JOHNNY IS SAVED

New bronze statue to be unveiled, dedicated at the Visitors Center

By Stanley White
Staff Writer...Fitchburb Sentinel/Leominster Enterprise...Wednesday, September 06, 2000

At 10 a.m. Friday, the public is invited to see the unveiling and rededication of the new Johnny Appleseed statue at the Johnny Appleseed Visitor Center, Route 2 west, in Lancaster.

"Everyone loved this statue, we're thrilled to get it back there," said Todd L. Shimkus of the Johnny Appleseed Trail Association and vice president of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce.

The sculptor, Phil Cote, 57, a Sterling resident who had the original idea of depicting Johnny Appleseed as a boy, will attend the rededication; as well as Shimkus; Edward Manzi, president of Fidelity Bank; and Asa Cole, publisher of the Sentinel & Enterprise, chairman of the fund-raising drive.

"It's great to see such generosity, ranging from children and entire families to companies inside and outside the region," said Cole of the fund-raising effort. "They can all take pride in their efforts and know that the new Johnny Appleseed statue will provide lasting memories for visitors to our area."

Cote first cast the statue in bronze for the students of the Johnny Appleseed School in Leominster. The statue at the Visitor Center was cast in resin because, Cote said, it was supposed to be placed inside.

Thanks given for donations

"We are thrilled to get it back," Shimkus said. "That statue really took on a life of its own. Kids posed with it and climbed on it, and senior citizens on foliage tours gathered around it and had their bus driver take their picture."

"Thanks to everyone who contributed and helped bring Johnny back," Cole said.

The statue's location at the Visitor Center is approximately a mile from the house in Leominster where John Chapman was born on Sept. 26, 1774. His father, Nathaniel Chapman, was a Minuteman who fought at Concord and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Johnny's mother died when he was 2 years old. Chapman began his lifelong westward journey when he was about 23.

"It's very exciting to be getting Johnny back," said Nancy Dell, tourism manager at the Johnny Appleseed Visitor Center. "It's wonderful that we have the official Massachusetts state folk hero right here, representing our entire region. Kids here ask me about it every day. It was much loved."

Hundreds of contributions have been received in all amounts, from $1 to $1,000, from people of all walks of life and from all parts of the country and the world who have been touched by the story of Johnny Appleseed. Donations have come in from California, Louisiana, Maryland, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C., as well as from Canada, England and New Zealand.

"Just the other day we got a contribution from a lady from Switzerland," Dell said. "She came in and thought it was a wonderful story and a great idea to replace the statue, and she wanted to be part of it."

The unveiling of the recast Johnny Appleseed statue took place in bright sunlight at 10 a.m. Friday in front of the Johnny Appleseed Visitor Center on Route 2, Lancaster.

"We couldn't do it without the support of the community leaders," said Tom Meyers, chairman of the Tourism Committee for the Johnny Apple Trail Association, introducing Ed Manzi, president of Fidelity Bank. Fidelity, together with Asa Cole, publisher of the Sentinel & Enterprise, spearheaded fund-raising efforts to recast the statue in bronze after the first one, cast in polyurethane resin, was toppled by the elements last winter.

"This was a great cause and we were happy to be part of it," Manzi said. "Johnny Appleseed is a really very positive aspect of local culture and history, and also has regional and national prominence. It only makes sense to sponsor and promote it."

"The Sentinel & Enterprise is delighted to be part of this project. It was wonderful to see all the children enjoy it," added Cole.

Sensitively sculpted by distinguished artist Phil Cote, 57, of Sterling - who grew up in Leominster and played on the site of the Chapman farm as a boy - the statue has captured the minds and hearts of all who've seen it.

State Rep. Mary Jane Simmons, (D-Leominster) sponsored the bill that made Johnny Appleseed the official folk hero of Massachusetts. "My kids go to the Johnny Appleseed School, so I thought, 'you know, Johnny Appleseed was somebody; he should be something again,' " she said.

Simmons was also instrumental in finding the original variety of apple trees that John Chapman grew, Rambos, and planting seedlings at the Visitor Center.

Shown as a young farm boy, with a tear in his pants, a frog in his pocket, and the character in his face which has kept his name alive for two centuries as the man who helped cultivate the American wilderness, this statue and this commission have been one of Cote's favorites.

"It's all about telling a story. Art creates a bridge between people, Cote said. "I'm glad that the people seem to feel what I feel about it. Mr Cole and I have something in common. He is a storyteller in newspapers and I am telling a story with my work. So I would like to give Mr. Cole a model of the new Johnny Appleseed statue, the first casting out of the mold."

Cole accepted the gift with evident pleasure. "Thank you," he said. "This is a complete surprise."