Edgemont Memorial Park

Infobox park
park = Edgemont Park


image size =
caption = The Memorial Obelisk seen from across the pond
type = Public Park
location = Montclair, New Jersey
coordinates = coord|40.8268|-74.200115|display=inline,title [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Edgemont+Park+NJ&sll=37.926868,-68.730469&sspn=20.713245,45.527344&ie=UTF8&ll=40.8268,-74.200115&spn=0.077807,0.177841&z=13&iwloc=AJuly accessed July 13th]
size = 15.52 acres
opened =
operator = Montclair Department of Parks and Recreation
visitors =
status = Open all year.

Edgemont Park is a park in Montclair, New Jersey, in the United States of America.The park has had problems over the past few years with Canadian Geese and their droppings. It shares a name with the nearby Edgemont Elementary School.

Overview

is being built here.

Memorial

The most prominent feature of the park is the pond and the small island with the World War I memorial on it. Edgemont park is known for its World War I memorial, which is one of the landmarks of Montclair. The main memorial, created in 1924 by Charles Keck, is a tall obelisk with bronze sculptures of Winged Victory on top and the Billy boys on the bottom. On the sides of the obelisk are the etchings of the names of those who fell in the First World War, which the monument is dedicated to. In front of the memorial there are small plaques that have the names of those who died in the Vietnam War and Korean war and World War Two. [http://www.baristanet.com/2006/05/the_cutting_edge_at_edgemont_p_1.php accessed July 13th 2008]

Amenities

* Baseball/softball diamonds
* Pond
* Shelter house with restrooms and kitchen
* Children's playground
* Bikeways and Footpaths
* Ice skating in the winter, outdoor
* Band concerts
* Fourth of July picnic
* Holiday memorial services
* Memorial Obelisk
* Cherepovets Garden [http://www.gotomontclairnj.com/parks.htm accessed July 13th]

Electrocution of geese scandal

The park has always had trouble with the many non-migratory Canadian Geese which live in the park, rendering it unpleasant and unusable with their copious excrement. The first plan was discourage the public from feeding the birds, while having a worker go to the pond every once and a while and shoo the geese away, then it was decided to install devices that annoyed the geese. Stuffed foxes, Lasers, balloons, loud noises, plywood coyote silhouettes and fake goose corpses were used, goose eggs were sabotaged and chemicals were put into the water in an attempt to scare the geese away, had a short affect and then ceased to work [ [http://www.parentpaper.com/link2pubs/montclairtimes/page.php?page=15783 northjersey.com - Montclair Times Community ] ] . These measures were also used in Montclair's Yantacaw Brook Park, which had similar problems with geese. Eventually the decision was made in 2007 to round up the geese and electrocute them, after which they were turned into food. [ [http://www.baristanet.com/2007/09/stop_the_killing_montclair.php Stop The Killing, Montclair! (Baristanet) ] ] despite these controversial measures, there are still geese defecating and attacking people in the park. The non-lethal measures also were a danger to Herons and Egrets that live in the park.

Gallery

A_landmark_in_Montclair,_WWI_Memorial_in_Edgemont_ParkImage:EMem.jpg|World War One Memorial with the sculptures of Winged Victory and the Billy Boys
_Close-up_of_the_algaeic scum that covers half of the pond
_Portion_of_the_memorial_obelisk
_The_dam

References