The memorial at Four Corners Park has long recognized five wars: the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. The list ended there. On Saturday, November 14, the borough holds a rededication service at the park at 1 p.m. The memorial that gets rededicated is built to add the Persian Gulf War and the War on Terror. That makes it the first time the memorial on Main Street reaches a conflict fought after Vietnam.
That is the real news of the renovation. New trees, cleaner stone and extra seating are welcome. But the change that alters what the memorial means is the two lines being added at the end of the list, plus a brick plaza sized for far more names than it holds today.
Five Wars, Then a Long Silence
The expansion was first described in July 2025. The Butler Eagle reported that Memorial Park, part of Four Corners Park, would grow its list of recognized wars from five to seven. Jason Pepe of the American Legion told the paper the two additions would be the Persian Gulf War and the international War on Terror. Borough council President Gregg Semel said the American Legion was leading that part of the project.
The same report gave a second number that shows how big the change is. The Legion planned to raise the park's veteran memorial bricks from 400 to 2,000, with spaces set aside for donor bricks and American Legion family bricks. A memorial that ended at Vietnam held 400 bricks. The rededicated one has room for 1,600 more, and the two wars being added are the ones whose veterans are still the youngest.
A Plaza Built for Names Not Yet Ordered
The bricks are how residents put their own names into the park. The borough's 4 Corners Park project page says the Sons of the American Legion Squadron 474 is selling commemorative bricks for the central area of the memorial, set in front of the monuments. There are three categories:
- Veterans Bricks honor a friend or family member who served.
- Legion Family Bricks are for posts, squadrons, units or chapters.
- Donor Bricks are for individuals or businesses that want to support the project.
Orders go through the Legion's page at donate.brickmarkers.com/alz. The Butler Eagle's December 2025 coverage called the brick campaign the way residents, families and businesses could help fund the work and leave a lasting tribute. For families with someone who served in the Gulf or after 2001, it means a spot on Main Street right next to the two war names being added.
What Changed Around the Monuments
The rest of the project frames those additions. The borough describes it as a joint effort with private donors, the American Legion and Explore Zelie to honor every local veteran who served in the U.S. Armed Forces. The plan includes a redesigned memorial layout, new trees, cleaning and refinishing of the existing monuments, and new monuments. A borough construction update also lists more parking and new seating in the park's southeast corner.
Some familiar pieces were already part of the park before the work started. In December 2025, the Butler Eagle showed the gazebo donated by the Kiwanis Club of Zelienople, along with the fountain and the statue honoring Zelie Basse Passavant. Borough manager Andrew Spencer told the paper the plan included taking down older trees and planting saplings in their place.
Council has kept paying for it. At its June 29 meeting, council voted unanimously to pay $143,630.96 to Skiles Excavating and $53,090.12 to Slater Electric for the memorial work, according to the Butler Eagle. Spencer tied the project to a Main Street streetscape effort the borough started around 2015. He said the hope is that a better-looking street brings in business for the shops along it. In late July, council approved more upgrades to the park's southeast section, and the Butler Eagle described the park as still under improvement.
Back in 2025, Spencer had already hinted the memorial was a first step:
"We have bigger projects coming later."
He said it to the Butler Eagle when council put the park construction out to bid.
November 14, Hour by Hour
The rededication lands on the same Saturday as Harmony's German Christmas Market. That turns one civic service into a full day between the two boroughs. Here is the schedule, pulled from the borough events page and the Harmony Museum's Weihnachtsmarkt page:
- 10 a.m. The Weihnachtsmarkt opens in Harmony and runs until 6 p.m.
- 11 a.m. A time capsule is opened at the Zelienople Historical Society, 243 S. Main St.
- 1 p.m. The Veterans Memorial Park Rededication Service begins at 4 Corners Park.
- Afternoon Head to Harmony for the rest of the market, which the museum says includes horse-drawn carriage rides.
For Zelienople residents, the useful detail is the parking. The museum runs off-site parking with free shuttles to the market, and one of the lots is in Zelienople at CVE School, 300 South Pittsburgh Street. The other three are in Harmony: Robinson Fans at 400 Robinson Drive, Transtex at 200 Utah Street, and Sysco at 1 Whitney Drive. At the Sysco lot, the museum says cars must be gone by 5 p.m. Admission starts at $10, and children 12 and under and seniors 65 and older pay $5. All admission goes to the Harmony Museum. If the morning runs long, the market is open again Sunday, November 15, from noon to 4 p.m.
The Historical Society runs the Passavant House and the Buhl House as historic house museums. So the 11 a.m. capsule opening takes place at the organization that keeps the borough's oldest records.
The Calendar on Either Side
The rededication falls in a busy stretch of the borough calendar. Here is what's ahead from the week this post goes up:
| Date | Event | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Sun., Oct. 25 | St. Gregory's Great Pumpkin Race, 1 mile and 5K | 3 p.m. start; benefits the St. Gregory School PTO and athletics |
| Thu., Oct. 29 | Merchant Trick-or-Treat and Halloween Parade | Merchants 4 to 6 p.m.; parade registration 5:30 p.m. behind NexTier Bank; parade 6:30 p.m. |
| Thu., Oct. 29 | Last Thursday Nights on Main Open Air Market | 4 to 8 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Trick-or-treat in Zelienople and Harmony | 6 to 8 p.m. in both boroughs |
| Sun., Nov. 8 | Zelienople Rotary Pancake Breakfast | 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Glade Run Matthew Hall; benefits My Happy Place |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Time capsule opening and memorial rededication | 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Miracle on Main | 4 to 8 p.m.; light-up parade 7 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Reindeer Race | Half mile, 1 mile and 5K |
October 29 is a full night on Main Street. The final open-air market of the season shares the evening with merchant trick-or-treat and the Halloween parade, and the borough has posted a parade map. Nineteen days after the rededication, Miracle on Main brings the light-up parade down the same street that runs past the park. The schedule also lists a White Christmas screening at The Strand Theatre at 7:30 p.m. that night. It will be the first holiday parade on Main Street since the rededication.
The council payments, the 2,000-brick plaza and the streetscape work dating back to around 2015 all go into the same few blocks of Main Street. If you're thinking about what the next year looks like for your own place near Main Street, Shelley Wood is glad to walk through it with you. Request your complimentary market consultation.
