OTTUMWA —
The Wapello County Board of Supervisors are contemplating their options in what needs to be done to restore the statue of Chief Wapello to the top of the courthouse.
Following a visit from Rob Jensen, director and project manager of Jensen Conservation Services Inc. in Omaha, the supervisors are waiting for a proposal to make a decision on Chief Wapello’s restoration.
“I don’t know what the resolution is going to be or what the proposal will include,” Jensen said. “I should have something later next week.”
Jensen said the supervisors will need to decide if they want to reinstall it or save it at all.
“You have to straighten out quite a bit of metal,” he said.
Jensen said structurally the chief is in good shape, but it’s the armature — the internal support — that failed.
“It probably just corroded and failed,” Jensen said. “It wouldn’t have failed, but you guys had a pretty good storm blow through.”
Jensen said he’s designed armatures across the nation, though he said it could take several months “because it’s a fairly patient process.
“Conservation is not known to be a speedy outfit,” he said. “The poor guy’s in kind of a challenging spot up there. He’s got to be really well supported on a day like that. It’s not an impossible task; you just design a little heavier duty armature in there.”
Wapello County Supervisor Steve Siegel said another option is doing a cast of the statue and making a new bronze statue.
“But I know the board, and myself included, our top priority is to fix the one we have and put it back,” Siegel said, though he’s not opposed to additional statues or artwork in the city if there were funds to do so.
Siegel said he’s open to the community raising funds, seeking some grants and looking for additional artwork that is Wapello County- or Native American-related.
“I know some people in the community want to put the old one back up and some want a new one that’s more historically accurate,” he said.
The one known picture of Wapello that exists is significantly different than what is on the statue, Siegel said.
“The statue is a tall, slender Native American, but the one across from Bridge View Center on Church Street is shorter and stockier. From what I’ve read, that’s probably more accurate,” he said. “But this one isn’t really historic because it’s an exact resemblance, it’s historic because it’s been on the courthouse since 1894.”
The statue, which was manufactured by the W.H. Mullins Company in Salem, Ohio, produced a variety of other Native American statues, Siegel said, including Jumping Deer statues for John Deere plants.
And while he said there are other conservators who could do the work, they’re leaning toward Jensen.
“The difference between [Jensen] and the others is one wanted $1,200 to come look at it, and Jensen just came on his own,” Siegel said.
Jensen has done work on the state capitol complex in Des Moines, including conservation of the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Monument.
“I’ve talked with several people with the Department of Administrative Services in Des Moines who have vouched for the quality of work,” Siegel said. “I’m confident he can do the job.
“We’re waiting to get a written document back from Jensen, and we’ll go from there.”
Local News
August 3, 2012
Chief Wapello needs better support
Following conservator’s visit, restoration is months away
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