For the last four years Susan Stevens has, twice a year, planted hundreds of small flags at Soldier’s Circle. You can see her out there the day before Memorial Day and the day before the Fourth of July. Why does she do it? “Because it’s Soldier’s Circle,” she told me. “And I know that if I don’t do it nobody else will.”
It’s funny… a lot of people in Buffalo don’t even know that’s Soldier’s Circle. Ever since the three cannons were removed (for scrap) the circle lost its identity. In recent years there have been people rallying around an effort to bring the cannons back, but as of yet nothing concrete has been decided upon (see BRO post). Personally, I would love to see the cannons come back to bring the historic element back to what appears to be a pretty nondescript turnabout. Susan told me of an opportunity The City had a couple of years ago where it could have rented authentic Civil War cannons for $5 a year… um… can we approve that in the next budget people?
In the meantime we can give thanks to Susan for commemorating our military holidays, while providing a temporary identity to a local landmark.