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'Pioneer Mike' gets a makeover in Iowa so he can return to Ashland Plaza Comment By John Darling for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By John Darling for the Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM By John Darling for the Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Pioneer Mike, that rifle-toting tin man (actually zinc) who has graced Ashland’s Plaza for 105 years, is undergoing a reincarnation in Iowa this week — one that left him momentarily dripping with goo. The victim of vandals and vehicles, he’s been falling apart for decades, finally being deemed beyond repair last October, when someone climbed up and ripped his rifle and hand away. The city decided to recast the figure in bronze at a cost of $57,000 — and Portland mold-maker Kendall Mingey, retained by the city of Ashland, is back in Storm Lake, Iowa, for a few weeks, overseeing the casting of a mold of the only other known Pioneer Mike statue still in existence. First, Mingey covered the statue with Vaseline, then silicone. When that dries, Mingey will cover the mold with plaster for the trip to Oregon in her truck later this month. The mold will release cleanly and in detail from the statue. Here, it will be cast in bronze at an in-state foundry, as yet to be named, says Ashland historian George Kramer, who is overseeing the project. The historically important statue, seated atop the Carter Memorial Fountain, was sculpted by Allen G. Newman and originally reproduced and sold by J.L. Mott Iron Works of New York. Kramer’s research has uncovered installation of three others — in front of the state capitol in Salem and at the University of Colorado, both gone, and the one in Iowa. Officials in Storm Lake have been “gracious and generous and treated Kendall like a queen,” says Kramer. They have not charged a penny for the mold-making, he adds. The Iowa statue also was punished by the elements, resulting in the owners also casting a reproduction and putting the original on display at an inside space, which is what Kramer hopes to do here. Storm Lake officials did not keep their mold, but Ashland officials will safeguard theirs, in case the bronze copy needs replacement — or someone else wants a copy, says Kramer. He had asked state parks officials whether they would like a copy of Pioneer Mike (and a share in casting expenses) to replace the one that used to stand on the capitol grounds. Only the pedestal of the statue remains there. “They were interested but state government can’t move that quickly,” says Kramer. As for the aged and erroneously titled “Iron Mike” (he’s not iron and no one seems to know where “Mike” came from), Kramer hopes to patch him up and move him out of storage at city public works to a safe, indoors spot somewhere in Ashland where he can be seen by the public. Over the past year, the City Council considered restoration of the original statue, but, at the behest of Kramer, decided it couldn’t stand much more from the elements and vandals — and the cost of restoring fragile zinc would approach that of re-casting. The new statue will replicate the original rear foot of the statue, he says, which was “contraposto,” that is, perched on toes. That feature was eliminated during one of the statue’s mishaps, making the Pioneer flat-footed on both feet, for stability. The statue, now on the National Register of Historic Places, was installed in a time of the city’s “coming of age,” Kramer wrote in his exhaustive report on the town icon. This is when main streets were paved, Lithia water was pumped in and the town got its sewer, electricity and cemetery — and a failed recall attempt by citizens upset about tax levies. The new, durable Pioneer is expected to be mounted on the Carter fountain sometime in spring 2016, with suitable celebration, says Kramer, much like that of the first statue. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By John Darling for the Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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