Montville Polish Club Looks To Keep Memories Alive

When the Montville Polish Club added a new grill at their Maple Ave. building, they made the decision to have one side of the grill made of memorial bricks. Now the club is looking to extend the number of dedications with a memorial walkway.

Bryan Manville, a former vice president of the club who is overseeing work with the grill, said the club is planning to establish the Robert J. Deschenes Memorial Walkway dedicated to the club’s longtime permittee. The path would take a winding course from the lower parking lot to the grill.

Manville said there was strong interest in the memorial bricks on the grill when that project was underway.

“I had to turn some people away because it was full,” he said. “So I came up with the idea that if people want to buy them, we’ll just make a sidewalk out of memorial bricks also.”

The club is planning for the walkway to be funded solely by brick sales. These are being sold for $40 apiece or $100 for three. The goal is to sell 150 bricks, at which point construction on the walkway will begin.

Manville said the club used to have a full kitchen on the pavilion, but that it had sat unused and would have been expensive to bring back up to code. The pavilion holds up to about 450 people, so the club wanted to build the grill to ensure that it could cook for a crowd of that size.

“So far they’ve had a couple of pig roasts out here, where they’ve roasted them right on the grill,” said Manville.

The grill was a two-year volunteer effort. Manville said plans for the walkway include some landscaping and along the sides.

To purchase a brick on the walkway, contact Manville at bryan.manvill@gmail.com.