EATON — Eaton City Council recognized Preble County Heritage for its part in bringing “Miss Preble,” the M4A3 Sherman Tank originally gifted to the city as a war memorial, home to the city. While the tank used to sit at the Armory, now she sits at Fort St. Clair for all to see.

During a meeting on Monday, Oct. 16, council recognized Tina Marker, Ernie Root, and their group with a Proclamation of Appreciation. Every member of the large group was presented with a copy of the proclamation.

“First and foremost I want to welcome back a huge piece of Preble County’s heritage. It came back on Sept. 23, after five years of a lot of red tape and a lot of dead rabbit trails and a lot of perseverance,” Tina Marker said. “We have reunited Preble County Heritage. We poured our souls into trying to save the armory building when it first became vacant and also the tank right after it was removed. So, we had a lot of lows and a lot of dead space, but we are just so happy that a good plan came back together. [The tank] is beautiful — if you haven’t seen her, she’s at Fort St. Clair.”

“We cannot thank the City of Eaton enough, for everything that they’ve done to make [the tank] the showcase for military of Preble County. We thank you all so much,” she added.

“This proclamation is of appreciation,” Mayor David Kirsch said, before reading the proclamation which thanks Preble County Heritage for returning the tank to Eaton.