Commemorating the 43
rd anniversary of the
assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, the children of Omaha
unveiled a statue of the 16
th President on Sunday, April 6, 1908. On
a warm Spring afternoon, Central High sophomore Mona Cowell pulled on the
sturdy cord, and with some assistance from the Superintendant, the stars and
stripes covering the Viennese statue fell away to reveal the bronze statue of a
beardless Abraham Lincoln. The ceremony that Sunday afternoon began at 2:30 at
the First Methodist Church with an invocation by the Rev. Frank Loveland. The
Omaha High School glee club sang a patriotic song,
Omaha World-Herald and
Omaha Bee) and Principal Waterhouse
gave a brief address about the history of the efforts to raise funds for the
statue. General Charles Manderson recollected that as a member of the Canton
(Ohio) Zouaves, he recalled escorting a beardless Lincoln to the inauguration
and that the statue was a good likeness of the man he remembered. The principal
address was given by W. F. Gurley. Frederick McConnell, Chairman of the
soliciting crew for the sophomore class, was introduced and made a speech
presenting the statue. With that, Mona Cowell and Davidson jerked on the cord,
and the statue was unveiled to the cheers of those present (April 8, 1908,
Omaha Bee and
Omaha World-Herald).
 |
Sophomore Mona Cowell unveils the
statue, April 8, 1908 (Omaha Bee) |
The idea of a statue of Abraham Lincoln had been floating
around for a while. As Principal Waterhouse recalled, he approved of the idea
of a statue when it was first proposed by Assistant Principal J. F. Woolery. Waterhouse
broached the idea to the students, who enthusiastically supported the idea of a
statue. While Omaha had statues, this would be the first of an American
President in the city. (April 8, 1908 Omaha Bee)
 |
Mona Cowell, Central
High School yearbook, 1910 |
Visiting Vienna later, Woolery visited several sculptures
and found that $2,000 was the lowest bid for a statue. Mr Waterhouse called on
the art committee of the Woman’s Club, asking for their support for the
project. After some debate, the Woman’s Club voted at the December 1906 meeting
to support the statue “to stand as a monument to the work of the Omaha Woman’s
Club in the years to come,” but that the money should come from subscriptions
rather than from their treasury. (December 11, 1906, Omaha World-Herald) Hearing of the pledge, a delegation of
students replied, “This is our statue, not the Woman’s Club, and we want to do
it alone,” taking on the task of raising the funds themselves. Within a week,
the $2,000 was raised. (April 8, 1908, Omaha Bee) “Members of the Woman’s Club
have shown no spirit to interfere with the plans of the pupils, but are
enthusiastic in their plans to help them,” Principal Waterhouse said. (February
9, 1907, Omaha Bee)
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| Abraham Lincoln statue, 1925 |
The sculptor was Austrian Franz Zelezny (1866-1932), the
leading sculptor of Vienna who had won several gold medals, and had several
bronzes purchased by the Kaiser. (March 24, 1907, Omaha Bee). The statue was to
be seven feet tall and the pedestal eight feet, with the statue costing an
estimated $1,200 and the pedestal costing an estimated $400, and made of Barre
granite and weighing 20,000 pounds. (February 9, 1907, Omaha Bee)
From the beginning, however, there was considerable
objection from the art work about the statue. Professional painter and artist
J. Laurie Wallace spoke before the School Board, calling the statue “The worst
work of so-called art perpetrated on a long suffering public.” Citing previous
artwork, Wallace said, “The Schiller bust in Riverview Park is bad, the
caryatids on the Young Men’s Christian Association building are disgraceful,
the sculpture on the high school pediments are vile, but this proposed statue
of Lincoln is worse than any.” The Board ignored his pleas to form a
commission, and decided to rely on the students and teachers to decide on the
final statue. School Superintendent W.M. Davidson reminded people that they
could not expect to get a statue of Lincoln “of the St. Gauden’s type” for
$2,000. The statue of Lincoln in Chicago by St Gaudens cost $50,000, said
Davidson. “I appreciate the defects the same as Mr. Wallace, but repeat that we
can not expect too much for the price paid. (March 18, 1908, Omaha Bee). School board member J.C. Lindsay insisted that
the Board ought to have the right to reject the work if it proved
unsatisfactory. “No man can force me to accept the gift of a groundhog if I do
not want it,” he said. “I have not seen the statue, and as far as I know it may
be all right, but if reports are true,
we had better not have any statue at all than to have one that will be an
eyesore,” said Board member G. D. Rice. (March 20, 1908, Omaha Bee)
 |
Abraham Lincoln statue at Lincoln Elementary
(11th and Center) - date unknown |
While the statue was ultimately dedicated and accepted, it
never met with universal acclaim. When the statue had to be moved for the
regrading of Dodge Street in 1920, opponents of the statue used the opportunity
to relocate the statue to Lincoln School (originally Center School, built in
1883) where students welcomed the statue. A teacher at Central High was asked
if he felt "personally sorry that the statue is gone." He replied, "I'll be personally sorry if it comes
back." (May 11, 1941, April 20, 2008, Omaha World-Herald).
