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Presidential Tribute • Black Hills Pioneer
WELCOME TO THE BLACK HILLS
President Donald J. Trump!
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e have put together this special print edition to celebrate our nation’s independence, democracy in action, and to commemorate the historic presidential visit of President Donald Trump to Mount Rushmore on July 3. Never before would I have given a second thought to welcoming the sitting president of the United States of America to our fair state. But times have certainly changed and we as a people are more divided and polarized than most of us can remember in recent times. Probably not since the Vietnam War have our citizens been so openly hostile towards others with opposing views. Love him? Hate him? Indifference is a rare emotion at the mere mention of the name of the 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump. He promised early on to shake things up and he has certainly done that. But that is not what this column is about. This column is meant to remind us of what the office of the president means to us as citizens, and what a presidential visit to our state can accomplish. My admiration for the office goes back to my childhood. When I was in fourth-grade, President Gerald Ford was visiting my hometown of Topeka, Kan. My mom took me out of school, and drove the two of us down to Topeka Boulevard so we could park along the roadway, just south of the Capital building. She wanted to ensure we had a good view along the motorcade route, so we arrived early. I was excited, mainly because my mom was excited to get an opportunity to actually see the president of the United States in person. I had to that point only seen him on television or read about in our local newspaper. There were several cars and groups of people lining the broad four-lane roadway waiting in anticipation of his arrival. I remember Mom talking to other people and you could actually hear and feel the excitement in the air. It wasn’t long before we saw the line of black cars approaching, and then there it was, the presidential limousine with its smoked windows and Presidential Seal, being escorted by mysterious-looking men wearing dark suits and
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Independence and expanded our nation to the west. Abraham Lincoln, who abolished slavery and preserved our Union through civil war. And Theodore Dakota. Roosevelt, who had the foresight to The United States of America is preserve our nation’s most precious unique in the world because our nation national treasures. is not based on geography or ethnicity. This year, South Dakota is We were founded based on selfprivileged to welcome Donald evident truths – “that all men J. Trump, the 45th President are created equal, that they are of the United States, to Mount endowed by their Creator with Rushmore. This monument certain unalienable Rights, that is the permanent “home” to among these are Life, Liberty four presidents, but several and the pursuit of Happiness.” others have visited. In 1927, Our great American President Calvin Coolidge spent experiment began in 1776. the summer in Custer State What makes our nation so Park, and Gutzon Borglum’s special is that throughout our invitation to the construction history, we have continued to Governor site won Coolidge’s pivotal strive to form “a more perfect Kristi Noem support for federal funding of union” and to live up to this the project. In the years that followed, bold aspiration. And, over the centuries, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. people from around the world have Eisenhower, George H. W. Bush, and chosen to come to America to live in George W. Bush have visited as well. freedom, while many more have been Every presidential visit is special, inspired by our example. and it is my honor to welcome Our Shrine to Democracy of Mount President Trump to South Dakota. Rushmore is dedicated to celebrating I am also privileged to welcome the these American ideals, by memorializing thousands of visitors who will travel four of our finest Presidents. George to Mount Rushmore to join us as we Washington, our foremost founder, who commemorate America’s Independence led our nation through the Revolution Day. There is no better place to and as our first President. Thomas celebrate! Jefferson, who wrote our Declaration of elcome to Mount Rushmore National Monument in the beautiful Black Hills of South
sunglasses jogging along-side the car. Those are words I have continued, and will I strained and squinted and couldn’t see any continue, to live by. Whether you like what they semblance of a person inside the car, have done or don’t like what they have just a few shadows of what may or may done, they have been duly elected by not have been a waving arm. As they the people, and as good citizens of this traveled onward to the Capitol for their country, we need to continue to respect official business, I remember looking up the office, and root for the person holding at my mom and asking, “Was that it? that office to succeed. Why did we even bother coming down?” President Trump’s scheduled visit To which she replied, “Do you know to the Black Hills, with fireworks and how lucky we are in this country to Mount Rushmore as a backdrop on July have access to our elected officials? Do 3 will be a patriotic showpiece. He will be not ever take that for granted. Any time welcomed by Gov. Kristi Noem, and she you ever get a chance to see a former or will get the opportunity to show him and Letitia Lister sitting president, take it.” the world the magnificent beauty of our Publisher beloved Black Hills and why public lands Black Hills Pioneer are so important. We as citizens of the plains will get to show why we are considered some of the most genuine, thoughtful, hardworking, and welcoming folks in the land. Let’s all collectively roll out the welcome mat. United we stand. Divided we fall. Welcome, Mr. President.
