Work begins on project to honor Dungeons & Dragons co-founder Gary Gygax
Dungeons & Dragons fans recently gathered in downtown Lake Geneva to witness the start of a project which will honor the co-founder of the popular roleplaying game.
The Gygax Memorial Fund Inc. conducted a consecration ceremony March 18 at Library Park, 1200 W. Main St., to kick off the Gary Gygax Memorial project, which include a stone gaming table with a statue of Gygax seated at one end, with benches on each side where people can play a game of Dungeons & Dragons.
The Lake Geneva City Council approved a site plan for the memorial in March 2024.
“It’s been a long time coming and so it’s exciting and a relief, and it makes me hopeful for the future of this whole thing,” said Paul Stormberg, president of the Gygax Memorial Fund.
Paul Stormberg, president of the Gygax Memorial Fund, talks about the Gygax Memorial project during the consecration ceremony.
The project is being worked on in stages, beginning with what has been called the “stone elements” — a table, benches and granite pavers. Stage two includes the “bronze elements” — the Gary Gygax statue, throne and table-top gaming map.
About $215,000 has been raised.
“We’re going to try to get this (the stone elements) done in a year’s time,” Stormberg said. “Hopefully, it will be ready by Dragon Days of next year. Obviously, we still got a lot of stuff to do.”
Game enthusiast from Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri attended the consecration ceremony, during which Dungeons & Dragons-related items were placed in a 30-foot hole, dubbed the “well of imagination.”
The items included gaming dice, tokens, memory notes and dice box keys.
“Whatever we put in this today will become a permanent part of the memorial, and you will always know that you contributed something here,” Stormberg told the attendees.
Alex Gygax, E. Gary Gygax’s son, placed a note to his father written on scratch paper.
“He would commonly use junk mail for scratch paper,” Alex Gygax said. “So, I thought it was fitting to use some junk mail which happened to be right next to me.”
Alex Gygax, son of E. Gary Gygax, prepares to drop a letter written to his father in the “well of imagination.”
Jason Ledtke, owner of Lake Geneva Games, donated some coins.
“I’m a gamer and like many gamers I share the same trait, you can’t stop me from putting my two cents in,” Ledtke said.
Donna Gygax, wife of the late Ernest Gygax Jr., nephew of Gary Gygax, donated a lock of her husband’s hair.
Several of the attendees also shared their memories of Gygax and playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Stormberg remembered Gygax for his love of gaming.
“To Gary, gaming was gaming. It didn’t matter what kind of gaming it was, Gary loved games and he loved gamers and all of his fans,” Stormberg said. “I think it shows from the number of people who are showing up today.”
Derek White, also know as the “geek preacher” talks about his experiences meeting E. Gary Gygax and playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Derek White, also known and the “geek preacher,” recalled meeting Gygax at GenCon in 2007.
“He has been a tremendous influence on my life and the lives of many,” White said. “So, we’re just happy to be out here. We all have our Gary stories.”
Michael Menard said his sister, Tina, was best friends with Heidi Gygax, Gary’s daughter, during her childhood and his sister would share stories about how she would visit the Gygax household and watch cartoons.
“That has nothing to do with gaming, but it is such a warm, kind human memory,” Menard said. “We should remember that part of Gary, too, a person, a man and a father.”
Allen Hammack, author of several Dungeon & Dragons campaigns, shared how he met his wife through gaming, while donating a bag of dice for the memorial.
“I wouldn’t have my real family, I wouldn’t have my gaming family,” Hammack said. “As competitive as always, my dice is wrapped in plastic. It will outlasts all of yours.”
Dungeons & Dragons fans share their experiences about playing the popular roleplaying game during the Gygax Memorial consecration ceremony.
Stormberg said now that the “stone elements” stage has begun, they fundraising for the “bronze elements” will begin.
“It will be easier for us to fundraise, because the bronze elements are going to take two to three years to create,” Stormberg said. “So, it’s going to be some time before those are even finished.”
For more information about the Gygax Memorial Fund, visit www.gygaxmemorialfund.com.
In addition to the consecration ceremony, many roleplaying fans also attended Gary Con XVIII, which was held March 18-22 at the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa in Lyons.
