The City of Dayton and The Dayton Enhancement Committee are hosting an unveiling ceremony for the Love Lock fence on Tuesday, Aug. 9, at 9:30 a.m.
The festivities will be held at The Dayton Community Center, where the Love Lock fence is permanently installed.
In August of 2021, Kaylee Davis presented the idea to The Enhancement Committee. Davis was so excited when she presented the idea to the Dayton City Council.
“I would like for this Love Lock fence to be a symbol of Dayton’s youth as well as the community. People from all around neighboring towns can come to Dayton and leave their mark (a lock) on the fence and keep coming back to visit the fence with their children or friends. This fence can be an attraction for Dayton,“ Davis said.
The history of the Love Lock padlocks dates back at least 100 years and is a Serbian tale.
According to the history of the Love Locks project, as provided by the Dayton Enhancement Committee, a local schoolgirl fell in love with a Serbian officer. They became engaged and off he went to war in Greece. Even though he was committed to the young girl, he fell in love with another woman in Greece. As a consequence of his actions, the schoolgirl’s engagement to the Serbian officer ended.
She never recovered her sadness and died due to heartbreak from her unfortunate love. The young women from this Serbian town wanted to protect their own loves, so they started writing down their name with the name of loved ones on padlocks, and placed them on the railings of the bridge where the young schoolgirl and officer used to meet and had fallen in love.
Mr. Kimmy Wood of Liberty is part owner of K&J Machine & Welding Inc. in Pasadena and has been an honorary member of the Dayton Enhancement Committee almost since its inception. He fabricated the project from a photo that he was given. It measures 26 feet in length, is 6 feet tall, spells out the word LOVE, and includes a large heart symbol. It was built to last and is a piece of art in itself.
Bring a lock with you on Aug. 9 or come and watch, and make plans to come back. The public is invited to attend this event.