By R. R. BRANSTROM

Escanaba Daily Press

GLADSTONE — A collaborative effort between the Hannahville Indian Community, Nah Tah Wahsh Public School Academy and the Gladstone Parks and Recreation Department is resulting in a complete restoration of a group of statues of Native Americans in Van Cleve Park.

The lifesize cement figures were constructed around 1910 and moved to their current location in 1988.

On the western end of VanCleve Park, now within a new wooden split-rail fence, are the gathering of statues. There are five adults, three standing. One is holding a child. Before them are a black bear and two logs. All are painted cement.

The series was the work of artist E. H. Levely, who crafted them in Northern Midland County around 1910 and designed them to represent real individuals in that area, according to a plaque at the site.

The sign continues:

“The late W. C. Wickham, friend of Levely, watched their construction and later purchased and moved the collection to his property on Houghton Lake. There the late Henry Ford tried unsuccessfully to purchase the set from Wickham.

“After W. C. Wickham’s death, Albert Wickham purchased the collection from his father’s estate and relocated them to his resort on Garth Point. There overlooking the river ‘narrows,’ where the Rapid, Whitefish and the Tacoosh rivers come together, they became the conversation of fishermen for many years.”

In 1988, Albert and Dora Wickham donated the “collection of Michigan folk art” to the City of Gladstone and requested that they be displayed on the shores of Little Bay de Noc “for the enjoyment and enrichment of our community.”

The statues are now roughly 110 years old and have sustained damage by not only weather but also intentional destruction.

In 2002, the Gladstone City Commission agreed to apply for a grant from the Central Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Regional Commission for the purpose of repairing the figures.

In June 2012, the statues had been knocked down and spray-painted in an act of vandalism that reports said was not the first. According to a WNMU story by Nicole Walton, former art teacher Harry Nelson handled repairs that summer.

Robert Brown, presently the acting supervisor at the Gladstone Parks and Recreation Department, said that the notion to kick off the current project began after the fence surrounding the statues was replaced this summer. There was a budget allotted for the new fence, and when that work was done, the decaying statues looked especially shabby, he said.

“They’ve been cracked and the elements hit ’em pretty hard, so there was a little erosion going on on their heads and shoulders and stuff where the sun and rain had hit over the years,” said Brown.

“So we reached out to the Hannahville Indian Community, and we thought maybe we could get a volunteer project, community involvement going.”

Volunteers from Nah Tah Wahsh PSA agreed to paint the statues when they were ready.

The parks department began restoration Sept. 7. After a powerwashing to remove moss and lichen that were growing in the cracks and crevices, Brown and Troy Drebenstedt — a seasonal employee of the parks department — worked to prepare the sculptures structurally.

“(We) just kind of smoothed out everything, and I put a couple of the feet back together. The hands were broken, and the rerod was exposed,” Brown explained, “and whatever little chicken wire fencing they used was just all broken up, so we spent quite a bit of time kind of bandaging them back together and getting everything looking good… ready for them to start new.”

The group from Hannahville painted on Oct 5. Workers from Gladstone’s Parks and Electric departments erected a tent over the area on Oct. 4.

Brown said that this whole arrangement was “definitely a team project from start to finish.”

A community member made a monetary donation to supply the volunteers from Hannahville with snacks and refreshments while they worked.

Constance Lightfoot from Nah Tah Wahsh PSA coordinating painting done by nine volunteers from the school. In addition to Lightfoot herself, that team included Andrea King, Potawatomi language teacher; high school sophomores Naya Anziano, Emma Leiskay, Kirsten LaFave and Aliyah Avery; junior Kayden Mathias; and seniors Estrella Paz and Dalia Reyes.

They started at 9 a.m. Oct. 5 by priming the human figures entirely with a yellowish base coat Lightfoot called “buckskin.”

“This concrete, because it’s so old, it’s super absorbent, so we need a couple layers first before we can do anything,” she said. “We selected this color to be more like a natural buckskin color to be a base for a lot of the clothing. Our plan is to go full, like, historically accurate to this area for the people in this area and the culture.”

The educators and students had done their research and brought to the park several packets of printed reference photos to act as a sort of “vision board.” Judging by the sculptures’ clothing, which included buttons and aspects that point to a post-colonial era, the Hannahville volunteers set forth a generalized plan.

“We got a few different skin tones and stuff. We can mix up some hair — because not everyone’s hair is just black,” said Lightfoot. “We know that clothes are traditionally buckskin, (but) will have some cotton and wool blends in there.”

Pointing out a knife at one statue’s waist, Lightfoot said that they had gotten copper and brass paint “to make sure we have the right metals represented in their jewelry and their weaponry.” She mentioned that turquoise, which was used by the Navajo people and other tribes in the Southwest, was not present in this region.

King added that they would be focusing on “earth tones, natural earth colors. Like what you would see in a natural flower up here.”

The painters from Nah Tah Wahsh worked throughout Oct. 5, doing as much as they could. A return trip to continue the job was made on Oct. 8.

Once the painting is complete, Brown will put a protective, clear “wetlook” sealer on all the statues, which is expected to keep them looking sharp for several years.