1. “The mayor said he did not
know where all of the Montgomery
county soldiers who died are buried.
Some may sleep in the poppy fields
of France, others in the marble halls
of death and some in the briny
de[p]ths of the deep, but this is a
memorial to all Montgomery coun-
ty’s dead.”
— The Leaf-Chronicle, June 10,
1929, on the previous day’s dedication
of a world war memorial.
On this Independence
Day, we reflect upon
the men and women
who have died in proud de-
fense of this nation over the
years. The tribute we pay to
them is that we promise never
to forget their sacrifices.
So, too, it was for the resi-
dents of Clarksville and Mont-
gomery County in the 1920s.
The great war that had been
waged in Europe during the
previous decade was a fresh
memory. The loss of loved
ones “over there” still deep,
still painful.
Thousands of people gath-
ered at Clarksville High
School on Greenwood Av-
enue on a Sunday afternoon
in 1929. In their dedication of
a Doughboy statue, they
demonstrated how much
pride they had in their
“boys.” The inscription on
the base upon which it is
mounted was a simple, but
sincere, one:
IN HONOR OF
MONTGOMERY COUNTY’S SOLDIERS
AND SAILORS.WORLD WAR
1917-1918
They wanted future genera-
tions always to remember. But
we have largely forgotten,
nonetheless.
To its credit, the National
Guard gave the Doughboy
statue a home at its Armory
after the old CHS was sold for
private development.
But today, it stands alone
with a face so damaged that it
is unrecognizable.
The Leaf-Chronicle has
joined with the city of
Clarksville on a project to re-
store the Doughboy to its for-
mer glory and to move it to
Legion Street as the lasting
tribute to the area’s WWI
dead that it was meant to be.
We’ll soon be issuing the
community a challenge to
join with us in this endeavor
by making contributions to
the project. Every dollar
counts.
We know this community,
which has such strong ties to
the military, will be generous.
We know the community
will rededicate its efforts to
never forget.
Opinions in this space reflect a consensus
of the discussion byThe Leaf-Chronicle’s
Editorial Board.
Photo illustration by Maria Rice McClure
The city of Clarksville has
long since been a colorful
canvasbywhereourbusi-
nesses, community and govern-
ment leaders have taken a vest-
ed interest in beautifying our
city as a means to market our
community as one that is rich in
history and diverse in culture.
The role of public art has
played an important part of the
process by which we, as a com-
munity, are able to tell the sto-
ry of who we are as a people to
visitors and to display our
worldly diversity as a commu-
nity. To understand where we
havebeenandwherewearego-
ing with public art, you simply
have to ask yourself why we, as
a city and a community, should
take an active role in cultivat-
ing public art.
Public art has a broader def-
inition than art in a gallery or at
the Custom’s House museum.
In laymen’s terms, public art is
simply any work of art or de-
sign that is commissioned and
created by an artist specifically
to be sited in a public space. It
can,byitspresencealone,trans-
form a landscape, express com-
munity values, attract attention,
and beautify a city side street.
Public art plays a vital role in
commemorating an event or
persons of importance and can
even increase a community’s
assets,whichcanattracttourists
and solicit citizenship. A city
with public art is a mature city
rich in its own identifiable qual-
ities and affirms that we are a
city worthy of regional and na-
tional attention.
For decades, our city officials
andcommunityleadershaveal-
ways cultivated public art;
knowing fully well its preser-
vation of history and its value
to our future. Look around you,
it’s in our architecture, on our
buildings, in our streets, around
our park systems and inside our
public buildings.
The city has helped to sup-
port public art initiatives such
as the McGregor Park River
Walk “As the River Flows” Mu-
seum; the revamping of Public
Square and restoration of
Strawberry Alley; and the Pillar
of Cloud, Pillar of Fire Eternal
Flame, just to name a few. Liv-
ing art landscapes can be found
at most of our park entries and
especially in and around our
City Hall building and on Pub-
lic Square.
Richard O. Jones, a journalist
and art critic, once wrote in
Journal News: “No longer is it
simply art that belongs to the
people, but it is art where the
people are a part of the
process.” As a city government,
we will continue to support
public art initiatives and we
hope that more community
groups, artists and individuals
will partner with us as part of
the process.
Jo Huber is cultural arts supervisor for
the Clarksville Parks and Recreation
Department.
Public art
important
to our city
OUR OPINION
Doughboyfadingaway
Our principles of ethical conduct
• Seeking and reporting the truth in a truthful way.
• Serving the public interest.
• Exercising fair play.
• Maintaining independence.
•Acting with integrity.
B2 Saturday, July 4, 2009 The Leaf-Chronicle www.theleafchronicle.com
FirstAmendment to the U.S.Constitution
Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion,or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof;or abridging the freedom of
speech,or of the press;or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble,and to petition the
government for the redress of grievances.
Opinions
200 Commerce St
Clarksville,TN
931-552-1808
Editorial Board
Andrew Oppmann
President and Publisher
Richard V. Stevens
Executive Editor/Director
of Content
and Audience Development
Alane S. Megna
Community Conversation Editor
Thomya Jenkins
Senior Editor/Digital
Vicki T. Wallace
Community Board Member
Gene Washer
Publisher Emeritus
STATUE INFORMATION?
• Do you have any information,including photographs,of the
Doughboy statue? If so,contact Community Conversation editor
Alane S.Megna at 245-0270 or alanemegna@theleafchronicle.com.
From the very moment of com-
pletion,objectsproducedbythe
artist’s hand begin an inevitable
trek down the path toward deterio-
ration. Environmental conditions,
whether natural or man-made, take
their toll, and sooner or later one has
to decide if the object in question is
worthy of being saved.