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Fireworks AT MT. RUSHMORE By Tom Lawrence Special to the Pioneer
N
o fireworks have been seen above Mount Rushmore’s famous four faces since 2009, but a decade later, President Donald Trump said that would change. That prediction is scheduled to come true July 3. On May 7, 2019, Trump said on Twitter they would return to the Shrine to Democracy, with references to Gov. Kristi Noem and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. “I am pleased to inform you that THE BIG FIREWORKS, after many years of not having any, are coming back to beautiful Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Great work @GovKristiNoem and @SecBernhart! MAGA.” Noem released a statement that same day. “The entire world was able to view a celebration of our nation’s freedoms from the majestic memorial and the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota,” she said. “There is no more fitting place in all the nation to celebrate our democracy than from Mount Rushmore. We are grateful to President Trump and Interior Secretary Bernhardt for helping us make this happen.” During a May 24, 2019, interview with The Hill, a print and online publication that covers government and politics, Trump, after being asked if his image belonged on Mount Rushmore (see related story on Page 5.), quickly pivoted to fireworks. “Well, look, I have a lot of respect; even Mount Rushmore; so for many, many years they got, they had fireworks, right? Many, many years, and Kristi, your new governor, she’s a great person,” he said. “She called, she said, ‘Sir, for many years we had tremendous fireworks on the 4th of July. We don’t have it anymore. Can you do
something?’ And I got it approved. Starting next season, it was not easy, starting next season, Mount Rushmore will have tremendous fireworks like they had for many years. “But they ended it a long time ago, but they didn’t want, but they didn’t have fireworks because of, I don’t know, I think they thought, thought the stone was gonna catch on fire. That doesn’t happen, right? There was somebody said they had. Nobody’s been able, nobody’s been able to figure out why, but it was a very strong no. And I got it approved starting next season. They’re doing some work. They’re finishing up work now. But I got it approved for next season for Kristi and for the state.” On Dec. 16, during a meeting at the White House, Trump and Noem repeated their plans for a fireworks show. Noem said they shared a goal “to keep South Dakota wonderful. And so I appreciate that.” “It’s a great place,” Trump said. “And you also are going to have a very exciting Fourth of July.” Noem agreed. “We are,” she said. “We’re going to have fireworks.” Noem invited Trump to attend and he said it was under consideration. The president noted that she had requested his support in returning fireworks to Mount Rushmore. Gov. Dennis Daugaard also had asked for Trump to intervene with the National Park Service, which had ended fireworks shows at Mount Rushmore in 2010. Fireworks were shot off from 1998-2009, with no show in 2002 due to concerns about wildfire as well as chemicals from the explosives contaminating groundwater with carcinogens. But with the president and governor pushing for them, they are scheduled to resume. The
Photo courtesy SD Tourism.
National Park Service which is part of the Department of the Interior, administers Mount Rushmore. On May 6, 2019, the Department of Interior signed a Memorandum of Agreement with South Dakota to return fireworks to the memorial. The next day, Trump and Noem made their announcements. Work intensified this year as the event drew closer. The National Park Service issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the event on April 28. That cleared the way for this year’s show as well as more in the future. The NPS said the fireworks show would go forward as long as there was “appropriate weather,” security was not a concern and wildland fire conditions were not deemed a risk. It also said the President’s Opening Up America Again guidelines would be adhered to. “The public’s health and safety is of utmost importance, and therefore conditions in the permit issued to the state will allow for modifications to the event in accordance with all national, state and local health and safety guidelines,” a release stated. “President Trump and I believe that our nation’s founding should be celebrated with the same Pomp and Parade that John Adams described in 1776, and having a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore once again will be an incredible spectacle for the American people to enjoy,” Bernhardt said. A prescribed burn was held near Mount Rushmore on April 29 in an attempt to reduce accumulated fuel. The controlled burn was estimated to cost $30,000. Maureen McGee-Ballinger, chief of
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Presidential Tribute • Black Hills Pioneer
1924, inviting him to come to the Black Hills.
Dear Mr. Borglum: In the vicinity of Harney Peak, in the Black Hills of South Dakota are opportunities for heroic sculpture of unusual character. Would it be possible for you to design and supervise a massive sculpture there. The proposal has not passed beyond the mere suggestion, but if it be possible for you to undertake the matter I feel quite sure we could arrange to finance such an enterprise. I should be glad to hear from you at your convenience. Faithfully, Doane Robinson, Supt.
The
history
OF MT. RUSHMORE By Tom Lawrence Special to the Pioneer
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or eons, the mountain stood as sun, rain and snow shaped it. Native Americans camped, hunted and fished nearby. The Lakota called it Six Grandfathers (Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe), in honor of the earth, sky and the four directions, as well as Cougar Mountain (Igmútȟaŋka Pahá). For generations, it remained touched only by the seasons. The Lakota assumed control of the area in the late 18th century, forcing out the Arikara, Cheyenne, Crow, Kiowa and Pawnee. The Lakota, called the Sioux by whites, referred to the mountain range as Ȟe Sápa (Black Mountains). It was both a sacred place to them and a food locker, a place where plentiful game existed to ensure their people would always have a food reserve. The mountain that we called Mount Rushmore, with metamorphic rocks at its core and a granite top and face, stood amidst scores of other peaks. In the late 19th century, white settlers referred to it as Cougar Mountain, Sugarloaf Mountain, Slaughterhouse Mountain and Keystone Cliffs. They had gained access to the Black Hills following a series of battles with the Native people in defiance of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie. A New York lawyer, Charles E. Rushmore, explained in a Dec. 14, 1925 letter to South Dakota state historian Jonah LeRoy “Doane” Robinson how it came to bear his name. He said tin was discovered in the mineral-rich Black Hills and some businessmen dispatched him to the Black Hills to “secure options on the Etta mine, and other cassiterite locations.” Rushmore said he spent several weeks in the rugged area, living in a log cabin and associating with prospectors. “In my life among these rough, but kindly, men I conformed to their ways, and, may I say
Photo courtesy National Park Service
