SUMMARY OF COMMENTS FROM September 25, 2003
BOONSLICK OUTDOOR ARTS PROJECT
Cooper County Courthouse Annex

ATTENDEES:
Bob Dyer, Maryellen McVicker, Dorothy Whitten, Gary Nauman, Betty Bowen, Winky Friedricks, sculptor Harry Weber, Bill Mathis and Ellie Jones of Sports Archives Inc., and Art Schneider

Meeting started at 5:40 p.m.

Fundraising: Maryellen McVicker reported $22,679 has been raised. This does not count the $500 pledged by AAUW, the $400 pledged by DAR, the $25,000 pledged by the city, or the $1,000 pledged by Cooper County. Word has not been received on grant applications for park lighting or from the First Christian Church Fund. (The fund will make its decisions known about November 1).

Reproduction rights on Hannah Cole sculpture: Harry said the copyright will be owned by the Boonslick Outdoor Arts Project. He will retain rights to the artist's proof. He recommended the project limit the number maquette that could be ordered and sold at any future date. He suggested the edition be limited to 25.

If there is any three-dimensional reproduction of the statue, the three-dimensional reproduction rights belong to the sculptor. For two-dimensional drawings, Harry Weber retains the right to approval of the drawings. He waives any royalty from two-dimensional work.

Harry also offered to donate the original sketches to the project. These could be auctioned or sold. There are several sketches from various perspectives.

Payment Dates: The first $22,000 payment was today and presented by Dorothy Whitten at the Boonville Women Club where Harry Weber gave a slide presentation. (Response was ecstatic!)

Harry would receive a second payment at the end of December when the forms are made for the foundry. The final $22,000 payment will be at the June 6 dedication.

Bronze maquette statues--Harry does not have a final price at this time, but expects it will be $700 to $1,000. We should know within the next week.

Bill Mathis suggested that at major events the project may wish to consider selling raffle tickets. The project also may wish to sell maquette directly. 500 chances at $10 would raise $4,000.

It is uncertain if the first bronze maquette can be ready before the Oct. 11 re-enactment. Discussion about picking it up form Harry's studio. Harry will see about having it shipped directly to Boonville to expedite its availability for fundraising and promotion.

Plaque: Harry noted three possibilities: Plaque on the boulder supporting Hannah Cole; plaque on a raised surface to the front or side of Hannah Cole; or a plaque at the base of statue flushed with the paved walk sidewalk. He recommended the latter.

The boulder selected is somewhat pointed and to mount it up front would require removing some of that point to directly affix the plaque or placing the plaque to one side if the point.

Gary asked about a 45 degree concrete base with the plaque. Harry said he would live with the decision of the group. He said that placing the plaque flush strengthens the natural look of the statue on the boulder.

Winky said locations that have the plaque flush brighten the plaque because of the continuous foot traffic buffing the metal.

No formal decision was reached.

Gary noted that the boulder was made available and through the assistance of Donald Farris, 23509 Gooches Mill Rd, Boonville, MO 65233. Members suggested a letter of thanks to Mr. Farris, which Art will send.

The plaque will have the following:

It was suggested that there be three plaques on the wall behind the sculpture. The center plaque will have the story of Hannah Cole. On each side will be the donor plaques.

Gary indicated that there will be three piers under the boulder to provide firm support. There was discussion about placing the boulder in a shallow amount of concrete to assure its rigidity. Harry indicated that the boulder could be set directly on the piers and the concrete placed around it.

The armature (which is fiberglass) could be sent to Boonville well in advance of the statue's dedication. The armature is used to mark a true perpendicular upright for the statue. Harry recommended holes be core drilled into the rock as supports.

The armature will be brought to Boonville--possibly by a person on the committee--well in advance of the dedication. It was recommended that the boulder be installed with the pier and concrete a few days before the sculpture is built around it so that the concrete will have time to cure.

Additional discussion on raffling the fist maquette: Project members discussed the need to promo a raffle before January 1 to move the project much more quickly to the $26,000 county/city match.

After suggestions by Bill Mathis, Bob Dyer recommended raffle donations be $10 or two for $15. If 500 are sold and a person buys two chances, the odds are one in 250 of winning the maquette--which is expected to add to the appeal.

