A new memorial bench has been placed at the North Boat Ramp in Southwick. Anyone wishing to purchase a custom memorial bench can contact the Lake Management Committee at 569-0515.
SOUTHWICK – After losing a loved one, people often search for a public way to honor them.
In Southwick, people can now remember their loved ones with a memorial bench at the north ramp visitor’s center on Congamond Lakes.
Lake Management Chairman Richard Grannells said there is one bench already in place and two others on order.
For a cost of just under $1,000, the attractive bench can be engraved to honor the deceased.
“They are made of a composite material with a powder coated metal frame,” said Grannells. “We were looking for something like this for a while and I found ones like these on the Cape.”
Grannells searched to find benches nearly identical to the ones on Cape Cod.
“They were really good looking,” he said. “We wanted something that would look good and not require a lot of maintenance or painting.”
The engraving is on the back slats of the seat, which are a cedar color. The words and metal frame are black, and the benches fit perfectly on existing concrete pads. There are existing wood benches at the site, and Grannells said as people purchase memorial benches, they will replace the old ones.
The benches face the lake in a semi-circle along the shore by the boat launch. There is also a visitor’s center, docks, and gazebo there.
Grannells said there is plenty of room to pour additional concrete pads should there be a need for more memorial benches than what exists now.
The benches are made by the Kirby Company of Wisconsin and take four-six weeks to arrive once they are ordered.
Grannells said orders should be placed through the Lake Management office and full payment must be made at that time.
“We are not making a profit on these,” Grannells said. “We are charging what the company charges us and we assemble and install them as a community service.”
