More than 200 attend 2024 Kenosha County Veterans Appreciation Summer Picnic at Veterans Memorial Park

Veterans and other guests line up for a free lunch from MISSION BBQ at the Veterans Appreciation Summer Picnic held Friday at the Kenosha County Veterans Memorial Park./Contributed photo

From Kenosha County:

Peter Sieber was taking in the sights of the new Army memorial shelter at the Kenosha County Veterans Memorial Park on Friday, when he came upon something he didn’t expect.

It was a brick bearing his name and the years of his service to the Army Corps of Engineers, 1959-’61.

“Did you put that there,” a surprised Sieber asked his wife, Carol.

“I didn’t physically put it there, but I got it put there,” she said, as he cracked a smile.

Sieber was one of many veterans who came out to the park Friday, for County Executive Samantha Kerkman’s second annual Veterans Appreciation Summer Picnic. More than 200 people were in attendance.

Along with a free lunch provided by MISSION BBQ, resource tables with information about county and VA services, this year’s picnic included an additional feature: A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the park’s new Army memorial shelter, the first of a series of planned structures that will honor veterans of all branches of the service.

Kerkman noted that the park — a former gravel pit and construction company yard that the county has developed into a park in recent years — is now a place for veterans and others to come and reflect, and to enjoy nature in a serene setting.

“Now we have opened this up to the community and to people who have served,” Kerkman said. “This is the Army shelter and it is beautiful, and I couldn’t be more proud of that.”

Kerkman thanked Snap-on Incorporated for its support of the shelter, the company having donated $150,000 toward the project.

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil also joined in the celebration, calling it “a spectacular day in a spectacular park in Kenosha County.”

“The freedom and liberties that we enjoy are because of what you have done in service to our country,” Steil said, addressing the veterans in the audience. “And so today, we say thank you for what you have done.”

The 335-acre Kenosha County Veterans Memorial Park is located west of Highway KD (352nd Avenue) and north of Highway F (Bassett Road) in the towns of Randall and Wheatland.

There are two entrances to the park; one off of Highway F that leads to the Veterans Honor Plaza and the new Army shelter, and one off of Highway KD that provides access to the 39-acre Freedom Lake, which is open to nonmotorized water activities. The park also includes more than five miles of walking trails.

More details about the park are available here.

Here are some more photos from the event, courtesy of Kenosha County:

Veteran Raymond Acerbi, of Kenosha, is served cookies from Wilmot High School football players, from left, Jaxon Madsen, Jack Dzierzanowski and Reggie Brent during the Veterans Appreciation Summer Picnic held Friday at the Kenosha County Veterans Memorial Park. /Contributed photo
Army Corps of Engineers veteran Peter Sieber, of Kenosha, discovers a brick bearing his name that his wife, Carol, surprised him with during the Veterans Appreciation Summer Picnic held Friday at the Kenosha County Veterans Memorial Park. The event included a ribbon cutting for the park’s Army memorial shelter, the first of a series of shelters planned to honor veterans of all branches of the service.
A skylight bearing the U.S. Army service mark is among the features in the new Army memorial shelter at the Kenosha County Veterans Memorial Park. /Contributed photo
County Executive Samantha Kerkman speaks before a ribbon cutting at the new Army memorial shelter at the Kenosha County Veterans Memorial Park, part of a Veterans Appreciation Summer Picnic that was held at the park Friday. /Contributed photo
Elected officials and others cut the ribbon on the new Army memorial shelter at the Kenosha County Veterans Memorial Park during a Veterans Appreciation Summer Picnic event held at the park Friday. Pictured, from left, are County Board Supervisor Bill Grady, state Sen. Steve Nass, County Board Supervisor John Poole, Snap-on Incorporated Director of Community Relations Michael Bond, U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, County Executive Samantha Kerkman, County Clerk Regi Waligora, county Veterans Services Director Jennifer Blasi, and Parks Director Wyatt Moore. /Contributed photo
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