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Valentine's Day Edition
February, 2012
Victorian Valentines

Haste from my lattice letter fly, tell the youth for him I sigh. Zephyrs bring me back the tender
kiss of constancy - of hope -of bliss. 19
th
century valentine

Victorian women like our Mississippi River Sculpture Park's Victorian Lady knew well the
language of love that was embroidered into the design of valentine cards and messages. The
revolution in paper manufacture -- making paper from wood pulp instead of rags -- that occurred
during the American Civil War made all things related to printing and publishing vastly less expensive,
including cards.
Essayist Charles Lamb recalled the thrill of opening his first valentine, "radiant, - all gold and gay
colors and glittering with devices, all of love." Valentine historian Debra N. Mancoff explains that
everything on a valentine conveyed a message of love. Anchors and oak leaves proclaimed the
sender's fidelity, while love birds and wedding rings illustrated honorable intentions. Flowers, of
course, were a favorite symbol, and bouquets combined the individual meanings of blossoms into
elaborate messages. The pansy with its message "You occupy my thoughts," was an enduring
Victorian favorite, since it conveyed interest while maintaining decorum. Blue forget-me-nots spoke
of a delicate, yet loving, nature, while pink roses expressed the desire for romance. Little bluebells
stood for constancy, bold tiger lilies for courage, and zinnias for thoughts of absent friends.

Forget me not. Forget me not. But let these simple little flowers remind thee of his lonely lot
who loved thee in life's purest hour. 19
th
century Valentine

Thanks to Debra N. Mancoff, Love's Messenger, Tokens of Affection in the Victorian Age,
Chronicle Books, 1997.


Sculptor's Corner

Last month I was invited to display some of the MRSP maquette size
sculpture in The Gallery at Vanguard Art Services in Milwaukee where I
have the sculptures cast in bronze. The Gallery is a new addition to the
foundry. They are displaying artwork of several different artists whose
work they have cast in bronze. The exhibition will be in place until the
closing reception on February 17, 6-9pm.
I took the small cast bronzes of Emma Big Bear, Victorian Lady, Dr.
Beaumont and son Israel, and John Lawler. I also took the cold cast
display models of Julian Coryer Voyageur, Father Jacques Marquette,
Black Hawk and the Mastodon Hunter. At the foundry gallery they put
these on a large platform where they also displayed our brochure of the
sculpture park along with our website information. The artwork is for sale to visitors.
The foundry is a fascinating place to visit. Individuals and groups are welcome to come and
watch the bronze pouring. You may call them at 866-614-1247 for more information and/or to
arrange a visit. Their website address is: www.vanguardsculptureservices.com.

--Florence Bird
Hidden Treasures
The Local Oven Bakery
A winter hike on St. Feriole Island isn't a completely crazy idea. The roads are plowed clear
and they're occasionally patrolled by local eagles.
The Local Oven bakery is a new place to warm up and fill up, whether you've hiked or not.
It's located a little over half a mile from the Sculpture Park, on the north side of the first full block of
commercial buildings east of the Blackhawk Ave. bridge,
There are tables for two at the front window, handily located near the refrigerated treats, and
comfortable chairs to lounge in at the rear of the store.
The emphasis here is on local. Bread, rolls, pies and a variety of other baked sweets are
prepared in The Sharing Spaces Kitchen of the Crawford County Opportunity Center. The flour is
ground at Lonesome Stone Milling in Lone Rock, Wisconsin, from wheat grown in this area. Hot
coffee to drink with snacks comes from the Kickapoo Coffee Company of Viroqua, Wisconsin.
There's ice cream too, from Homestead Dairy in Waukon, Iowa.
The bakery is open Tuesday through Friday from 7 a.m. till 5:30 p.m. and Saturday and
Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bacon scones and doughnuts, sweetened with maple syrup, are added
to the standard choices every Saturday, known in the bakery as Bakin' Bacon day. The cake of the
week, Black Forest in the photograph, is available by the slice to eat in or whole to take home.
Lettuce from the Opportunities Blooming Greenhouse can be carried out, along with baked goods,
Lonesome Stone Flour and Kickapoo Coffee in cans.


Statues' Sweethearts

The Sculpture Park board thought that Valentine's Day might be a
good time to share what we could find out about the spouses of
some of the figures in the park.

After serving in the War of 1812 as a surgeon's mate, Dr. William
Beaumont opened a private practice in Plattsburgh, New York.
He rejoined the army as a surgeon in 1819, but while on leave in
1821, he returned to Plattsburgh to marry Deborah Green Platt,
who had been divorced from the nephew of the founder of the
town. In October, 1832, after spending time at Fort Crawford in
Prairie du Chien, Deborah and the children were dropped off in
Plattsburgh to stay with her family while Dr. Beaumont went to Washington, D.C. with Alexis St.
Martin, the man with the unhealed wound that allowed the doctor to experiment on the digestive
system. The Beaumont family moved to St. Louis in 1839, where Deborah continued to live
after William's death.
The Beaumonts are buried side by side in Bellefontaine, the historic St. Louis cemetery.

Julian Coryer, the model for the Voyageur, was a soldier during the Blackhawk War. When
the war was over, he got his discharge and returned to St. Louis. A short time later, he met and
married Lucretia Lethard. This is all that Pat Leamy, a descendent of Coryer, could find in
family papers about the lady.

Emma Big Bear is the basket weaver portrayed in the fifth bronze sculpture installed in
the Mississippi River Sculpture Park. completing Phase I of the park. Big Bear married
William Henry Holt, also a Winnebago (today known as Ho-Chunk) on the Winnebago
Reservation near Thurston, Nebraska. They came, most likely on foot or by train, to
Waukon Junction, Iowa, in 1917, where they lived happily for about 25 years in the
traditional ways of the Winnebago. The couple did not have much, but they had a strong
bond and love for each other as they lived and raised their daughter Emmaline near the
earthen mounds built by their ancestors on the bluff tops above their camp along the
Mississippi River.

Editor's Corner
Valentine Gift Suggestions
Advertisers have been flooding you with suggestions for holiday gifts, especially those old standards,
chocolates and roses. But they never seem to get around to mentioning the negatives. Here, then,
are some semi-unbiased comparisons . . . .

Standard gift: A red cardboard heart containing Dove truffles.
Calorie count: three pieces/220 calories.
A five ounce Reese's chocolate & peanut butter heart. Calorie count: 720 calories.
Alternate idea: A MRSP brick with a personalized Valentine's message. Calorie count: zero.

Standard gift: One dozen long-stem red roses.
Durability: Depends on how warm your sweetheart's house is and how much the flowers are fussed
over. Roses usually last five days at most, but could last up to two weeks if the water is changed
daily and the stems are cut daily so that they keep drinking up the fresh water.
Alternate idea: A contribution to the Mississippi River Sculpture Park in your sweetheart's honor to
pay for a piece of the next statue in the park. The recipient of your gift will get a personal thank-you
from Florence Bird.
Durability: a bronze statue lasts for eons, if not forever. And you'll be leaving it up to the Sculpture
Park board to do the fussing.

Convinced to give an alternate present? Go to the Sculpture Park website,
mississippiriversculpturepark.com, for details.

--Marilyn Leys

Marilyn Leys
Mississippi River Sculpture Park
608-326-0862
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