Ohio Students Leading the Way in Restoring the Ohio State Monument on Missionary Ridge

Date: February 7, 2014
Contact: Kim Coons, 423-752-5213 x139

Students from Waggoner Road Middle School in Reynoldsburg, Ohio are leading the effort to restore the Ohio State Monument that stands proudly on Missionary Ridge as part of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. The Waggoner Road Middle School students are partnering with the National Park Service and the Friends of the Park to raise $5,000 for restoration of the monument. (Please see the Friends' website at www.friendsofchch.org for more information)  

Placed on Missionary Ridge in 1903, the Ohio monument features four life size granite statues. Three of the figures represent the infantry, artillery and cavalry. The fourth figure is a drummer boy. After more than 110 years, the monument requires some repairs, specifically to the drummer boy. His hands and drumsticks are no longer attached, and the students are trying to make the drummer boy whole again. 

Led by teacher Derek Hinkle, his 5th grade students are using the project to further their lessons on the Civil War and the history of Ohio. Mr. Hinkle, whose 3rd great grandfather, George Hinkle, scaled the slopes of Missionary Ridge as part of the 98th Ohio Regiment, stated, "This monument is a tribute to all the men who fought from Ohio, and helping the National Park Service restore this monument offers the students a chance to make a lasting impact during the 150th anniversary of the Civil War." Mr. Hinkle added, "Often the drummer boy was the youngest soldier in a unit, only a few years older than our fifth graders, so restoring this part of the monument is especially meaningful for our students."  

The Friends of the Park is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting and enhancing Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park for the benefit of the American public. Encompassing over 9,000 acres and spanning the boundaries of Tennessee and Georgia, our local national park's major units include Chickamauga Battlefield, Lookout Mountain Battlefield, Missionary Ridge, Orchard Knob, Signal Point and Moccasin Bend. The park preserves forever the American history and natural beauty of its spaces, commemorating vivid stories of conflict, change, reconciliation and reunion.