New London bridge named in Krostue’s honor

By Scott Bellile

The late mayor and city attorney Sigurd Krostue, whose name lives on through the 23-acre Krostue Park on Elm Street, will have two more landmarks in his honor.

The New London Lions Club worked with Waupaca County to name the bridge on Pearl Street the Sigurd W. Krostue Memorial Bridge after the active community member who died in 2013. A granite monument is expected to be placed on the small piece of land between the northwestern corner of the bridge and Anchor Park this month.

“It’s a good-sized rock,” said Lions Club director Roger Steingraber, “and we want to make sure that this is appropriately placed and there for a long time.”

Born in 1915, “Sig” Krostue served as New London’s city attorney from 1948 to 1968 and mayor from 1968 to 1972, according to his obituary. He held leadership roles in many New London groups, including the Lions Club, VFW Post and Emanuel Lutheran Church. For Waupaca County Krostue sat on the Veterans Service Committee, Circuit Court Committee and Condemnation Committee.

“He was a great fan of the city, with everything going on,” Mayor Gary Henke said.

The 6,500-pound rock is 6 feet long, 4.5 feet wide and 4 feet tall, according to Greg Matthewson, owner of Matthewson Monuments. A previous designer of monuments for Memorial Park and Bergenner River Walk, Matthewson spent 42 hours chiseling Krostue’s monument to fit the bronze tribute plaque inside the rock.

“It’s all-natural rock,” Matthewson said. “I love the reds in it.”

Lions Club Third Vice President Dave Rusch said Krostue was the Lions Club’s oldest member and the group wanted to memorialize him. They first came up with the idea of a monument. Taft Park was considered a location but already too full, Rusch said, and upon further searching they found Pearl Street’s bridge to be a great focal point.

From there the Lions Club came up with the idea of naming the bridge after Krostue because the structure lacked an official name. They arranged it with the county because the county has jurisdiction over the bridge.

Funding for the rock so far is being covered by the Lions Club and Herrling Clark Law Firm, according to Rusch.

A dedication will take place but is not yet scheduled.

“I think it’s going to be a very neat thing,” Henke said. “People can stop by, read the plaque, and we’ll be remembering Sig into the future.”