43
Shelter in Poland Municipal Forest replaced with donation in honor of lifelong Poland resident
POLAND
After Catherine Bremner, who lived in Poland for most of her life, died, her children wanted to commemorate her life in a special way. Remembering her love for the Poland Municipal Forest and its bluebells, they decided to have a shelter built in the forest in her honor.
“She was a lifelong Poland resident. ... And she had a particular affection for the Poland Forest,” said her son, Robert Bremner. “It was a special place for her.”
Dedicated in 1981, the Bremner shelter was a wooden structure with a wooden picnic table underneath, with a brick fireplace and floor, located on the main trail near the College Lane entrance to the forest. The shelter was destroyed a few years ago when a tree crushed it during a storm, but the Bremners decided to rebuild it. The new shelter is now built, funded entirely by Robert Bremner and Bonnie Bremner Ramage in memory of their mother.
“When your mother passes away, you really want something to remember her by,” Bremner said. “We really want something that commemorates my mother’s affection for that place.”
Bremner said the shelter was the perfect way to honor his mother not only because of her love for the forest, but because of her involvement on the Poland Municipal Forest Board, where she served as the board’s first female member.
Now that the structure itself is rebuilt, Ramage and Bremner plan to make additional upgrades to elements of the shelter.
“We’ve been looking into having the fireplace repaired. ... The brick floor will be reset by a brick mason. There will be a new memorial plaque,” said Elinor Zedaker, chairwoman of the Poland Municipal Forest Board. Bremner also said they plan to upgrade the picnic table.
“Time has taken its toll; it’s been there for awhile. We have some more work to do,” he said. “We’d like it to look as good as it ever did and offer a nice respite for people who are enjoying the forest.”
The rebuilding effort was planned by Robert Zedaker II, former chairman of the forest board who died in January. His wife, Elinor, now leads the board. She said the additional work will take place in the next month or two.
“Our goal is to finish in the early fall, and then plan a rededication,” Zedaker said.
Zedaker herself is a frequent visitor to the woods, and often uses the Bremner shelter.
“I find it the most refreshing and inspirational experience. It’s natural beauty at its best, year-round,” she said of the forest. “I’ll just sit and listen or sit and reflect.”
Poland Village Council President and forest board member Joe Mazur agrees that the shelter enhances the forest.
“It’s a nice place for people to meet. ... I think it’s an excellent addition to the forest, and it’s very gracious of the family to sponsor this,” he said.
The forest board, which oversaw the project, contracted the project out to HV Contractors. Bremner said the total cost of the project will end up being between $5,000 and $6,000.
The Bremner siblings, who now live out-of-state, plan to return to Poland for the rededication of the shelter once all the work is complete.
“We’re sure it’ll stay there. The forest will keep going and this will be a part of it,” Bremner said.
“We’re just delighted both at the progress we’re making and how it’s gone together. And we hope when it’s finished, it’ll look just as good as new.”