it with becoming modesty, was in favor with them,” Rushmore wrote. “I was deeply impressed with the Hills, and particularly with a mountain of granite rock that rose above the neighboring peaks. On one occasion while looking from near its base, with almost awe, at this majestic pile, I asked of the men who were with me for its name. They said it had no name, but one of them spoke up and said “We will name it now, and name it Rushmore Peak.” That was the origin of the name it bears, and, as I have been informed, it is called Rushmore Peak, Rushmore Mountain and also Rushmore Rock.” He said the name was recorded at “the Land Office in Washington at the instance of some of the good friends referred to” but he had not verified that. The United States Board of Geographic Names recognized Mount Rushmore as the official name in June 1930, nearly three years after construction on the memorial had started. Many of the mountains in the area are nameless and even those with titles are unknown around the world. Such is not the case with Mount Rushmore, thanks to the efforts of a historian and a senator. South Dakota wanted to add tourism to the state’s economic base. What it needed was a significant attraction. State historian Robinson read about Stone Mountain in Georgia, where a talented and supremely confident sculptor named John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum was working on a massive tribute to the Confederate States of America. Borglum squabbled with the people who were funding his work — it was a foreshadowing of future events — and was fired in 1924. The work he had started was blasted off the face of the mountain. Still, Robinson thought the headstrong Gutzon Borglum, as he called himself, could create an enduring monument in the Black Hills. He wrote him a letter on behalf of the State of South Dakota Department of History on Aug. 20,
Borglum came to South Dakota and they made plans, at first considering carving historical figures such as explorers Lewis & Clark, soldier, hunter and showman Buffalo Bill Cody, Oglala Lakota leader Red Cloud and others into the Needles, a series of giant granite pillars. That idea was swiftly rejected, and Borglum spotted Mount Rushmore. He liked the southeast face, with a sweeping canvass of granite. The major question was money. Who would pay for this massive carving? The story of funding the creation of Mount Rushmore is a winding tale of small steps forward, followed by pauses and even some retreats. Work started on Oct. 4, 1927, and was declared completed on Oct. 31, 1941. The total cost was $989,992.32, the equivalent of more than $17 million today. U.S. Sen. Peter Norbeck, a former governor, and Congressman William Williamson were early champions of Mount Rushmore. They pushed bills in both Congress and the South Dakota Legislature to fund the project. “The area Gutzon Borglum proposed for carving encompassed both state park and national forest lands,” said Maureen McGeeBallinger, chief of interpretation and education at Mount Rushmore. “Both the state and federal governments would need to approve. The Mount Harney Memorial Bill was proposed in the state to: permit carving in Custer State Park, establish the Mount Harney Memorial Commission, and appropriate $10,000 for planning and preliminary surveys to be done by Gutzon Borglum. “The federal bill proposed to allow the carving on federal land with no appropriations attached,” she said. “The state proposed Mount Harney Memorial Bill was killed early February 1925. The bill was reintroduced with a $5,000 appropriation, that bill was defeated February 24, 1925. The national bill to allow carving on federal land was passed March 3, 1925, with no appropriations. “The state Mount Harney Memorial Bill was introduced for a third time, this time without any appropriations,” McGee-Ballinger said. “The third version of the bill passed approving carving, but no money for the project.” However, the state did build roads leading to Mount Rushmore, she said. Despite the setbacks and challenges, Norbeck especially had a vision for the memorial and the Black Hills. He was a driving force behind the development of Custer State Park, Badlands National Park, Wind Cave National Park, Needles Highway, the Black Hills Game Sanctuary and Sylvan Lake.
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Since 1989 the National Park Service has worked with RESPEC, a rock mechanics engineering firm, to study the structural s there room for a fifth face on Mount stability of the sculpture and to install rock Rushmore? block monitoring devices that assure long-term The National Park Service says no, there preservation of the sculpture, she said. is no secure surface on the mountain. While a “RESPEC supports our long-held belief that large expanse to the right of George Washington no other rock near the sculpted faces is suitable seems a likely spot for at least one more for additional carving,” McGee-Ballinger said. president, NPS officials point out that sculptor “RESPEC also believes that if additional work Gutzon Borglum intended to place Thomas were undertaken it is Jefferson there. But possible that exposing it turned out the area new surfaces could was not stable, so result in creation of Jefferson was relocated potential instabilities in and crunched between the existing carving. Washington and “Second, Mount Theodore Roosevelt. Rushmore was The rock next to sculpted by Gutzon Washington is simply Borglum to represent not available. the first 150 years Mount Rushmore of the history of the National Memorial Chief United States — the of Interpretation and birth, growth and Education Maureen preservation of our McGee-Ballinger said it country. He chose is a frequent question. Adding another president to the four presidents “From time to time (Washington, Jefferson, Mount Rushmore a popular individuals, groups or Roosevelt, Lincoln) to talking point for decades organizations make represent the principles proposals to add of our present form the busts of other of government not to individuals to Mount represent the individuals themselves.” Rushmore National Memorial,” McGee-Ballinger She said the memorial represents the ideals said. “Additions are not possible for two and meaning for which it was founded without reasons. the addition of other figures. “First, the rock that surrounds the sculpted “It is one man’s artistic interpretation, and faces is not suitable for additional carving. a tribute to that period of our nation’s history,” When Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mount McGee-Ballinger said. “The National Park Rushmore died in 1941, his son Lincoln Service takes the position that death stayed Borglum closed down the project and stated the hand of the artist and the work is complete that no more carvable rock existed.” By Tom Lawrence Special to The Pioneer
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fifth
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Wishing everyone a Happy and Safe TH INDEPENDENCE DAY
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JULY
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Presidential Tribute
is produced by the Black Hills Pioneer, 315 Seaton Circle, Spearfish, SD, 57783, (800) 676-2761 www.bhpioneer.com • bhiron@bhpioneer.com Letitia Lister, publisher Mark Watson, managing editor Sona O’Connell, advertising manager Melissa Barnett, layout The publisher will not be responsible or liable for misprints, misinformation or typographic errors herein contained. Publisher also reserves the right to refuse any advertising deemed not to be in the best interest of the publication. © 2020 Black Hills Pioneer, all rights reserved.
