Digital Bob Archive

A bronze plaque, simple and appropriate, has been placed near the Fourth Street entrance of Juneau's court building. It reads:

DIMOND COURT HOUSE
This building is dedicated
To the memory of the
Honorable John H. Dimond
1918-1985
Justice of the Original
Supreme Court of Alaska
Who served the people of this
State with great distinction

The plaque is conspicuously placed and it is to be hoped that it will stay there as long as the building stands. In the past, however, memorial plaques have not fared well in Juneau.

Take, for example, the plaque in memory of Alaskans who lost their lives during the first World War. The late Marie A. Skuse, a member of the Juneau Women's Club, was credited with originating the idea for this plaque, and she apparently did much of the work of raising funds for it, through the Alaska Federation of Women's Clubs.

The plaque was hung in the post office lobby in the east wing of the second floor of the Federal and Territorial Building, which is now the State Capitol. The dedication took place on July 4, 1934, following the parade. Mrs. R.R. Hermann, president of the Juneau Women's Club, on behalf of the Alaska Federation of Women's Clubs, presented the plaque to the Territory of Alaska. It was accepted by Governor John W. Troy. Ex-governor George A. Parks gave a talk and there was music by the Juneau City Band.

At some subsequent date, the plaque disappeared. Whether that happened before or after the building was turned over to the State of Alaska seems impossible to determine now. It apparently was not on the wall of the lobby when the post office moved to the Federal Building in 1965.

More recently, the Juneau Memorial Library, which was in good part funded by local contributions, was dedicated on November 11, 1951, as a memorial to the men and women of Alaska who served in both World Wars. Subsequent to the dedication ceremony a large bronze plaque with the names of all Alaska veterans in both wars was hung in a prominent place in the library. Some years later, during a renovation and painting of the building, that plaque also disappeared.

Recently there have been news stories about vandalism to other memorials to veterans. Were those two plaques destroyed through sheer vandalism? Or were they sold for the metal in them, for someone's private gain? Or do they repose today in a private collection room? Perhaps one or both of them will yet turn up.