Michael Smith is fundraising
Native American Statue Laconia, NH
Hello all,
The Muskrats Baseball Group has started this gofundme page in order to raise funds to address the impending loss of one of the most iconic features of the area; the Native American statue which has resided at Opechee Park since 1984.
Here are the obstacles...the statue is a large and very heavy piece of wood that has been exposed to the elements of New England weather for 30+ years. Basically, it is completely rotted and will fall once the supports are removed. If it were even possible to restore the existing wood it would have to be done by lifting it off of its existing support platform and that is next to impossible because it sits approximately 80’ inside the track which would certainly be destroyed by driving heavy equipment over it. And, who knows if the statue is even repairable at this point. The city is very correct in their concern for safety.
The Muskrats Baseball Group was very interested in saving the statue and started looking into options. The option that really jumped out to us is called 3D printing.
This is a fairly new technology that is being used all around the world by organizations like the Smithsonian Institute to preserve historic artifacts, artwork, archeological sites/ finds etc.
As luck has it, we have a resident who is part of the Muskrats organization who is brilliant when it comes to 3D printing named Chris Fernandez. He has been able to guide our thinking through this process. Through Chris we’ve been able to locate the appropriate team to laser scan the existing statue and digitally correct all of the cracks and crevices that have appeared over the years. With the laser scan in place that will enable the team to create a 3D mesh model. We will then bring in a separate group to re-create the statue in sections that will be able to be assembled and erected.
The statue will then be able to stand tall and look out over Laconia for another 30+ years. Any issues with the condition over time can easily be addressed.
This is an incredible technology which will enable us to preserve our history for generations to come.
We have even been able to reach out to Peter Toth, the artist who carved the statue and he was thrilled with the idea. Mr. Toth completed the statue in 1984 and it is part of the Trail of the Whispering Giants. He has completed 74 to date although the one in Oregon was removed in 2017 due to damage. He completed one in each of the 50 states as well as others in Canada and his native country of Hungry.
New Hampshire would be the first to go through this process and will hopefully be the model for others across the country to follow to preserve their statues.
Our hope is to document the entire process and post it online as well as invite people down to watch as the statue comes back to life. In fact, the initial laser scan will be completed on April 17th, 2019, weather permitting.
It will be fascinating as well as educational to bring that type of technology to the area to save our beautiful statue.
We want this process to be as impactful to this generation of area residents as it was for us to watch as it was carved all those years ago.
As you can guess...the process isn’t cheap which is why we have started this gofundme site.
As was mentioned earlier, the Muskrats organization is committed to making this happen and we are going to make up for any shortfall in fund raising. We hope to have an unveiling ceremony and hopefully something up at Robbie Mills field this summer at one of our games.
The Muskrats baseball organization feels that we have incredible community support and a great partner in the city of Laconia and this is our way of showing our gratitude.
We are a 501c3 non-profit organization.
The Muskrats Baseball Group has started this gofundme page in order to raise funds to address the impending loss of one of the most iconic features of the area; the Native American statue which has resided at Opechee Park since 1984.
Here are the obstacles...the statue is a large and very heavy piece of wood that has been exposed to the elements of New England weather for 30+ years. Basically, it is completely rotted and will fall once the supports are removed. If it were even possible to restore the existing wood it would have to be done by lifting it off of its existing support platform and that is next to impossible because it sits approximately 80’ inside the track which would certainly be destroyed by driving heavy equipment over it. And, who knows if the statue is even repairable at this point. The city is very correct in their concern for safety.
The Muskrats Baseball Group was very interested in saving the statue and started looking into options. The option that really jumped out to us is called 3D printing.
This is a fairly new technology that is being used all around the world by organizations like the Smithsonian Institute to preserve historic artifacts, artwork, archeological sites/ finds etc.
As luck has it, we have a resident who is part of the Muskrats organization who is brilliant when it comes to 3D printing named Chris Fernandez. He has been able to guide our thinking through this process. Through Chris we’ve been able to locate the appropriate team to laser scan the existing statue and digitally correct all of the cracks and crevices that have appeared over the years. With the laser scan in place that will enable the team to create a 3D mesh model. We will then bring in a separate group to re-create the statue in sections that will be able to be assembled and erected.
The statue will then be able to stand tall and look out over Laconia for another 30+ years. Any issues with the condition over time can easily be addressed.
This is an incredible technology which will enable us to preserve our history for generations to come.
We have even been able to reach out to Peter Toth, the artist who carved the statue and he was thrilled with the idea. Mr. Toth completed the statue in 1984 and it is part of the Trail of the Whispering Giants. He has completed 74 to date although the one in Oregon was removed in 2017 due to damage. He completed one in each of the 50 states as well as others in Canada and his native country of Hungry.
New Hampshire would be the first to go through this process and will hopefully be the model for others across the country to follow to preserve their statues.
Our hope is to document the entire process and post it online as well as invite people down to watch as the statue comes back to life. In fact, the initial laser scan will be completed on April 17th, 2019, weather permitting.
It will be fascinating as well as educational to bring that type of technology to the area to save our beautiful statue.
We want this process to be as impactful to this generation of area residents as it was for us to watch as it was carved all those years ago.
As you can guess...the process isn’t cheap which is why we have started this gofundme site.
As was mentioned earlier, the Muskrats organization is committed to making this happen and we are going to make up for any shortfall in fund raising. We hope to have an unveiling ceremony and hopefully something up at Robbie Mills field this summer at one of our games.
The Muskrats baseball organization feels that we have incredible community support and a great partner in the city of Laconia and this is our way of showing our gratitude.
We are a 501c3 non-profit organization.
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