in its present form. Thus, to maintain both the integrity of the structure and the artist’s concept, there is no procedure for adding another likeness, the sculpture is complete.” That hasn’t stopped people from repeatedly speculating on which presidential visage could be carved onto Gutzon Borglum’s mountainous achievement. If so, which president would join Washington, Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Roosevelt? Several candidates have been suggested over the years. In 1937, while work was still in progress, a bill was introduced in Congress to add women’s right activist Susan B. Anthony. It failed to advance. After he was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, some people suggested memorializing John F. Kennedy. His son John F. Kennedy Jr. visited Mount Rushmore on May 12, 1999, two months before his tragic death in a plane crash, and was given a private tour that included a trip to the top of the memorial. The idea of adding his father to the mountain was not discussed, it appears. However, the idea has had some staying power, since a 2010 Gallup Poll listed JFK as the top choice of Americans. The first time it was suggested that Ronald Reagan be placed on Rushmore was in 1985 at the start of his second term. A Sturgis man — Sturgis, Mich., that is — tried to get the ball rolling on the idea. ‘I have nothing to do with politics and nothing to do with government,’’ Jack Von Schoick told Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene. “But that man deserves to be on Mt. Rushmore, and someone has to start the movement.’’ Robert W. Reynolds, who was then the memorial’s superintendent, dismissed the idea, and told Greene to relay to Van Schoick that
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The Presidents visit the
Presidents By Tom Lawrence Special to the Pioneer
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Summer 2020
Presidential Tribute • Black Hills Pioneer
resident Donald Trump has said he plans to attend the Independence Day fireworks show at Mount Rushmore National Memorial on July 3. The president’s visit would make him the eighth sitting United States president to see the Shrine of Democracy. Here’s a look at previous presidential visits: President Calvin Coolidge and his wife, Grace, spent most of the summer of 1927 in the Black Hills. President Coolidge drew national attention to Mount Rushmore when he spoke at formal dedication ceremonies on Aug. 10, 1927. “We have come here to dedicate a cornerstone that was laid by the hand of the Almighty,” Coolidge told more than 1,000 people who attended. “The people of the future will see history and art combined to portray the spirit of patriotism. This memorial will be another national shrine to which future generations
will repair to declare their continuing allegiance to independence, to self government, to freedom and to economic justice.” Most important to Rushmore backers, Coolidge pledged federal support for the project. The President gave sculptor Gutzon Borglum a set of drills. Borglum was lowered over the granite cliff and drilled six small holes that would signal the start of work on the mountain. The idea for a huge memorial in the Black Hills originated with South Dakota State Historian Doane Robinson. He envisioned carving American West figures such as Buffalo Bill Cody into the granite spires known as the Needles as a way to draw tourists to the area. In 1924, Robinson wrote Borglum and asked if it would be possible for the sculptor to design and supervise carving a “massive sculpture” in the Black Hills. Borglum expanded Robinson’s vision from western to national heroes and selected a massive outcropping of granite
President Eisenhower addresses delegates to the Young Republican National Federation on June 11, 1953. Photo courtesy South Dakota State Historical Society – State Archives.
named Mount Rushmore for the carving. Borglum chose to carve Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt to symbolize the birth, growth, preservation and development of the United States. Robinson’s letter to Borglum and Borglum’s reply are found on the South Dakota Digital Archives. They can be found at https:// sddigitalarchives.contentdm.oclc. org/digital/collection/manuscript/ id/454/rec/5 Robinson’s letter and Borglum’s telegram are on pages 13 and 14. The next president to visit Mount Rushmore after Coolidge was Franklin D. Roosevelt on Aug. 30, 1936, when he stopped during a campaign swing to attend the dedication of the Jefferson figure. Although Roosevelt hadn’t planned to speak, Borglum proposed a challenge (quoted in “The Four Faces of Freedom”) that the president decided he could not refuse: “I want you, Mr. President, to dedicate this memorial as a shrine to democracy, to call upon the people of this earth for one hundred thousand years to come, to read the thought and to see what manner of men struggled here to establish self-determining government in the western world.” Roosevelt told the crowd, “I had
seen the drawings and I had talked with those who are responsible for this great work, and yet I had no conception until about 10 minutes ago, not only of its magnitude but of its permanent beauty and of its permanent importance.” After speculating about what Americans thousands of years later would think when they gazed upon the faces carved on Mount Rushmore, Roosevelt said, “Let us hope that at least they will give us the benefit of the doubt – that they will believe we have honestly striven every day and generation to preserve a decent land to live in and decent form of government to operate under.” President Dwight D. Eisenhower had Mount Rushmore as a backdrop when he addressed delegates to the Young Republican National Federation on June 11, 1953. “And let us always, even as we rightly revere the past and its heritage of freedom, never fear or doubt the future. For this, the future, is the hope and the home of all who are young and are free – if they are but brave,” the president told his audience. President Ronald Reagan had a bird’s-eye view of Mount Rushmore en route to Rapid City on Oct. 29, 1986. Air Force One flew over the great stone faces twice so the
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Summer 2020 nation’s chief executive could the crowd and said, “And to all of see them. The sight inspired the you, thank you for the privilege of president to read a short poem to helping dedicate a memorial that his aides, according to an article by once moved a visitor to say, ‘A visit Harold Schuler in the Winter 2000 to Mount Rushmore is a moment issue of “South Dakota History,” of communion with the very soul of the quarterly publication of the America.’” South Dakota President Bill State Historical Clinton surprised Society. visitors to Mount President Rushmore when George H.W. he arrived in time I had seen the drawings Bush was the for the evening and I had talked speaker at program on the dedication July 6, 1999. with those who are ceremony on The president responsible for this great July 3, 1991, visited Pine Ridge work, and yet I had no that marked the Reservation the monument’s next day as part conception until about golden of a four-day 10 minutes ago, not only anniversary. tour of poverty“On the stricken areas in of its magnitude but of eve of this the country. its permanent beauty Fourth of July In a – and the 50th speech before and of its permanent anniversary of approximately importance. this monument 2,500 on Aug. 15, – let us 2002, President ~ President Franklin D. Roosevelt express our George W. Bush undiminished campaigned devotion to for U.S. Senate the ideals of Washington, Jefferson, candidate John Thune, discussed Lincoln and Roosevelt, ideals as homeland security and the budget. towering and solid as the monument This moment in South that honors them,” he said. Dakota history is provided by Of the approximately 3,500 the South Dakota Historical people attending the event, 16 Society Foundation, the nonprofit were men who helped build the fundraising partner of the South monument. President Bush thanked Dakota State Historical Society. the men for their work, and then, Ideas for articles may be emailed to according to Schuler, he turned to info@sdhsf.org.
