Statues step out in Shiloh Sandwiched In
BECCA MARTIN-BROWN
bmartin@nwadg.com
“We often think about statues being monuments to important historical figures or events,” Marie Demeroukas begins. “But statues can be found at businesses, churches, tourist attractions, cemeteries, homes, cultural institutions, parks and town squares. Whether fine art, commercial art or folk art, many have backstories with interesting characters, differing purposes, wandering journeys and even a bit of mystery. And as we’ve seen with the recent move of the Confederate monument from the Bentonville square, statues can say something about a community, then and now.”
So it was that Demeroukas, who is archivist of more than a quarter of a million photos at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale, thought a program about statues might “be a fun way to explore local history.”
“It just popped into my head one day,” she says by way of explanation. “Northwest Arkansas has dozens of statues, many of which are hidden in plain sight.”
So Demeroukas started by listing the ones she knew about and “then canvased our research files and folks in the local history community for others. Early on, I decided to focus on three-dimensional figural statues — statues which depict people or animals, whether real or imagined — which have been in our area for at least 25 years. From there, I came up with 21 individual statues or statue groupings (such as Farwell’s Dinosaur Park) to investigate.”
Christ of the Ozarks
The Rev. Gerald L.K. Smith had a longtime wish to build a monumental statue similar to the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After he and wife Elna moved to Eureka Springs, he met Emmet Sullivan, who had worked with Gutzon Borglum, creator of the Mount Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota. In the end, Christ of the Ozarks cost five times more than expected and took four times as long to build, from 1965 to 1966. In 2017 The New York Times ranked Christ of the Ozarks the fourth most popular statue in the U.S., after the Lincoln Memorial, Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty.
(Shiloh Museum of Ozark History/Springdale News Collection)
The program would ordinarily have been presented as a “Sandwiched In” lunchtime event, but “as part of the museum’s ‘pandemic pivot,’ I recorded the presentation via PowerPoint, which was an eye-opening experience for me,” she says. “In order to improve sound quality, my ‘recording booth’ was a small walk-in closet at home. The clothes dampened the acoustics, and the closed door kept the cat from wandering in and meowing. One downside — I didn’t get to hear the audience laugh and respond to what I’m saying.”
FAQ
Sandwiched In:
‘Monumental, Mythological, Memorial, Monstrous, and Merry: Figural Statues of Northwest Arkansas’
WHEN — Now
WHERE — Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale via YouTube
COST — Free
INFO — 750-8165 or shilohmuseum.org
Ole Paint
In 1974, Richard DuFrene and Suzie Noland DuFrene built a grocery store in Hickory Creek, northeast of Springdale. About that time Richard’s dad bought a fiberglass statue of a horse from White Stallion Trailer Park in Rogers. He sold it to Richard for $300, and Richard paired it with an old farm wagon outside the store. When the DuFrenes opened NWA Florist in 1980, the horse moved to Fayetteville with them. Wanting to do something fun for the kids, they held a contest at Butterfield Trail Elementary School, and every few weeks a class was invited to paint the horse. Following the contest, a number of organizations asked to paint the horse. Since then, Ole Paint becomes a horse of a different color nearly every month. Today Ole Paint stands near the florist shop in the Nelsons Crossing shopping center, ready for his next look.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo)
Apollo
William Sonneman opened the Apollo Theater in Springdale in 1949, outfitting the lobby with items purchased at Dallas Barrack’s antique store, one a marble statue of the Greek god Apollo, which Barrack bought at an estate sale at the Goldblatt Mansion in Chicago. At first a cloak was draped over Apollo to cover his near-nakedness, but after folks got used to him, it was taken off. Following Sonneman’s death in 1969, the theater changed hands. It wasn’t long before the new owner got into trouble for showing X-rated movies. When he didn’t pay his legal fees, his lawyer, Richard Womack, took matters into his own hands. He sent his son to retrieve the statue from the porch of the owner’s home, in lieu of cash. And then Apollo disappeared from area history. With a fine bit of sleuthing, Shiloh Museum outreach coordinator Susan Young tracked him to the Nashville law office of Womack’s son. Recently the run-down Apollo building was renovated and restored as The Apollo on Emma, a wedding and event venue. Tipped off by Young as to the statue’s whereabouts, the venue’s owners purchased Apollo and restored him to his former home.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo)
Strengthen the Arm of Liberty
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Boy Scouts of America undertook a “Crusade to Strengthen the Arm of Liberty.” They wanted to make a patriotic statement during a time which saw the beginning of the Cold War, the invasion of South Korea, and the hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Boy Scout troops throughout the U.S. were encouraged to raise between $300 and $350 to purchase a copy of Frederic Auguste Bartholdi’s statue, “Liberty Enlightening the World,” commonly known as the Statue of Liberty. Washington County scouts raised funds for both the statue and its brick base through donations and by holding scrap-paper drives. About 200 statues were placed across the U.S. between 1950 and 1951, but only two were placed in Arkansas, one in Pine Bluff and the other in Fayetteville, in February 1951, at the newly opened Washington County Hospital. When the hospital moved to a new location in 2009, it took the statue with it, swapping the old brick base for a new one. Today it stands near the entrance to Washington Regional Medical Center.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo)
Farwell’s Dinosaur Park
In 1967, Emmet Sullivan began work on Farwell’s Dinosaur Park near Beaver Dam. It wasn’t as much of a stretch for Sullivan as you might think. In 1936 he helped create Dinosaur Park in Rapid City, S.D. The Carroll County tourist attraction was a joint project between Sullivan and Ola and Maye Farwell, who provided land for the 60-acre park. When it opened in July 1968, it featured about a dozen dinosaurs spread along a 2-mile drive, including a 24-foot high, 50-foot long brontosaurus. In 1979, the Farwells sold the park to Ken and June Childs, who renamed it Land of Kong in the early 1980s. The park closed in 2005 and a few years later was named one of America’s “10 Most Endangered Roadside Places.”
(Shiloh Museum of Ozark History/Springdale News Collection)
Farwell’s Dinosaur Park
In 1967, Emmet Sullivan began work on Farwell’s Dinosaur Park near Beaver Dam. It wasn’t as much of a stretch for Sullivan as you might think. In 1936 he helped create Dinosaur Park in Rapid City, S.D. The Carroll County tourist attraction was a joint project between Sullivan and Ola and Maye Farwell, who provided land for the 60-acre park. When it opened in July 1968, it featured about a dozen dinosaurs spread along a 2-mile drive, including a 24-foot high, 50-foot long brontosaurus. In 1979, the Farwells sold the park to Ken and June Childs, who renamed it Land of Kong in the early 1980s. The park closed in 2005 and a few years later was named one of America’s “10 Most Endangered Roadside Places.”
(Shiloh Museum of Ozark History/Springdale News Collection)
Jubilation T. Cornpone
In 1966, a group of investors decided to build a theme park near Jasper in Newton County, based on Al Capp’s popular hillbilly comic strip, “Lil’ Abner.” Dogpatch USA opened in May 1968. It featured costumed characters, a trout farm, train rides on the West Po’k Chop Speshul, and amusement rides like Earthquake McGoon’s Brain Rattler. An 18-foot-tall, bronze-colored statue of Gen. Jubilation T. Cornpone stood in the town square. Dogpatch experienced financial ups and downs before closing in 1993. In 2003 two men used a backhoe to load Cornpone onto a trailer. They said they were taking him to Branson, Mo., to be repaired. He’s not been seen since. In May 2020, Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops of Springfield, Mo., bought the old Dogpatch property as a future development project.
(Shiloh Museum of Ozark History/Springdale News Collection)