 |
August 28, 1937
Omaha World-Herald |
While the children of Lincoln Grade School at 11th and Center celebrated the arrival of their statue, it continued to be met with scorn or indifference in the greater community. “We don’t mind it anymore. We
are used to it now. At first, it reminded me of a graveyard,” one neighbor
across the street from the Lincoln school later said of the statue, as it stood
partially obscured by tree limb and litter in the base (April 6,
1930, Omaha World Herald). By 1937,
neighbors complained that the corroded statue was an eyesore and some called
for its repair or removal. (August 28, 1937, Omaha World-Herald) That same
year, under protests from neighbors tired of the uneven “splotchy green”
corrosion, the statue was given a coat of black paint, much to the distress of
Principal Bess Bedell (June 26, 1942 and October 21, 1937, Omaha World-Herald).
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No respect for the statue
January, 1920 Omaha World-Herald |
Abraham Lincoln resisted calls for the statue to be melted
down to support the war effort in 1942. School Board Peter Behrens member
threatened to go to court to prevent the statue’s removal, though he lost his
earlier bid to have the statue removed to the court house lawn (July 7, 1942,
Omaha World-Herald).
Despite a few champions, the statue continued to receive
little respect. Superintendent H.M. Corning reported that Joslyn Memorial
Museum Director Paul Grummann had branded the statue “the most atrocious statue
ever seen.” (June 14, 1941, Omaha World-Herald). Critics continued to point to the ungainly proportions of a medium-short man with a head too large for the body.
Yet Abraham Lincoln endured year after year. An eighth of an
inch of oxidation was removed in 1950 during the statue’s first cleaning since
it was installed 42 years earlier, for the statue’s rededication before
Lincoln’s birthday. The cleaning was paid for Epstein-Morgan Post 260, a Jewish
war veterans group (February 7, 1950, Omaha World-Herald). Lincoln’s memory
continued to endure, and the children of Lincoln School placed a wreath at the
statue in 1961, sang patriotic songs, and remembered the ideals the President
stood for (February 12, 1961, Omaha World Herald)
 |
Abraham Lincoln statue at
Bancroft Grade School today. |
The statue continued to have its defenders. Year after year, an unknown stranger left a wreath on Abraham Lincoln's birthday. A neighbor believed it was an ex-principal, but the tradition continued after she died. One year, February 12th came and went with no wreath. Nearly two weeks later, a neighbor saw an elderly man stop his car, get out and lay a wreath, and kneel in prayer. He would not give his name but he said he "loves Lincoln," and was "just a little late this year." He got back in his car with out of state plates and drove away, unaware that his annual tradition had been noticed. (February 24, 1981,
Omaha World-Herald).
The statue made another trip, this time escorted by students
and parents from Lincoln Elementary School, which was to be closed, to its new
home at Bancroft School during a parade in 1984. The 7 foot statue was placed
on a flatbed truck, followed by the students and parents. The statue had stood
outside for 76 years, but would be placed inside at Bancroft Elementary School (May
29, 1984, Omaha World-Herald).
Lincoln still stands at Bancroft School, but if his past
travels are any indication, his adventures are from over. Will he come full
circle and return to Central High School, or will he be moved some day in the
future if Bancroft School is closed? Will Zelezny’s sculpture find respect, or
will it continue to face the criticism from the public? What would Lincoln
himself have said at his own much-maligned statue? Perhaps he might have said he was too old
to cry but it hurt too much to laugh?
