At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, November 11, the Village of Whispering Pines will cut the ribbon on its new Veterans Memorial at 14 Hardee Lane, across from the Police Department. The project took five years to finish. Neighbors paid for nearly all of it in donations, and the Village built much of it with its own Public Works crew instead of hiring a general contractor. It also sits a few steps from the fire station, the park pavilion, and a new walking trail, the same short stretch of Hardee Lane where most of the Village's events between now and Christmas will take place.
The idea started in 2021 with the Whispering Pines Veterans Memorial Committee. That August, Sandhills Sentinel reported that the Village was asking the public for input on a proposed memorial. One early concept had two sides, one honoring military service and one honoring first responders and medical workers during the pandemic, marked with symbols and no names. That was a proposal, not the design that got built.
Village Council approved a design on March 29, 2023, and told staff to start collecting donations. When the Village gave an update in June 2025, it estimated the memorial at $50,000 and reported $35,075 raised. It also said any donations left over after construction would go toward maintenance and upkeep.
Over the next 14 months, Village updates and the manager's monthly reports logged the total as it grew:
| Report | Donations recorded |
|---|---|
| June 2025 Village notice | $35,075 |
| August 2025 | $44,700 |
| October 2025 | $46,700 |
| May 2026 | $48,900 |
| August 2026 | $49,783 |
In August 2026, the total stood $217 short of the original $50,000 estimate. It got there slowly. About $9,600 came in during the two months after the June 2025 notice. Over the following nine months, gifts added up to roughly $4,200.
The original estimate came under pressure early. In September 2025, Chatham Monument Co. quoted $49,700 to $59,900 depending on materials, and the Public Works Director went looking for more quotes. At the high end, that quote came in almost $10,000 above the original $50,000 estimate, and $15,200 above the $44,700 neighbors had raised by August.
By April 2026, the Village had changed its approach. The manager's report said Public Works would start in the spring, with Bob Kissinger overseeing the job and the department doing some of the work itself. It named Custom Monument Company, Santos Concrete, LLC, and Childress Electric for specific parts of the project and said no construction contractor had been hired.
The groundbreaking took place at 10 a.m. on May 8, 2026. By the July 2 manager's report, crews had moved the flagpole to Hardee Lane Park, installed the granite bases and a seating wall, leveled the site, set the concrete forms, and put in reinforcing rods to hold the granite monuments.
The memorial went up on Village land beside the Police Department, on the same block where Public Works has been improving Hardee Lane Park. The Village's 2025 notice put the site near that flagpole. The September 2026 newsletter lists the address as 14 Hardee Lane.
The project is still open to new donors. According to the Village's September 2026 Village Voice, personalized pavers will be permanently set into a walkway at the memorial. Orders go through a paver page run by ItsLaser:
The ordering page doesn't list a deadline. For a few dollars, a family can put a parent's name, a unit, or a service branch into a memorial built mostly with donations like theirs.
The Fall Village Voice calls the dedication "a lasting tribute to the brave men and women who have served, are serving, and will serve our nation," and invites families, friends, and "fellow patriots" to attend. The October 14 manager's report said staff were still finalizing the program for the committee members, council, and staff taking part, and that public announcements would follow.
If you plan to attend, keep in mind that Veterans Day changes the Village's weekly schedule. Village Hall is closed on Wednesday, November 11, and the Council meeting moves to Thursday, November 12, at 6 p.m.
The memorial's location makes more sense when you look at what surrounds it. Hardee Lane holds the Police Department, the Fire Rescue station at 16 Hardee Lane, and Hardee Lane Park at 10 Hardee Lane. The Village describes the park as a multi-phase project spanning several years. In May 2026, Public Works added a gravel seating area and new mulch and landscaping around the pavilion. The July report noted that Public Works had also finished a walking trail connecting Blues Trail to Hardee Lane.
The memorial is the newest addition to the block, and the Village calendar keeps that block busy through December:
Taken together, the calendar puts you on Hardee Lane at least three more times before the end of the year, for the dedication, the tree sale, and the pavilion stop after the parade. The new trail also means you can walk in from Blues Trail. A finished memorial and a seating wall will now be part of every one of those visits.
Bring a coat on November 11, and plan to walk the memorial again in December, when the tree sale is running next door. If you'd like to talk about the people and places that make Whispering Pines home, or how this part of Moore County is changing, Jamie McDevitt would love to hear from you. Let's Connect.
Jamie will take the time to understand your goals and will work tirelessly to help you reach them. Whether you are moving to the Pinehurst, Southern Pines area to play golf, swing a tennis racket, or simply run or walk through your neighborhood, let Jamie work for you.