FDR speaking from his vehicle. Photo courtesy South Dakota State Historical Society – State Archives.
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Presidential Tribute • Black Hills Pioneer
Mount Rushmore’s
first president Coolidge saved carving from early uncertainty
Coolidge at Rushmore President Calvin Coolidge reads his address to a crowd gathered Aug. 10, 1927, for the beginning of carving at Mount Rushmore. Photo courtesy of Rapid City Public Library
By Seth Tupper Special to the Pioneer
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is adapted by Seth Tupper from his 2017 book, “Calvin Coolidge in the Black Hills,” published by The History Press. The book is available online and in Black Hills book stores.
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f Calvin Coolidge hadn’t vacationed in South Dakota in 1927, there might not be a presidential mountain carving for Donald
Trump to visit this summer. The project was conceived several years before Coolidge arrived, but fundraising floundered. South Dakota historian Rex Alan Smith bluntly assessed those early years in his book, “The Carving of Mount Rushmore.” “At the beginning of 1927,” Smith wrote,
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“the Rushmore venture was near death and failing fast.” Then came the news that President Coolidge had chosen the Black Hills for a lengthy vacation. The trip continued that era’s tradition of summertime presidential getaways. In those pre-air-conditioned times, presidents were eager to escape the oppressive heat and humidity of Washington, D.C.
Veteran South Dakota journalist Seth Tupper chronicles President Calvin Coolidge's threemonth 1927 vacation in the Black Hills and explores the lasting legacy of the presidential summer on the region. AVAILABLE NOW IN BLACK HILLS BOOKSTORES AND ONLINE.
Summer 2020 Coolidge’s Black Hills vacation was unprecedented in its duration and distance from Washington. The duration — nearly three months — was due to a renovation project at the White House. The distance — 1,800 miles into the interior of the country — was due to a rift between Coolidge and farmers. They were so angry at him for vetoing a farm-relief bill that he felt compelled to vacation in the middle of the country, where he could mend political fences. Coolidge chose the State Game Lodge in Custer State Park for his “summer White House.” He was driven to Rapid City most weekdays, where he spent his mornings in a makeshift office at the old Rapid City High School. He spent afternoons in the Black Hills, fishing or sightseeing. The man hired to carve Mount Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum, was determined to capitalize on the president’s stay. Borglum convinced Coolidge to attend a ceremonial commencement of carving on Aug. 10. That morning, Coolidge rode to Keystone in a car. Then he mounted Mistletoe, a horse from the Custer State Park stables, for the steep ride up to the base of Mount Rushmore. The pants of Coolidge’s business suit were tucked into a pair of cowboy boots, and he wore fringed leather gloves. He completed the look with a 10-gallon hat, which was a gift from the organizers of the Black Hills Roundup. At the ceremony, the president occupied a place of honor atop a wood-plank stage. He sat on a padded wooden chair with other dignitaries, surrounded by an estimated 1,500 people. When the time came for Coolidge to speak, he took off the hat and gloves, put on reading glasses, and stood to read his address from
Presidential Tribute • Black Hills Pioneer | 9 | sheets of paper in his hand. His thin voice an oversized swing. carried only to the people near the stage, but Dangling there at almost 6,000 feet above the text of the speech was printed later in sea level, Borglum dramatically began the newspapers. carving of Mount Rushmore. He used a Coolidge showered praise on the proposed heavy drill to bore six holes where George carving, its setting, and the people trying to Washington’s face would eventually take make it happen. shape. “The fact that this A couple of years later, enterprise is being Coolidge turned on the begun in one of our new federal funding spigot. He states, not yet great in signed legislation providing The fact that this population, not largely $250,000 of federal enterprise is being developed in its resources, money for the carving, discloses that the old to be matched by private begun in one of our American spirit still goes donations. The federal new states, not yet where our people go, still support continued after great in population, not dominates their lives, still Coolidge left office and died. inspires them to deeds of By the time the project largely developed in devotion and sacrifice,” ended in 1941, the federal its resources, discloses Coolidge said. government had covered The president also most of the $1 million cost. that the old American broached the possibility of Today, Washington, spirit still goes where federal financial support Jefferson, Roosevelt and for the project. Lincoln are the presidential our people go, still “The people of South faces on the mountain dominates their lives, Dakota are taking the representing the first 150 lead in the preparation of years of our countryu and still inspires them to this memorial out of their four men in particular who deeds of devotion meager resources, because gained notoriety. the American spirit is But if Coolidge hadn’t been and sacrifice. strong among them,” the first president to show ~ President Calvin Coolidge Coolidge said. “Their his face there, it’s possible effort and courage entitles the other faces never would them to the sympathy have materialized. and support of private beneficence and the national government.” — Seth Tupper is a reporter for South After Coolidge spoke, Borglum tramped Dakota Public Broadcasting in Rapid City. up a plank stairway to the summit of the He previously worked for newspapers in mountain. A worker lowered him over the Rapid City, Mitchell, and Worthington, Minn. rockface in a bosun chair, which looked like
