Marathon Pundit: Reagan lifeguard statue effort underway in Dixon, IL

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Reagan lifeguard statue effort underway in Dixon, IL

Dixon, Illinois, Ronald Reagan's hometown, is proposing building a statue of "Dutch" in on the Rock River in Lowell Park, where the future 40th president worked as a lifeguard--saving 77 lives.

Reagan called his lifeguard post, "One of the best jobs I ever had."

From Sauk Valley.com:

The objective is to design, create and build a 7-foot bronze sculpture of a young Reagan as a lifeguard. The cost is estimated at $120,000 and construction could take 10 to 12 months.

More...

The committee working to make the project a reality has reached out to the Rotblatt-Amrany Studio in Highwood, a Chicago suburb. The studio is nationally known for such works as the Michael Jordan statute in front of the United Center in Chicago and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar statue in front of Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Burke said the team is impressed with the studio and set on commissioning its services for the project.

Rock River in Lowell Park

Funding would come from foundations and corporate donations, not limited to those in Dixon, Burke said. City money would not be used, although Dixon Tourism could put money toward the effort, Burke said.

This is not the only Reagan statue undertaking underway in Illinois' Reagan Country. As I exclusively reported two months ago, only $10,000 is needed for a statue of a young Reagan in Tampico--where the great president was born in 1911.

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