News Release: Seasonal Statue to be installed in Pioneer CourtHouse Square
The Pioneer Courthouse Square Statue Committee has announced they have commissioned a bronze (brass) statue commemorating LaVoy Finicum’s courageous watch during the Oregon Standoff. The LaVoy statue will come with an American flag, a removable Pendleton Blanket and other uniquely Oregon products. Many Oregon visitors have expressed interest in this historic event, prompting Travel Oregon to capitalize on it. The statue will go by the full name: “A Cowboy's Stand for Freedom”.
Dedication
The statue will be DEADicated on January 26, 2018. Finicum’s wife and many children will sing “This Land is My Land”, and the old militant spiritual, "Take one for Jesus”. A bank of snow will be hauled in from Harney or Malheur Country for the event.
Finicum, a cattle and foster child rancher, is buried in Kanab, Utah. Here is a working pose for the statue, which will be cast in Enterprise, Oregon.
Blanket Man Pose
At night, the statue will be covered with a Blue Tarp, just as Finicum did in the winter of 2016. While covered, the statue will go by the name “Tarp Man” or “Tarp Guy”.
Blue Tarp Guy
A heartfelt dedication plaque in the statue foreground will have Finicum’s famous quote:
"I have no intention of spending any of my days in a concrete box.”
Another contender for inscriptions was:
"You back down or you kill me now. Go ahead. Put the bullet through me. I don't care. I'm going to go meet the sheriff. You do as you damned well please.”
The committee is accepting additional ideas for the ceremony.
John Miller Reporting from Downtown Portland,
PS. During the summer, the statue will be re-located to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and Hwy 395.
