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| Veteran's Memorial Statue by Jim Havens, Woodville, OH | "Hasnaa" by Marie Brown, Toledo, OH |
In Memory, Love, and Hope |
By Kara McKay |
| Gibsonburg, Ohio is and always has been a nice little
rural village in which to live. It’s quiet and out of the
way, but friendly and open in a way that many small country communities
aren’t. There are a couple of bars to choose from if
you’d like a drink and a burger, and you can take your family
inside with you on any given day and not worry about what they might
hear or see. Gibsonburg is the sort of place where children can
sell candy bars door-to-door without parental accompaniment, and where
it’s safe to leave car doors unlocked and front doors open. Back in the 1970s, the Pfizer Company was the town’s primary employer, but when legal difficulties arose, Pfizer sold their Gibsonburg plant to the town for the unbelievable sum of one dollar. Some Gibsonburg residents worried that Pfizer’s departure would destroy the small community, but as time passed, Gibsonburg continued to thrive in spite of the loss of its one big industry. Nothing came in to replace Pfizer, but people chose to stay nevertheless. Neither the town’s long time residents nor its new residents who worked in other, larger towns wanted to see new industry move into the area. They chose to live there because it was a small, peaceful place, and so the town went on without Pfizer, and the land that Pfizer sold remained mostly unused. Gibsonburg didn’t exactly grow but instead it filled out to become a pleasant Norman Rockwell village cut out from a field of corn and soybeans. The land zoned for industry was still available in the 1990s when sculptor Jim Havens needed land on which to build his studio. The former world traveler, ex-marine, retired welder and artist couldn’t buy land just anywhere – his work with bronze and steel required industrial zoning. The land that had previously been owned by the Pfizer Company fit the bill perfectly, and so Havens purchased one acre on the far northern edge of Gibsonburg upon which to build Havens Studio and Rose Bronze Foundry. Almost no one knew he was there. More time passed, and Gibsonburg citizens elected retired ODOT employee and small business owner Ed Herman mayor. Mayor Herman wanted to create an armed services memorial, but at first he wasn’t sure how he wanted to go about it. Then, while visiting a nearby town, he saw a bronze memorial statue of a chaplain. When he asked about the statue, he was told that Jim Havens had made it. Further inquiries led Mayor Herman to Havens’ studio on the edge of Gibsonburg. After some discussion, Havens agreed to create a bronze sculpture of a genuflecting soldier. That soldier became the first completed step in a project that would grow to include an armed services memorial, a veteran’s museum, a sculpture exhibit, and a cancer memorial – all in William’s Park on the north end of town. The statue was originally displayed in 5/3 Bank on the corner of Main St. and Madison. Support for the memorial grew, and contributions began to flow in. Twenty-five thousand dollars in town funds were invested into it, and $5,000 came from the township trustees. The remaining seventy-five thousand dollars came from private donations. According to Mayor Herman, everyone donated to the memorial project – from one to one hundred dollars, Gibsonburg citizens contributed as they could. Discussion and planning ensued, and the memorial began to take shape. The town agreed upon a memorial wall upon which commemorative plaques could be affixed for Gibsonburg’s servicemen and women. Any person who has ever lived in Gibsonburg and who has served in the armed services at any time and in any capacity is eligible, and no one is refused inclusion due to inability to pay. The one hundred-dollar price for each plaque is intended to cover the cost of those plaques that are provided free of charge. The statue moved from 5/3 Bank to a small hill facing the wall. Concrete walkways and lights were installed. Three stone benches respectively dedicated to POWs and MIAs, the local American Legion chapter, and Gibsonburg’s volunteer firefighters and emergency response teams face the memorial wall, and a flag waves at one side of the bronze soldier. Mayor Herman didn’t stop with the memorial’s completion, however. Frequent visits to Havens’ studio had left him feeling that it was a shame that so few Gibsonburg residents ever saw the beautiful sculptures on the far edge of town. He suggested that Havens should begin an art exhibit in Williams Park. At first, Havens was reluctant; he didn’t want to appear as attention seeking or arrogant. When Mayor Herman did talk him into it, Havens didn’t want to include his own sculptures. Eventually he did agree to organize and curate the Sculpture In The Village exhibition, however, and with the encouragement of Mayor Herman and other friends, his sculptures joined the works of other midwestern and local artists in spring of 2005. . Once again, private funds paid for the bulk of the project, and one thing led to the next. The sculptures were arranged around the park’s fishing quarry, and the previously overgrown trail surrounding the water became a landscaped path. Eventually, a paved walkway replaced the path and connected with the armed services memorial. The old Boy Scouts clubhouse building that stood on the quarry’s north side was renovated into a veteran’s museum, local businesses donated lights and a fountain, and on the opposite side of the quarry, a monument to cancer victims was built. Now in Williams Park’s second year as memorial and art exhibit, it continues to be a center of activity. Children still play in the park’s playground, and softball and volleyball teams continue to play there in spring and summer. When the carnival comes to town, it still sets up in Williams Park, and the quarry is still stocked for the annual fishing derby. An area church has used the park for a first communion service, and on any given summer day, people can be seen walking, bicycling, and fishing. Mayor Herman himself waters the grass around the armed services memorial, and at least once a day, Jim Havens can be seen walking the path and picking up cigarette butts dropped by careless visitors. When new plaques are ordered, it’s Havens and his friend Mr. Tony Piccuto who mount them on the memorial wall. Mrs. Mary Brown and Mrs. Brenda Fork, who lost her husband to cancer, take care of the Reflection Point cancer memorial. Dana and Linda Long tend the park's main flower beds. Individuals, families, and organizations have donated the benches that dot the entire park, and many of those are dedicated to the memory of loved ones. Meanwhile, visitors come from all over the country to see the sculptures displayed in this small, rural community. Artists travel from as far as New York and California to see the exhibit, and when they do, they also see the town living unselfconsciously alongside and with it. They see Gibsonburg – a town that consciously chose to remain small but refused to be insignificant, home of blue collar workers, small businesspersons, and farmers. It’s still a one-traffic-light town with a business district small enough to walk through in under ten minutes, and where residents can keep up with town activities by keeping an eye on the Lions Club sign in the middle of town. Children are still selling candy bars and homeowners are still leaving the front door open. And this is the place where people have supported and created an atmosphere of respect for self-expression, memory, love, sacrifice, and beauty. Inside of the artistry and vision of a small Ohio community, inspired by a man who started it all with a single bronze statue created in a studio on the forgotten edge of town, visitors can see hope realized on a scale that is not too intimidating to emulate. If you would be interested in contributing to the development of Sculpture in the Village,
or if you would like to visit, please contact the Gibsonburg Town Hall. (419) 637-7166 |