The new walkway at the TWA Flight 800 Memorial Gardens sparkles with freshly fallen rain Tuesday afternoon June 27, 2023. The whole memorial has been refreshed with new stone under the trees, new paver stones for the walkway and many older trees have been removed. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Refreshing renovations are to be seen by visitors to a sacred site in Montoursville that commemorates the 21 souls lost on TWA Flight 800 on July 17, 1996.

“Not changes out of desire, but out of necessity,” said Montoursville Mayor Steve Bagwell, adding the renovations were finished ahead of the 27th year commemorating the tragedy.

The improvements include a path to walk on that consists of lighter-colored pavers and blackened borders. It is repositioned 20 feet inward from the trees. That is so the roots of trees won’t reach what has been installed.

The path is redesigned and repositioned so it allows those walking on it to be directed to the front of the granite angel monument, where before it went around and visitors walked up to the monument from the rear.

Landscaping changes include replacing mulch with smooth smaller rocks and removing diseased hemlock trees and emerald green arborvitae. A white fence bordering a nearby private residence also provides a contrasting color to the greenery and the tan and black rocks that are arranged around the base of the trees as mulch would be.

All of the changes were made with respect to the original design and did not change the intent of the site, which was built and dedicated July 17, 1999, in remembrance to 16 Montoursville Area High School students in the school’s French Club and five adult chaperones en route to Paris, France.

In all, 230 passengers and crew members on the flight perished 12 minutes after it took off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York heading to Rome, with a stopover in Paris.

“Everything was done respectful to the original design, but with cost consideration and perpetual maintenance in mind,” Bagwell said.

Bagwell added his appreciation to Montoursville Memorial Gardens Perpetual Care Committee, a group he belongs to consisting of residents of Montoursville and the area, who took the lead in organizing a multi-year fundraiser to give the site what is arguably a fresh and appropriate upgrade. The group worked closely with Montoursville Area School District, jointly working on the proposed redesign and involving school and borough officials.

In all, about 180 financial and in-kind contributions were made, many of them anonymous, which would be appropriate for this type of memorial site. The projected cost of the renovations also was less than anticipated — $103,000 as compared to an estimated $120,000, Bagwell said.

As a driving rain fell Tuesday, water glistened off the surface of the rocks around the trees’ bases.

The rocks’ surfaces sparkled as the clouds cleared for a moment and the sun peaked out. The thirsty blades of grass were wet and, too, shined for the moment.

Bagwell, personally, expressed his pleasure at how the gardens looked.

No plans are in place to hold a grand restoration ceremony. That would not be appropriate for this memorial site, he remarked.

He said those who want to honor the memory of the 21 are invited to do so. That would be the best way to mark the solemn occasion and for the community to show its appreciation, to remember and never forget.

As for holding a ceremony of some sort for what effort was put into restoring the site.

“Nobody wanted recognition,” he said. “We only wanted to do what was right,” he added.

“This is just such an extraordinarily exceptional and special place and I think the committee and the community as a whole are grateful how it turned out.”