Feature on Sgt. Baker. TOPIC: CIVIL
WAR, PEOPLE, DOWNTOWN
Written by Barbara Adams in September, 1998
FRAGMENTED IN 1976, SGT. BAKER TWIN IN RICHLAND COUNTY RESTORED TO DUTY...Pg 2 |
|
| For 20 years the pieces were
stored, almost forgotten. Then the teacher of the Madison High School welding shop, Paul
Blanton, developed a method to weld the statue back together. Brad Tilton, of the
McLaughlin Camp 12, Soldiers of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, volunteered as
chairman of a committee to raise funds to restore the sculpture. Blanton’s idea was to weld the original statue together as well as it could be done, then use it as a pattern to make a mold to cast an exact duplicate. The statue, dignified and impressive despite its missing parts and welding scars, was on display at several local exhibitions, including the 1997 Richland County Fair. For a Shelby Countian, aimlessly walking through the many exhibits, it was a bit of a shock to suddenly look up and find a replica of Sgt. Baker. Tilton, after seeing newspaper pictures of Sgt. Baker, came to Sidney to take more pictures. He and his committee members agreed the two statues were probably made from the same mold by the Fiske Company. In October 1997, Michael G. Kraus, sculptor of Creston, Ohio, and a Civil War re-enactor, was selected to continue with the work. Using clay to fashion the missing pieces, Mr. Kraus then made the mold and cast an exact duplicate in bronze. Foundry work started in January 1998. Cost was estimated at $35,000. On May 25, 1998, the re-dedication ceremony was held. McLaughlin Camp 12 proudly unveiled the reconstructed statue before a huge crowd in Mansfield Central Park. After an absence of 22 years, the Richland County Memorial was back where it belonged. |
Richland County's
soldier. [Back] [Next] [Up] [New Search] |