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Summer 2020
Presidential Tribute • Black Hills Pioneer
From Pg 5 Fifth Face there simply was no chance of it happening. After his two terms concluded in 1989, admirers of Reagan suggested placing his face on the Black Hills mountain. U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon, an Arizona Republican, introduced legislation in 1999 to put The Gipper in granite but it collapsed without serious consideration. The discussion occurred while Reagan was still alive — he died on June 5, 2004 — and have continued since. Grover Norquist, a political and anti-tax activist, said Reagan belonged on Rushmore. “Is he of that stature? The answer is yes,” Norquist, chairman of the Reagan Legacy Project, told ABC News in 2011, the centennial of Reagan’s birth. “Reagan was the most successful president of the 20th century. He took a country that was in economic collapse and militarily in retreat around the globe and turned it completely around.” Norquist suggested joining Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt might not have been enough. “In South Dakota, Reagan deserves a mountain carving of his own, like Crazy Horse,” he said. Tom Griffin has a unique take on it. Griffin, a Deadwood writer, is the author of “America’s Shrine of Democracy: A Pictorial History,” which tells the story of Mount Rushmore in images and words. Reagan wrote the forward for the book in 1990. “For more than 200 years now, this great country of ours has enjoyed the freedom those four giants fought for. “So, let us cherish that freedom and never lose sight of this Memorial and the men behind it.” Griffin doesn’t think Reagan would want to be
on the mountain. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also have been mentioned as possible additions. They have been popular choices in polls. Obama was at Mount Rushmore on May 30, 2008, when he was asked if he would want to be immortalized in stone. At the time, he was an Illinois senator battling Clinton’s wife, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, for the Democratic nomination for president. Obama, who would lose the South Dakota primary four days later but win in Montana and garner enough delegates to clinch the nomination, jokingly dismissed the idea of being the fifth face. “I don’t think my ears would make it,” he told reporters, a reference to his prominent features. “There’s only so much rock up there.” President Donald Trump also has joked about it, while also taking a shot at a favorite target, the media, at a 2017 rally. “I’d ask whether or not you think I will someday be on Mount Rushmore, but, no — here’s the problem. If I did it joking, totally joking, having fun, the fake-news media will say, ‘He believes he should be on Mount Rushmore!’ ” Trump said. “So I won’t say it, OK? I won’t say.” He soon returned to the subject. “They’ll say it anyway tomorrow: ‘Trump thinks he should be on Mount Rushmore. Isn’t that terrible?’ What a group. What a dishonest group of people, I’ll tell you,” he said. In April 2018, Kristi Noem, then a congresswoman running for governor, told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader that Trump told her he had thought about it. “He said, ‘Kristi, come on over here. Shake my hand,’” Noem said. “I shook his hand, and I said, ‘Mr. President, you should come to South Dakota sometime. We have Mount Rushmore.’ And he goes, ‘Do you know it’s my dream to have my
face on Mount Rushmore?’” She thought he was kidding. “I started laughing,” she said. “He wasn’t laughing, so he was totally serious.” In 2019, he was asked by a reporter from The Hill, a Washington, D.C., media outlet that focuses on politics and government, if he thought he belonged on Mount Rushmore. “If I answer that question, ‘Yes,’ I will end up with such bad publicity,” Trump told said. Will one of the speakers at the July 3 event raise the possibility of carving Trump onto the mountain? Will the president mention it? All joking aside, is it possible? For years, the answer was no. But in 2017, the Washington Post interviewed Texas stone-carver Stuart Simpson, who said with the advances in technology, it could be done. Simpson said with a large enough budget and crew — he estimated a cost of $64 million just for labor — and given four years, he could add a face. Laser locating could measure the deaths of stone to ensure it was done without harming the existing sculpture. “Technology these days is way more advanced,” he told the Post. “I think a lot of it will still have to be sculpted and removed off the mountain in the same manner that it was in the past, but with the new computer abilities and 3-D scanning, I would think there’s much more equipment that could be used to make it a more accurate and easier process.” For decades, the theory was it couldn’t be done. Now, perhaps, there is a way to place another face on Mount Rushmore. Getting Americans to agree on which president to honor at a time of extremely high partisan fervor, carving the stone might be the easiest part of the process.