The 18th century portrait that has
spent most of its life hanging over a
fireplace and in later years next to a
radiatorinbrightsunlightisasequal-
ly challenged as the stone statue out
in the park, surviving seasons of
freeze and thaw, gifts from birds and
various accretions accumulated
overtime—andthenthefinalstraw,
the poorly kicked soccer ball that re-
moves an arm.
It is at this point that the owner
decides if the object in question is
worthyofsaving,conservingandcel-
ebrating. Our object is a stone statue
of a World War I Doughboy that be-
ganitslifeonthegroundsoftheorig-
inal Clarksville High School and was
then moved many years later to the
National Guard Armory on Fort
Campbell Boulevard.
From a conservator’s point of
view,theconservationorrestoration
of a piece of sculpture can in many
ways be as complex and challenging
as the actual creation of the piece.
Asidefromthepracticedabilityto
carry out necessary treatments in a
skilled manner, the technician must
maintain standards and ethics that
honor the original intent of the artist
without enhancing or altering the
piece in question.
Today, in professional practice,
the term conservation is stressed
over “restoration.” To conserve
something is commonly thought of
as preserving and protecting what
exists — in its purest form. Restora-
tion, on the other hand, has gener-
ally implied the recreation of miss-
ingpartsordetails,andreturningthe
object to what it is thought to have
been originally.
In this case, we find that our
Doughboy has indeed had a rough, if
not interesting, life. Aside from the
many years outside in the elements,
hehassufferedfairlyharshtreatment
at the hands of the citizenry. His ri-
fle is missing (in and of itself an in-
terestingstory),andhisfacialfeatures
have been all but obliterated.
As we plan to relocate and pre-
serve the statue, we are faced with
concerns that will include both
schools of thought regarding treat-
ment; conservation as well as
restoration. Upon casual examina-
tion it appears that (the) Doughboy
is constructed of a man-made cast
stone material, probably a mixture
of a ground aggregate and a binder
or cementing agent. The mixture
was either injected into sectional
molds and/or applied directly over
a base armature.
The more common historical
termthatidentifiesthisformofman-
ufactured composition is Coade
Stone. Coade Stone was developed
and used throughout England and
France during the late 18th century
and began to be used in creating ar-
chitectural decorations here in the
United States as early as 1800. To-
day, the term cast stone is used to
identify a wide variety of similar
compounds used in the industry.
Afterremovalfromitscurrentsite
to a suitable and secure treatment
location, the statue will need to be
carefully cleaned. Then decisions
will be made as to the best possible
conservative and restorative treat-
ments — not only to stabilize the ex-
isting structure and surface, but the
question will need to be addressed
as to what degree do we attempt to
replicate missing facial features. We
haveidentifiedseveralotherDough-
boy statues that appear identical to
ours. Molds could be made of (their)
face and head details and a faithful
likeness could then be cast — using
a synthetic polymer-resin and at-
tached appropriately.
The(missing)riflecanbeeasilyre-
produced in bronze or aluminum —
and likewise be attached. The project
is challenging but certainly worth the
effort. Not only will a historic
Clarksville treasure be preserved, but
its relocation to a proposed site on or
nearLegionStreetwillcompleteacir-
cle of honor and celebration.
Ned Crouch is a member of Clarksville’s Pub-
licArt Committee and retired Customs House
director.
Saving,conserving,celebrating heritage
Cultural Arts
Supervisor
by Jo Huber
TheDoughboystatueinHeadland,Ala.,issimilartowhatClarksville’sDoughboyoncelookedlike,andhowit
mightlookafterrestoration.
Let’s restore
WWI memorial
and its message
TIMELINE FOR WWI MEMORIAL
SAVE OUR
DOUGHBOY
COMMITTEE
MEMBERS
1918 –World war ends
1925 –TheArchieWood Post of the
American Legion andAuxiliary begins to
raise funds for a statue commemorating
the world war soldiers.Statue is to be
located at Legion andThird streets.
1928 – Contract is closed for the statue’s
purchase.More than $1,000 raised.More
public appeals are to be conducted to
reach the total purchase price of $1,400.
Helmet Girls collect donations on
Armistice Day.
1929 – Statue is dedicated at Clarksville
High School.Location is chosen because
there isn’t enough room at the Legion
Street location,and the Courthouse lawn
is deemed too shady.
1934 – Doughboy is featured as one of the
city’s notable attractions inThe Leaf-
Chronicle’s sesquicentennial edition.
1940s – Rifle and bayonet are donated for
theWWII scrap metal drive.
1972 – Statue is moved to its present
location at the National GuardArmory on
Fort Campbell Boulevard.
2008 –The city’s PublicArt Committee
begins looking at the possibility of bringing
the statue“home” to Legion Street.
2009 –The city of Clarksville andThe
Leaf-Chronicle announce plans for the
statue’s restoration and the relocation to
Legion Street in the 80th anniversary year
of the original dedication
• NedCrouch,
PublicArtCommittee
• JimDurrett,
Clarksvillechiefofstaff
• DanHanley,
PublicArtCommittee
• ThomyaJenkins,
L-CsenioreditorDigital
• FrankLott,
PublicArtCommittee
• AlaneS.Megna,
L-CCommunity
Conversation editor
• AndrewOppmann,
co-chairman/
Leaf-Chronicle
publisher
• JohnnyPiper,
Clarksvillemayor
• AlanRobison,
Customs House
director
• RichardStevens,
L-Cexecutiveeditor
•VickiT.Wallace,
L-Ceditorialboard
community member
• GeneWasher,
co-chairman/L-C
publisher emeritus
• EleanorWilliams,
county historian/Public
Art Committee
Public Art
Committee
by Ned Crouch