A piece of Seward County history made several appearances over the weekend on its way to Alaska. A sculpture of William H. Seward was on display over the weekend. Pictured is sculptor David Rubin.
William H. Seward was in town May 19-21.
At least a representation of him was.
A statue of Seward, the man for whom Seward and Seward County are named, is on its way from New York to Alaska and made weekend stops in Seward and Goehner.
The presenters of the statue headed for Alaska were featured at various programs, displaying the statue and telling the story of American statesman William H. Seward and of the bronze statue en route to Alaska’s capitol for its Territorial Sesquicentennial.
David Rubin of New York, the sculptor, and project chair Wayne Jensen of Alaska, originally from Homer and a UNL graduate, attended the May 17 Seward Rotary Club meeting. Local hosts were Seward Rotarians Jon and Bonnie Kruse of Seward and members of the Seward Sesquicentennial Committee.
Rubin and his sister Judith were commissioned to create a bronze sculpture to honor Seward. The finished statue was presented at the Seward House in Auburn, New York, before traveling to Seward and Lincoln.
Rubin said the piece is unique because Seward is portrayed with his disfigurement as the result of a carriage accident.
“He’s never been portrayed with his disfigurement,” he said.
Rubin said he wanted to show that he was a great warrior.
“He really changed the world,” Rubin said. “He’s serious too. He’s not smiling like everything is OK.”
Seward Rotary President John Owens introduced Alaskan Rotarian Jensen to share the Seward statue story and the story of Seward.
Jensen was the presenter/coordinator of the project and served as the lead architect for the restoration of the Alaska State Capitol.
Jensen said the statue is to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Cession, the treaty the U.S. negotiated with Russia that transferred Russian America to the U.S.
“It just happened that it was in March of 1867 in the same month that Nebraska became a state, so we share this sesquicentennial,” Jensen said.
Jensen said the statue is unique in that Seward is holding a copy of the treaty, something Seward considered his greatest achievements. The statue also features Seward wearing a cape. In 1957, the 90th anniversary of the treaty, one of Seward’s descendants gave a cape that Seward had worn to the territorial governor of Alaska.
“That cape is in our historical library,” Jensen said.
“There are some very unique local connections to this statue,” he said.
Both Jensen and Rubin were presented with Seward Rotary banners and thanked for their efforts to share the story of Seward.
On Wednesday evening, the Alaska delegation made a presentation on the project to the Seward Sesquicentennial Committee at its monthly meeting in the Seward Memorial Library.
On May 19, a similar presentation was given at Red Path Art Gallery and Tasting Room to a group of area citizens, in an informal gathering.
The Bottle Rocket Brewery hosted the Alaska team in a special presentation on May 20, with a slide presentation and sharing the story and the process of building the statue, followed by questions and answers and a viewing of the statue in downtown Seward. Seward Mayor Josh Eickmeier thanked the Alaska team for bringing the Seward statue to Seward and for sharing the story of William Seward with the Seward community.
The final leg of the statue’s tour was the 50th anniversary of the Seward County Historical Society and Museum in Goehner, where the statue was displayed and the story was again shared to those in attendance for the anniversary celebration.
The statue will now travel to Juneau, Alaska, and be placed on an Alaskan marble pedestal for all to enjoy, commemorating the rich heritage and connection of William H. Seward and Alaska.
The local events were coordinated by Jon and Bonnie Kruse for the Seward area, through the Seward Sesquicentennial Committee and the Seward Rotary Club.