Consensus to sell 500 tickets and see if the mayor would draw the winning ticket just before the Dec. 1 Boonville City Council meeting.

McDonald's: Dorothy Whitten and her husband Charles worked the first two hours at McDonald's September 23. She said traffic was a little slow at first. Angie Fountain and Jackie McCollom worked the second shift--6 p.m. to 8 p.m.--and business picked up a bit. It probably will be October before we learn how much was raised. McDonald's said it would contribute 20% of sales.

After some discussion, concurrence that for future efforts more notice --perhaps six or seven weeks--would have strengthened the effort. We could have posted a sign at the McDonald's entrance reminding folks that a portion of their meal expense would be donated. We also could have taken advantage of newsletters. In the future, this is something that we will note.

Whatever income is received, we are appreciative of McDonald's making an exception to be part of this grassroots fundraising effort.

Famous-Barr Fundraising: Art reported 18 tickets sold so far. He said several charities are competing--more than 100--so it is proving more challenging to sell Charity Day tickets--especially since Art promised that we would not market in Boonville. If 100 tickets are sold, we also would get a share of any tickers sold at the Oct. 20 opening.

Maryellen has 13 tickets and she will check if any students in her class in Columbia are interested.

Sorority Updates: Both Maryellen and Dorothy Whitten reported that the October Homecoming season is already in full swing and that most sororities have made major commitments to homecoming or other projects, so it is unlikely that we will get much assistance from sororities toward the Hannah Cole project.

Hannah Cole Play--Dorothy Whitten has left a message for John Biesmeyer of Fayette. She said this a busy time for home but she hopes to hear from him in the next few days.

Judge Vest Play--Dorothy has learned that the Warrensburg DAR chapter has a possible play on Judge Vest and the famous "Eulogy to a Dog." Many on the project are familiar with the story as it has been passed down from their parents.

There was considerable discussion about the possibility of the Friends sponsoring this as a December annual meeting and Hannah Cole fundraiser and also discussion of having the play the third week of February at Thespian Hall.

Dorothy said the DAR chapters would be meeting in October and she would gather more information so a decision could be made.

Essentially, the Hannah Cole project must raise an additional $3000 by the end of December to secure a calendar year match from both the city and county and to make the second payment to Harry Weber. A letdown at this time could be very detrimental. If anything, the closer one gets to the June 6 deadline, the harder it may be to secure funds.

With holidays approaching, end of year tax considerations could greatly influence donations. After January 1, that urgency will be lost.

Additional Hannah Cole descendant-- Dorothy Whiten passed along the names of John W. and Fay J. Gerwalt, 10614 Nolt Road, Versailles, MO. 65084. Art will get the names to family members Pat Todd and Carolyn Eichelberger.

Future sculptures and projects: While so much attention is still needed to assure completion of the Hannah Cole sculpture, Art Schneider suggested some effort needs to be given to what future sculptures should be at the Morgan Street heritage park. He noted that Frederick Kemper has been suggested, Judge (later Senator) Vest, J. Milton Turner, the founder of the first Black School in Boonville who later gained a national reputation an following for his work. A national DAR president was the Boonville DAR regent. Also, there have been women who were active informally and contributed to the community and never received recognition.

Discussion also noted that not all distinguished Boonville connections need be at the park. For example, it was suggested that a sculpture to Senator David Barton may be especially fitting at David Barton School.

Art noted that a statue of five feet or so would be significantly less expensive and that it may be best to consider locating it at David Barton School. He suggested that "five foot statue to a youngster at David Barton would look quite large". Also, it would expand the geography for the core project. This may need much more debate and discussion.

Consensus the second sculpture bust be Frederick T. Kemper and to look at timing it with the potential reopening of Kemper School, which could be as early as the fall of 2004.

Also discussion about a dog sculpture outside the Aquatic Center. The center will open in the spring of 2005. It was suggested that if we can gather information on the type of dog or have physical description, perhaps a dog sculpture to greet Aquarium Center users could serve as a memorial to Judge/Senator Vest and include a plaque with the Eulogy to a Dog.

Dorothy Whitten noted that "We should be laying claim to Judge Vest."

Meeting adjourned at 7:11 p.m.

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