STEVENS POINT - "Visitors to the Stevens Point Sculpture Park will notice a popular art piece is no longer on display. “A Sand County Bench” was removed because its structure was deteriorating, according to a news release from the Sculpture Park committee". "The giant bench was one of five original works on display when the park, located at 900 N. Second St., opened in 2010". "Created by Jacob Brault of Fond du Lac, the design of the bench was a nod to American environmentalist Aldo Leopold. It quickly became one of the most popular pieces in the park, and rather than being removed after three years as is typical with artwork in the sculpture park, the bench became a permanent sculpture through the gift of a donor. The park has put funds aside to bring Brault back to reconstruct the bench".
The sculptures are usually kept up for three years and then removed. This was so popular that it remained in place for a total of 11 years. I am sure every effort was made to protect it from the elements, but even treated wood is still wood and has its limits. Add to that the liability factor, and a new installation of the bench seemed like the best way to go.
"The Giles County Chamber of Commerce leadership class in Pulaski has accepted a proposal by artist Pamela Keller, who teaches at ASU’s Alabama Center for the Arts in Decatur". "The memorial will be a life-sized likeness of a man sitting on a park bench holding two dog tags close to his face in his left hand while in meditation. In his right hand will be a small American flag". “The traditional sculpture of this man can be viewed with some mystery,” Keller said. “Is he a veteran? Are those his dog tags or those of a daughter, son or friend? Perhaps it is Memorial Day or Veterans Day and he has come to the park to reflect? Or is he on his way to the adjacent cemetery to visit the fallen soldier and plant the small flag?” "There would be room on either side of the bench for people to sit with this man and reflect on memories of veterans". (A memorial for a Giles County, Tenn., park)
"Thanks to the power of social media, a Lynchburg woman will be reunited with a piece of her dad's military history. Joseph Hamlet from Red House was one of the thousands of troops sent to France during WWI. He returned to the states, got married and started a family". "His daughter, Jo Ann Hamlet Moore, 84, says he never talked much about his time in the war. "Dad never talked. I knew he was in France, but I never knew what he did, what he belonged to," Moore said". "Now she is finding out more about his time in the military after a man in France stumbled upon his dog tags while combing a field with a metal detector".
The Girl on The Park Bench - Four Star Playhouse, 1953 "Trudy (Joan Fontaine) is incensed when her rent goes up after the city relaxes rent control. She marches down to the mayor's office and threatens to make his name mud if he doesn't reinstate the controls. He doesn't, so she calls some reporters and sets up housekeeping in the city park."