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Summer 2020 From Pg 3 Fireworks interpretation and education at Mount Rushmore, told the Pioneer that work has been underway for some time, but that is an annual occurrence. “There is considerable preparation every year for our July 3 event,” she said. “Every year some employees have additional hours for July 3. There will be some additional employees this year in anticipation of the return of fireworks.” McGee-Ballinger said the Independence Day-themed event is viewed as a positive attraction at Mount Rushmore. “The National Park Service is excited to host an Independence Day fireworks display again,” McGeeBallinger said. “A formal plan for the event was developed in collaboration with Governor Kristi Noem and the state of South Dakota.” However, she was unwilling to comment on what it would mean to have Trump at Mount Rushmore. The last president to visit the memorial was George W. Bush in 2002. “We can not confirm that the president will be at the July 3 event,” McGee-Ballinger said. “He was invited by Governor Kristi Noem. If he does attend, there will be a sizable crowd on hand. The state of South Dakota held an online ticket lottery and will distribute up to 7,500 tickets. There were 25,000 requests for a total of 125,000 tickets, with a $1 charge per request. Social distancing recommendations will not be in place for the event, which has caused some concern for residents of Keystone, the closest community to Mount Rushmore. Pyro Spectaculars of Rialto, Calif., was awarded a $350,000 contract to shoot off the fireworks. The company has extensive experience at major events but has never worked at Mount Rushmore. It has planned an 18-minute show with music and a salute to health-care workers. However, there is a chance the show could be canceled, McGee-Ballinger said. “A Go/No-go checklist has been developed to determine if conditions are safe on the day of the event,” she said. “Weather factors are among the conditions that will be assessed.” The fireworks show was canceled in 2002 because of dangerously dry conditions. A laser show was held instead. Fireworks returned in 2003 and were held every year through 2009, although the final show was deemed a disappointment when fog and
clouds obscured the show. It was canceled in 2010 because of concerns the surrounding 1,200 acres of forest had been damaged by a pine beetle invasion, making it more susceptible to fire. Bill Gabbert, who served as fire management officer for Northern Great Plains Fire Management organization and oversaw several Mount Rushmore fireworks shows, has stressed his displeasure with the resumption of There is no more such events. fitting place in all the Gabbert, a retired NPS nation to celebrate our employee, democracy than from has written about it on his Mount Rushmore. blog, Wildfire ~ Governor Kristi Noem Today, and talked with reporters about it. He said the fire risk, contamination to groundwater and debris left in hilly terrain, difficult to access and remove, are cause enough to cancel the show. Gabbert said 20 documented wildfires were ignited by the fireworks during the middle of the fire season during the Mount Rushmore fireworks shows from 19982009. He said 60 to 80 firefighters were staged around the memorial to battle the blazes. His position has not changed from what he wrote in 2010. “In my humble opinion, igniting fireworks over and around Mount Rushmore is no way to treat the memorial, the sculpture, and the natural resources around the Memorial,” Gabbert wrote on his blog. “The fireworks are disrespectful to the significance of the Memorial, they leave millions of pieces of debris that can never be picked up, they start fires, and tie up firefighting resources during a busy period of the fire season.” Despite Gabbert’s protests, and those of others who are concerned about the show, all signs point to an explosive celebration of the nation’s birth at the Shrine to Democracy. “There is no better place to celebrate America’s birthday than Mount Rushmore,” Noem said. “The majestic figures of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln provide a terrific backdrop for the fireworks, and we appreciate all the work President Trump and his team at the Department of the Interior have done to make this celebration possible again for the country.”
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Presidential Tribute • Black Hills Pioneer
Summer 2020
From Pg 4 History “I would rather be remembered as an artist than a United States senator,” he said. Norbeck urged Gov. Carl Gunderson to share his enthusiasm, sending him a telegram to inspire him. “I think this might be an opportunity to secure one of the national attractions in this country of the highest artistic quality ... It is an opportunity we should not miss.” In 1929, Congress allocated $250,000 as a match for private donations, and created the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Commission. Sen. Norbeck turned down a seat on the commission — and Robinson was stunned when he was not invited to serve on the panel overseeing what he had started. Eventually, the federal government paid the majority of the cost, as President More and more we Franklin D. Roosevelt prodded sensed we were Congress to allocate another $200,000. The United States creating a truly great provided about 85 percent of thing, and after a while the funding, or $836,000. Federal backing got a all of us old hands boost when President Calvin became truly dedicated Coolidge spent nearly three months in the Black Hills in to it. 1927. After a most unusual ~ Red Anderson, Carver invitation from the bombastic Borglum — a wreath bearing an invite was dropped from a plane at the State Game Lodge, where he was staying — Coolidge spoke at the dedication of the memorial on Aug. 10, 1927. (See related story on Page 8.) Private donors also provided money, including $5,000 from Charles E. Rushmore. It was the largest single private donation, and may have clinched naming the mountain in his honor. Borglum was a controversial figure, irritating Norbeck by pestering members of Congress for support while the South Dakota senator was trying to lobby for support. Borglum was a white supremacist with ties to the Ku Klux Klan. The son of Danish immigrants who grew up in a polygamist community in Idaho, he wrote of his concerns about a “mongrel horde” replacing people of “Nordic” purity. The 2002 book “Great White Fathers,” which details the construction of Mount Rushmore, pulled back the curtain on Borglum’s personal beliefs. They were rather ugly, then and now. “I would not trust an Indian, off-hand, 9 out Borglum decided which presidents to honor. of 10, where I would not trust a white man 1 out According to the National Park Service, of 10,” he once said. he chose them based on these reasons: But he was a brilliant sculptor operating on a grand stage. He hired and supervised around George Washington since he was 400 men and women, often working alongside the first president and represented the them. Despite the dangers, no one was killed. foundation of American democracy. They used dynamite and pneumatic hammers Thomas Jefferson as the primary to remove more than 450,000 tons of granite to author of the Declaration of Independence create four 60-foot carvings. The rubble remains and for acquiring the massive Louisiana at the base of the sculpture. Purchase from France, which doubled the “The work was hard, the hours long, the pay size of the country. Among the land acquired low, and periods of employment uncertain,” was where South Dakota exists. according to the National Park Service. “Despite harsh and dangerous conditions, there were Abraham Lincoln for his courage and no fatalities during the carving work. For some leadership during the Civil War with the clear of these people the work was just a job, but for desire to keep the nation united. others it became a special calling.” It quotes carver Red Anderson of the pride Theodore Roosevelt as a representative the workers felt. of the industrial development of the nation “More and more we sensed we were creating and for his conservation efforts. a truly great thing, and after a while all of us old hands became truly dedicated to it,” Anderson The original plan was to carve the presidents said. from the waist up, but the funding fell short of The names of known workers is listed on that goal after Washington’s upper body was the National Park Service Mount Rushmore carved. The other three presidents just have faces. page: https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/ A Hall of Records was planned in a valley historyculture/the-workers.htm
Photo courtesy National Park Service.
