Thank Goodness for SOSers!
SOS! volunteers around the country are still hard at work! Here are a few of their stories.
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| The Victorious Charge Civil War Monument by John Conway in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, conserved in 2003. |
WISCONSIN
After coordinating the SOS! survey of 150 sculptures in the Milwaukee area from 1992 to 1993, Diane Buck set out to conserve 12 needy downtown sculptures, which she named "Milwaukee's Dirty Dozen." Over the past 10 years she has led the charge to secure over $200,000 for conservation of six of the 12 she identified in 1994.
The sculptures and restoration dates since the beginning of the SOS! project are Robert Burns (1994), Leif Ericson (1995), Solomon Juneau (1996), Kazimir Pulaski (1997), Henry Bergh (2000), and The Victorious Charge (2003). Diane is currently working with a park friends group to conserve the equestrian sculpture of Erastus B. Wolcott. She says her secret to success is identifying community groups committed to the sculpture, along with patience, perseverance, professional conservation assessments, and persistence.
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| The Confederate Monument in Americus, Georgia, after Hurricane Jeanne. |
GEORGIA
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| Trees fell around the sculpture and broke the hat brim and rifle. |
In Americus, Georgia, pharmacist John Carroll was the first to take action after Hurricane Jeanne in September 2004. He called the city manager to make sure insurance funds would cover the damage sustained by the town’s Confederate Monument (1900). Trees fell around the piece and broke the hat brim and rifle. A volunteer with Georgia SOS!, John led the drive to raise money to conserve this monument along with the town’s World War I sculpture in 1995, and worked with SOS! to ensure that proper preservation procedures were followed during conservation treatment in 1996. Because of his past involvement with SOS!, John knew whom to call after the town’s recent disaster. Conservation will be funded with city disaster insurance money and with assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
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| Sand Castles: What Dreams Are Made Of, by Charles Parks (1989), in St. Joseph, Michigan, receiving a hot wax treatment from Venus Bronze Works Center for Conservation. Sand Castles was adopted by the Frederick S. Upton Foundation. |
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| Spirit of the American Doughboy by E.M. Visquesney (1930) in St. Joseph, Michigan, being lifted back into place by volunteers after its treatment. The sculpture, a monument to all who served in World War I, was adopted by Auxiliary Unit 568 of Stevensville. |
MICHIGAN
Susan Wilczak, director of exhibitions and collections at the Krasl Art Center, coordinated the SOS! survey for Berrien County, Michigan, from 1993 to 1996. Over 80 sculptures were included in the survey, which sparked a local adopt-a-sculpture program. To date, more than 12 sculptures have been conserved.
In 2002, when Susan learned that the Marshall Fredericks Sculpture Gallery would no longer be able to manage the hundreds of Michigan SOS! survey records, she personally moved them to the Krasl Art Center. The records are now in good care and available to researchers. She is currently working on a sculpture preservation education activity for grades 4 and 5 that will be made available by the Michigan Alliance for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Thank you Susan! For more information, e-mail sue@krasl.org or visit www.krasl.org.
Are you an SOSer still saving sculpture? Send your story to Jill Wiley White at jwhite@heritagepreservation.org.
