Chamber board approves Hiawatha repair downpayment

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Ironwood - Ironwood's Hiawatha statue is expected to get its much-needed repairs next summer, after the Ironwood Chamber of Commerce's board approved sending the first payment for the project Tuesday.

"The board approved making a down payment of 50 percent that will reserve us our time," chamber executive director Michael Meyer said.

While the chamber is still raising funds to pay for the repairs, Meyer said they didn't want to wait until all the money was gathered and then have the company's schedule fill up with other projects.

The FAST Corporation, out of Sparta, Wis., will be completing the repairs - which are scheduled to start in June 2019.

The repairs will include removing the statue's old coating, minor repairs as needed to any cracks or holes, and applying a new coat of paint.

Meyer said the company is one of the few in the country still doing this kind of work.

While the company's official bid for the repair work is $25,440; Meyer said the chamber also has to provide lift trucks, a compressor and other equipment for the work. With these costs factored in, Meyer said the project will probably cost between $28,000-$30,000.

Due to the fiberglass, paint and other materials used in the project means weather and temperature could have a significant impact on the project's timeline. Assuming the weather cooperates, Meyer said the work is expected to take two crews five to six days to complete.

Even with the chamber's board approving the downpayment, work still needs to be done to raise the remaining funds to pay for the refurbishment.

"Of course by committing ourselves to this, we've got eight months to come up with another $10,000," Meyer said. "So we're going to be returning to actively trying to get both organizations, as well as individuals, to contribute to get this thing done. I mean we are close."

Just over $17,600 have been raised through the chamber's fundraising effort over the past two years, Meyer said, where donations started strong and then tapered off somewhat.

He thinks the announcement the work is being scheduled will bring in another surge of contributions.

The 52-foot fiberglass statue was installed in June 1964 and weighs 18,000 pounds, according to information at its location near Randa Memorial Field on the Burma Road.

Built and designed by Gordon Displays Inc. in St. Paul, Minn., Ironwood car dealer Charles Gotta was one of the main drivers behind the idea of building the statue.

Meyer feels the statue is a valuable piece of Americana, harkening back to the 1950s and '60s when an increase in car ownership and the construction of the federal interstate system allowed Americans to travel the country en masse.

Communities would create attractions to draw visitors, which Meyer said was at least part of the reason Gotta pushed to build the Hiawatha statue.

"You have to have something for people to see - and guess what, they're still coming to see it," Meyer said.

While numerous statues and attractions were built around the country, Meyer said not many examples of this "road art" are still around.

"They're all disintegrating all across the country, there are very few that are left - and certainly none of this size," Meyer said.

Meyer said contributions to the fundraising campaign can still be made at gofundme.com/Hiawatha2016.