behind the sculpture, complete with a history of the nation and Mount Rushmore. Again, funding shortages caused it to be canceled. Borglum also had envisioned carving the Entablature on the front of the mountain, listing nine key events between 1776 and 1906 framed by an outline of the Louisiana Purchase. That also was dropped. Jefferson’s face was originally planned to the right of his fellow Virginian, George Washington, but after 18 months, the area was deemed too heavy with quartz and not secure to hold the stone image. He was shifted to the left. Washington was dedicated on July 4, 1930. The second and enduring Jefferson was dedicated in Aug. 30, 1936. President Franklin D. Roosevelt attended, as did Sen. Norbeck, who was dying of tongue and jaw cancer, attended but was unable to speak. He died on Dec. 20, 1936. Lincoln’s head was dedicated on Dec. 17, 1937, and Theodore Roosevelt was dedicated on July 2, 1939. Borglum died on March 6, 1941, following surgery. He had moved away from a primary role in construction — his son Lincoln took the reins — and was primarily involved in fundraising. Gutzon Borglum never saw the finished product, as construction ended on Oct. 31, 1941.
Presidential Tribute • Black Hills Pioneer | 13 |
Summer 2020
44
presidential photo ops
available in Rapid City By Michael Sanborn Special to the Pioneer
W
President Thomas Jefferson
hen we started integrating cameras and telephones, a phenomenon was born – the selfie. And ever since the advent of the selfie, telephone photographers have been taking pictures of themselves with the four presidents depicted by the Shrine of Democracy – Mount Rushmore National Memorial. It’s difficult to get them just right, so the photographer’s head is the same size as the heads on the mountain. Since last year, photographers by the score can take their photo with every president who’s ever held the office – except the one who holds it now. Getting everyone’s head the right size is easy. Visitors to Downtown Rapid City find
a president on 44 corners. President Donald Trump’s sculpture will appear a short time after he leaves office. It is the result of the City of Presidents project. The brainchild of cofounders Dallerie Davis, a Rapid City realtor and agent for artistic sculptors and Don Purdue, a self-made furniture manufacturer who years ago chose Rapid City for his factory. Davis said the idea for City of Presidents was born at a Lincoln Day Dinner in 1990. Purdue wanted to do something patriotic for Rapid City and its visitors. Davis wanted to create work for a stable of sculptors. Nine years later, after creating a non-profit foundation and naming a
Photo Ops Pg 14
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Summer 2020
Presidential Tribute • Black Hills Pioneer
From Pg 13 Photo Ops board of directors, the first four presidents, Washington, Jefferson, Reagan and George H.W. Bush were begun by sculptors, James Michael Maher, Lee Leuning and Sherri Treeby, John Lopez, and Edward Hlavka. It was decided at the beginning of the project that all sculptors would be from South Dakota. When Hlavka accepted a commission for the Smithsonian Native American Museum forcing a leave of absence, Rapid City artist James Van Nuys took his place. It was also decided early on that the sculptures would be life sized. Each sculpture is placed on the sidewalk corner so that visitors can look the president in the eye. Initially, four statues were completed and placed on their corners each year. Davis said now sculptures are not placed until their president has left office. At that time, the artist will present several concepts for his sculpture. The board will either choose one of the presented concepts or send the artist back to the drawing board. Over the years, Davis said, there has only been one objection to placing a specific president. That citizen objected to Bill Clinton “because he had had an extramarital affair.” He felt that because of Clinton’s character flaws, he didn’t deserve a statue. “We did some research,” Davis said. “If we had eliminated every president with character flaws, we wouldn’t have had many statues.” Davis said the president that presented the most difficult concept decision for the board was Barack Obama. The board couldn’t decide what was his most redeeming quality. “We finally decided that his dedication to family was one of
his most outstanding features of his presidency.” This Van Nuys sculpture depicts Obama and his daughter Sasha as they walked onto the stage to deliver his victory address at Chicago’s Grant Park on presidential election night in 2008. Davis said artist concepts could be anything from serious to whimsical. The Maher statue of Harry Truman, for example, is a three-dimensional depiction of an iconic photograph, showing the newly elected president holding up the Chicago Daily Tribune with the headline: “Dewey Defeats Truman.” William Howard Taft (Leuning and Treeby, sculptors) is shown preparing to throw the first pitch of a baseball. Sasha Obama is the only female in the series. But both the John F. Kennedy (Lopez, sculptor) and the Abraham Lincoln (Maher) statues show the presidents with their sons. Each statue is unique and the sculptors each included some hint of the president’s legacy. The Franklin Roosevelt sculpture, for example, shows the president standing tall and looking strong at a podium with multiple radio microphones before him. He was the first president to effectively use radio as a means of communicating directly with Americans. Look more closely, and you’ll see Roosevelt’s cane behind the podium. The sculptor was Hlavka. Davis said every statue was privately funded and the benefactors are recognized on the plaques accompanying each work of art. Brochures are available at downtown Rapid City’s Main Street Square. More information is available at: downtownrapidcity.com.
President Ulysses S. Grant
President James Garfield
President Bill Clinton
President James Madison
President Barack Obama
Presidential Tribute • Black Hills Pioneer | 15 |
Summer 2020
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Presidential Tribute • Black Hills Pioneer
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