Civil War re-dedication Sunday in Fruitport

May 29--FRUITPORT -- Bill Frisbie said it would be an honor to represent his great-grandfather during a ceremony Sunday to remember the Civil War veteran.

The 86-year-old Caledonia man and his wife, Doris, will be in Fruitport for the rededication of a monument honoring the late Walter Robert Braden Lewis.

The last surviving Civil War veteran in Fruitport was honored by local school children with a tree planting and monument -- complete with a bronze plaque -- during a Memorial Day ceremony on May 29, 1939, on the lawn of the Fruitport School, which is now the location of R.A.M. Electronics, 259 N. Third Ave.

"He was known by a lot of the kids because he was one of the nice old guys in town," said local historian Brian Zwart, who worked on the rededication project with Jerry Alger and other members of the Fruitport Historical Society.

Some of those children -- now mostly in their 80s -- also plan to be at Sunday's ceremony.

Lewis died Jan. 26, 1941, and is buried in Spring Lake Cemetery. The only other surviving Civil War veterans in Muskegon County died the same year, Zwart said.

The monument was dug up last fall and moved to the Fruitport Veterans Memorial Park. Alger, who was in charge of building the memorial park, said the monument became visible when the tree planted in honor of the veteran was cut down.

"I remembered the stone was at the school from riding my bike there in the '50s," he said.

Alger contacted the owners of R.A.M. Electronics and they agreed to let him move the stone. They also made a donation to help pay for the history panel, he said.

Chuck Hackney, 83, said he was only 7 when the tree was planted and the plaque was dedicated.

"It was a really big deal at the time," he said. "I remember putting the time capsule in. It was by a tree and there was a marker."

Alger said other surviving students also noted the time capsule, but he was unable to find it when they dug around the memorial site.

Walter Lewis was 19 when he enlisted in the Union Army on Aug. 9, 1862. Originally from Iowa, he served with H Company 29th Infantry until Aug. 10, 1865.

Frisbie, who often spent weekends with his grandparents in Fruitport, said they told him his great-grandfather survived through the Civil War without a scratch. But then, after he came home, he fell and broke his hip, and walked with a cane for the rest of his life.

After the war, Lewis married and moved to Chicago, where he worked for the Illinois Central Railway. He retired in 1896 and moved to Fruitport around 1908.

Frisbie said he still has the sword his great-grandfather gave him -- one used in the War of 1812 by Lewis' father or uncle.

The Navy veteran said Sunday's ceremony is an honor for his great-grandfather.

"It's very nice of Fruitport to do that," Frisbie said. "I thank them very much."

The rededication ceremony is set for 2 p.m. at Fruitport Veterans Memorial Park, located across the street from the U.S. Post Office.

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