Jack E. Anderson (September 10, 1929December 5, 1993) was a metal sculptor of large commemorative

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

s that are roadside attractions in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. His work includes the tall figure that is part of the Iron Man statue at the entrance to the

Ironworld Discovery Center The Minnesota Discovery Center, formerly known as Ironworld Discovery Center and originally as the Iron Range Interpretive Center, opened in the 1977 outside Chisholm, Minnesota, United States. It showcases northeastern Minnesota's "history and f ...

, 1.3 kilometers outside

Chisholm, Minnesota Chisholm is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,976 at the 2010 census. The city has been called "The Heart of the Iron Range" due to its location in the middle of the Mesabi Iron Range. History The city ...

, and a statue dedicated to Bishop Baraga in L'Anse, Michigan. Anderson died December 5, 1993, while living in Chassell, Michigan.

Iron Man

The Iron Man sculpture was erected as a tribute to miners of the

Mesabi The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota ...

, Cuyuna, and Vermilion Iron Ranges of northeastern Minnesota. It is accompanied by a plaque with Veda Ponikvar's ''The Emergence of Man Through Steel'' poem and was completed in 1987 out of iron ore. The statue, located on US 41, is the third largest Metal statue in the United States (behind the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

and Our Lady of the Rockies).
Historical marker data base
Iron Range Tourism Bureau The sculpture weighs (the shovel weighs and each boot weighs ); the base is constructed of

Corten steel Weathering steel, often referred to by the genericised trademark COR-TEN steel and sometimes written without the hyphen as corten steel, is a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting, and form a stable rus ...

, which turns red with exposure.

Bishop Baraga statue

The commemorative

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

for Bishop Frederic Baraga, the legendary "Snowshoe Priest", was built after organizing efforts in 1969 by residents of

Baraga County Baraga County ( ) is a county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 8,158, making it Michigan's fifth-least populous county. The county seat is L'Anse. The county is named after Bishop ...

and county clerk, author, and historian Bernard Lambert. They formed a foundation to plan and create the religious/historical monumentBishop Baraga
Copper Country website and chose L'Anse ("end of the bay" in French) as the site because it was an area often traveled by Baraga. Anderson of Copper Country Arts in Lake Linden presented a

scale model A scale model is a physical model which is geometrically similar to an object (known as the prototype). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small prototypes ...

for the proposed high shrine inspired by Lambert's book ''Shepherd of the Wilderness''. The statue features a " tall, hand-wrought

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

statue of Baraga holding a

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

in his right hand and a pair of snowshoes in his left" that "would ‘float' on a silver cloud of stainless steel" with

laminate Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materials ...

d wood beams rising from five concrete

tepee A tipi , often called a lodge in English, is a conical tent, historically made of animal hides or pelts, and in more recent generations of canvas, stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The word is Siouan, and in use in Dakhótiyapi, Lakȟó ...

s "representing missions established by Bishop Baraga", and set on top of the red rocks overlooking

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

Keweenaw Bay Keweenaw Bay is an arm of Lake Superior in North America. It is located adjacent to the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, to the southeast of the Keweenaw Peninsula. Keweenaw Bay is 22 miles long and 12 miles wide at the mouth. The hea ...

on land donated by the Patrick Ellico family. Anderson began his work in 1970 with co-sculptor Arthur Chaput, Jr., while Yalmer Mattila Contracting Company of

Houghton, Michigan Houghton (; ) is the largest city and seat of government of Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located on the Keweenaw Peninsula, Houghton is the largest city in the Copper Country region. It is the fifth-largest city in the Uppe ...

, worked on the supporting base. Copper mined at the Copper Range Company's White Pine (Michigan) mine was made into brass and donated by the mining company. The Upper Peninsula Power Company provided free technical assistance, and the Evergreen Nurseries of Allegan, Michigan, donated a landscaping plan. The statue was placed on the pedestal on June 14, 1972. While the statue was being lowered and attached, a welding torch, which was being used to trim the bottom of the statue, ignited polyurethane insulation in the statue, "scorching the lacquer coating on the statue's exterior". A dedication took place on September 16, 1973, as part of the annual Bishop Baraga Day Mass. It included blessings from Reverend Charles A. Salatka, Bishop of the Diocese of Marquette (the eighth successor to Bishop Baraga), and Reverend John Hascall, a Native American pastor in the Marquette Diocese, who "concluded the rite with prayer and burning of sweet grass, a traditional ritual used by Native Americans for all blessing." The Shrine site is near the trail that was used by the local

Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

and Bishop Baraga during their travels.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Jack E. Contemporary sculptors 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors 1993 deaths 1929 births People from Chassell, Michigan

Iron Man

Bishop Baraga statue

See also

References