COUPLE SEEKS SUPPORTERS FOR WAR MEMORIAL; PLAN WOULD CREATE PARK, MONUMENT.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Daily News Staff Writer

Even the sketch Warren Johnson penned of his vision for a veterans memorial park in Newhall evokes inspiration.

Close your eyes and hear the fountain, the breeze in the trees and the strains of music from the Victorian-style bandstand.

Feel that sense of awe evoked by the granite monument with etchings of fallen heroes, of the Liberty Bell, the great seal of the United States and a tribute to men and women who have given their lives in war.

Sit on a bench as old-time street lamps flicker to brighten the twilight.

Feel the peace.

``It's a tribute to people who have died in wars from the Revolution to the Gulf War and to peace,'' Vera Johnson explained. ``The memorial is low enough for kids to put their hands on it, to touch the granite.''

The Newhall couple conceived plans for Historical Veterans Memorial Park eight years ago. They have the spot picked out - a triangular, one-third-acre lot on Newhall Avenue across from Hart Park. They have a working model - and a lot of enthusiasm.

What they don't have is money to make the dream real.

To that end, the Historical Veterans Memorial Committee is seeking help from the city of Santa Clarita to buy the property, and to build and maintain the town square-style monument.

The lot is on the market for $250,000, but the owner, Vera Johnson said, has been willing to negotiate.

``We've traveled a lot, and what we've found is that even the very small towns have monuments. They add so much to the character of a place,'' she said. ``Everybody I've talked to here just thinks it's a marvelous idea.''

The Johnsons took their idea to the city Parks and Recreation Commission meeting last week. Commissioners were enthralled and asked for more information on the plan at their August meeting, said Rick Putnam, the city's parks chief.

At this point, however, the money isn't there. On the drawing boards are plans for four parks, promised more than a decade ago but never developed. The city is also using park money to buy land along the Santa Clara River. That leaves little in the budget for a new proposal, Putnam said.

``It's certainly a wonderful and worthwhile opportunity and cause, but when you're talking about a new site that the city doesn't even own, you have to fold it into your considerations of priority,'' Putnam said.

``Having said all that, if a group like the veterans committee were to raise some money and maybe made an offer of sharing costs, that kind of elevates the plan to a new level.''

Putnam likes what he sees in Warren Johnson's crude sketch of a dream.

``It presents a very warm and inviting feeling,'' he said. ``It creates a photo in your mind of a place you want to go.''

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) Warren Johnson, right, hoists a flag atop a half-size model of the veterans memorial he and his wife, Vera, seek to construct in a new Newhall park.

(2) The proposed Newhall monument would honor veterans from several wars.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News