Rushmore Story

Item #1159

Special Commission

(July, 1986) This statue was conceived and executed at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. I chose two rocks from the base of the mountain, and this little fellow, Rushmore, immediately began to stand upon them. While working on the statue, I ask him if he came to the mountain to help the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum. He told me that he had been there long before the mountain was carved. In fact, there were only buffalo and Indians in the area, and he pointed to the buffalo nickel and the Indian head penny. When asked if he had worked on the carving of the four presidents’ likenesses, he pointed to his tiny pick and said indeed he had. For his labors, he was paid 31¢. On the coins I saw the faces of Lincoln, Jefferson, and Washington. “Where is Teddy Roosevelt?” I exclaimed. He smiled and said , “Well, notice that I am speaking softly and carrying a big stick!”

Dr. Thomas F. Clark