NEW WHITELAND — A peaceful space for families to play and gather in New Whiteland holds much more than swings and slides.
Proctor Park sits on 11 donated acres along Tracy Road. It is maintained by volunteers and paid for by donations.
Maribeth Alspach, the head of the volunteer committee and a longtime resident, says it is a park for all of us.
"It's open to everyone," Alspach said. "It's not New Whiteland's park, it belong to all of us."
It is hard to miss the flags flapping in the breeze that welcome you into Proctor Park, a special and sacred space to honor those who served.
"This is a way to keep their names alive, to continue their history, their legacy," Alspach said. "It is first and foremost sacred ground."
At the front of the park, visitors can look around, reflect and remember those who died protecting our freedom in all branches of our military along the Walk of Freedom.
There is a wall featuring all of the names of Hoosiers who died in Iraq next to a monument for our Vietnam Vets.
People can purchase bricks and many schools raised money to buy bricks along the path. There are memorial stones here and a trickling fountain.
One memorial sits in the north end of the park to James (Jimmy) Waters, a Whiteland native who died serving in Afghanistan.
That memorial, in particular, brought out another Hoosier Hometown hero.
"They came out quite often to this park," Alspach said, referring to Fallen Indiana State Police Trooper and Whiteland High School graduate, Aaron Smith. "He served with Jimmy Waters."
Alspach recently met with Smith's widow, Megan, who is a teacher at the local school district. Together they are working together to fundraiser and raise awareness about the park and create a memorial for Aaron that honors both his service as a state trooper killed in the line of duty, and his time serving on the Indiana National Guard.
"Aaron lived in Franklin. He was connected to our community here," Alspach said. "We hope people will, you know, jump on board and help us make this even better and do it in his honor."
The section Alspach hopes to raise funds for is the south end of the narrow park called the Path to Honor.
It is a section of Proctor Park dedicated to all Hoosier First Responders, including police, fire, and EMS.
Alspach says this section of the park needs some love, and she hopes to do that in addition to honoring Smith's service as a state trooper.
"We want to refurbish the back section of the park. The bricks were laid originally in sand and the ants come and the sand shifts and we want to redo that and reinforce that with concrete and the pavers in it," Alspach said. "And so we're on a mission. I'm asking to raise 11 thousand dollars and I'm praying for 21."
Alspach has fliers and plans to go door to door to area businesses looking for corporate sponsors, and asks the public to help if they can to show the families of the fallen they are not forgotten.
"We don't live this life just on a whim. Great sacrifices have been made for us to have the freedoms that we enjoy," Alspach said, who comes from a law enforcement family herself. "You don't know how many ballgames they've missed, or how many Christmases they missed, because when something important was happening in their family life, they were out protecting yours."
If you want to donate or learn more about Proctor Park, you can visit their website, https://www.in.gov/towns/new-whiteland/town-departments/parks-department/
