An Ephrata police officer wants to honor a hometown hero.

Police Sgt. Brian F. Dell Isola, meeting Monday with Ephrata Borough Council's special projects committee, laid out a three-part plan to honor the memory of the late Major Dick Winters.

Winters, an Ephrata native who served with Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division during World War II, was immortalized in the book and TV miniseries "Band of Brothers." Winters died Jan. 2 at age 92.

In the first phase of Dell Isola's plan, a walking trail in the borough's linear park would be named the Major Richard "Dick" Winters Memorial Trail. The trail follows the old Conrail line and passes less than 100 feet from the home at 41 E. Fulton St. where Winters lived with his parents and grandmother.

The trail would feature plaques telling the story of the decorated war hero and include his frequent wartime commands, such as "Follow me" and "Hang tough," as well as his personal insights on leadership.

Phase two would transform the borough-owned green space immediately east of the trail's parking lot into a memorial park. Dell Isola said the park could perhaps include a reflecting pool "in keeping with his cultural upbringing as a man of peace."

The park, Dell Isola said, would reflect "peace and serenity." The ground is the site of the former Ephrata stockyards where, during his boyhood, Winters played and watched livestock arriving by rail cars.

The final, most ambitious phase, would involve the purchase of the Winters' home, returning it to its 1920s appearance and perhaps transforming it into a museum to the Winters family, once a prominent part of the Ephrata community. The money for the project would come from private donations and state and federal grants.

All three phases would be headed by a steering committee. A nonprofit foundation could possibly be established to collect and disburse the funds.

Dell Isola said the project would generate public interest far beyond Ephrata's borders and bring "lots of people to Ephrata." It also would motivate the townspeople.

"I think there'd be a lot of community involvement," he said.

The four council members present at the meeting enthusiastically embraced the project. Committee chairman George DiIlio called it a "very significant thing for us to consider" because it honors a man with "strong community ties" who "served his country admirably."

Councilman Robert Good, a retired U.S. Marine, said he holds Winters in "iconic esteem."

The committee discussed recommending that council rename the trail at its April 11 meeting, but acting borough manager Robert Thompson suggested they slow down and first organize a steering committee to look at the design of the project, possible fundraising and other aspects of the plan. He worried that moving ahead too fast without thorough planning might cause the entire project to languish.

"You can rename the trail at the next meeting, but without the plaques containing his quotes and information about his life, people will flock here, see it and say, 'Oh, it's just a trail,' " he said.

At the council meeting next month, the committee will recommend that a steering committee be established. They urged anyone who wants to be involved, even if they live outside of Ephrata, to contact the borough offices and volunteer.

The Winters family has a long history in Ephrata. Winters' grandfather, William Davis Winters, operated the Cocalico Hotel prior to his death in 1910. The elegant hotel, which stood where the U.S. Post Office is today, was destroyed by fire in 1921. Earlier, he also owned and operated Ephrata House, 46 E. Main St., which he bought from his uncle, Barton N. Winters, in 1887.

The wood-frame house on East Fulton Street was owned by the widowed Katherine Winters. Around 1920, Richard N. and Edith Winters, along with their 2-year-old son, moved from New Holland to live with her. As a youngster, Winters attended the former Franklin Street Elementary School. He lived in Ephrata until the family moved to Lancaster around 1928.

Charlotte "Lottie" Gardner, whom Winters called "my favorite aunt" and was the grandmother of Borough Council President Tony Kilkuskie, lived across the street from the Winters' home at 40 E. Fulton St. until her death in 1978. Winters' mother, Edith, moved back to Ephrata from Lancaster after the death of her husband in 1946, where she lived until her passing in 1970.

Major Winters is buried in Ephrata, along with generations of his family.

The Winters family has approved the project.
lalexander@lnpnews.com