New plaque hangs in park named after WWII heroes

HANCOCK — A new plaque hangs at a park in Hancock that tells the story of the two men whom the park is named after.

This park in Hancock has bared the name Laurn-Grove since it was built in 1947. Now it has a plaque to tell you why. A dedication ceremony was held to unveil a memorial to U.S. Naval Reserve Watertender First Class Alvin E. Laurn and Merchant Marine Wiper Robert C. Grove, both local heroes who were killed in 1943 during World War II. Family members and friends of Alvin Laurn and Robert Grove were also on hand at the ceremony.

The park has a long history of local hockey and is still used today, but it’s the memory of where the park got its name that must never be forgotten.

Hancock Historian John Haeussler said, “A lot of people know it as ‘The Grove’, or they assume that maybe ‘Laurn Grove’ was a single person, or maybe ‘grove’ refers to a stand of trees. And it’s been a long time, there’s a lot of people who aren’t that familiar with World War II, myself included, who are very interested to learn about the history of the park. And, so honoring Mr. Laurn and Mr. Grove, and making sure the next generations understand that the name of the park refers to two of our Hancock heroes was very important, I think, for the city, for the family, for everyone here in the community.”