TREMONT – After years of working to document the stories of some area residents, the local grammar school now has a reminder set in stone of the legacy it is trying to preserve.

And a teacher who has been key to the whole project also has a reminder of her own. Last Saturday, Crystal Dow received an award for being named Educator of the Year by the American Legion of Maine.

What Dow has been honored for is her leadership role in getting a veterans monument erected at Tremont Consolidated School. In a project that could end up being copied at schools throughout Maine, pupils in Tremont have raised money for the monument by interviewing family members and friends who have served in the military and then putting their experiences into a book.

Some veterans have witnessed world events, some have served quietly without being shot at, but all have stories to tell, according to people involved with the project.

With help from the sale of the books and accompanying DVDs, copies of which are still available, the pupils have raised $17,000 for the monument that was dedicated last week. About 200 people gathered on the school grounds to watch as officials unveiled a large granite slab with a panel of polished black stone and six large medallions representing the armed forces fastened to it.

“It’s been a real community effort,” Dow said Thursday as she took a break from cleaning up her classroom for the summer. “No matter who we asked for what, nobody ever said no.”

Dow said pupils have learned about the sacrifice of military service and about how their families and neighbors have been affected by it. Veterans, some of whom once had been discouraged from talking about their military experiences, have gained a sense of pride and acceptance out of being able to tell their stories while the children have been taught that history is not found just in books or in cemeteries, she said.

“We want them to know veterans are living, breathing and walking around them,” Dow said. “These kids have a much more profound level of respect for veterans than they would have otherwise.”

Wayne Patton, a local Vietnam veteran who was interviewed for the school book by his grandson Dillon Patton, said Thursday that the project and resulting monument have given him a sense of community gratitude that eluded him for decades after he returned home from the war.

“Nobody ever came up to you and said ‘thank you’ or anything like that,” he said of returning to civilian life. “To me, it means an awful lot.”

Dow said she had met Rep. Tom Allen and Sen. Susan Collins last weekend when she went to Bangor for the Legion’s awards dinner. She gave credit to the veterans for her being able to play a role in teaching her pupils about patriotism.

“Without them and everything they’ve been through, you wouldn’t be able to teach it,” Dow said Thursday. “In 30 years, it’s the greatest award I’ve gotten as a teacher.”

Patton said that Dow’s leadership in the project has resulted not only in an academic lesson for the children. It has brought people and generations together in a larger learning experience.

“I think it’s fantastic,” he said. “She spearheaded this project and got us together to help out. She was the spark plug. There’s no question.”