel Boldt)