?Torch of Freedom? sculpture arrives in RC and is expected to be in place before winter

The ?Torch of Freedom? sculpture has arrived in Rogers City and crews from the Rogers City DPW will be looking at placing the 6,000-pound stainless steel statue in its new home within the next month. The location selected by the Rogers City Council is in Lakeside Park at the end of Erie Street. The plan is to place the monument atop a concrete pedestal with lighting to make the sculpture visible from land and water. DPW director Bill Robin said the sculpture should be visible from as far away as St. John Lutheran Church. ?That will be dead center of Erie Street between the harbor and Lake Street,? Robin said. ?There will be a big lantern on the top part of it.? Robin said travelers on Erie Street should be able to see the statue as they break the hill on Erie Street, especially at night.

TOM MORAN, a metal fabrication industrialist, donated the 15-foot award-winning sculpture to the city. The sculpture is a depiction of the torch carried by the Staue of Liberty. ?The workmanship is unreal,? said Robin, who got his first close look at it in Rogers City. ?Every piece of it is so intricate. Every piece is cut and welded.? More than $12,000 in stainless steel was used in the construction of the torch along with 1,000 man-hours. It was designed prior to the Onaway Forth of July parade last year and has been sitting at the Moran Iron Works complex until this week when DPW workers went to pick it up. It was placed on its side and strapped to a flatbed trailer. Moran also donated a metal bench, which will be placed near the sculpture.

?We are going to put a six-foot slab of cement on the base, then a riser two feet to bring up the level,? Robin said. Plans at the park include a four- or five-foot area around the base for flowers to enhance the look yet keep people from climbing on the artistic creation. There also will be a sidewalk around the circumference for viewing.

?IF YOU wanted to take pictures you will be able to stand back in the park rather than out in the road,? he

said. The flowers and sidewalk won?t be installed until spring. ?The foundation I would like to have in by the end of the month,? said Robin. The sculpture won?t require much maintenance. Robin was told DPW crews would need to occasionally run a wire brush on it. Final details are still being worked out, but it appears people outside of the area also will be able to see the Torch of Freedom on the Internet. The Rogers City Chamber of Commerce, with assistance from the Nautical Festival Committee, the Rogers City Travel & Visitors Bureau and the city has pooled their resources together to purchase a webcam.

It will be placed on the Lakeside Park pavilion to provide a view of Lake Huron and the weather conditions, but people at home will be able to operate the cam from home to pan around to the sculpture. Robin said the webcam would provide extra security as well.

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