LACONIA — Peter Brunette, chairman of the city Planning Board, plans to spearhead an effort to restore the huge wooden sculpture in Opechee Park, “Giant Indian-The Defiant One.”
The Parks and Recreation Commission recommended last month that the deteriorated sculpture should be taken down before winter for safety reasons and stored until a plan could be formulated for its future.
Last week, Brunette asked the Parks and Recreation Commission for some time to reach out to the community for in-kind services, establish a plan to restore the sculpture and to establish a fundraising effort.
The commission asked that a plan be in place by mid-January.
Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Dunleavy said Brunette’s involvement should come as good news to those who want to see the sculpture preserved.
“He’s committed and he is very capable of putting something together,” Dunleavy said. “He’s always had a passion for the community.”
The 36-foot, 12-ton red oak piece, now propped up from behind by a big wooden pole, depicts the face and headdress of a Native American man.
It was created 32 years ago by Peter Wolf Toth.
The first step toward its preservation will be to determine if it can be removed in one piece. After removal, efforts could be undertaken to repair it.
More than a year ago, Dunleavy made a plea for public contributions to repair it. The city received $1,000, a fraction of the potential cost of repairs.
A couple of exterior sections have fallen into disrepair, but the main problem is inside, where deterioration from rot and insects is causing the sculpture to lean back on interior supports. The city has put a fence behind the statue as a precaution to keep people away in case it should keel over.
Toth, now 70, has volunteered to supervise repairs, which could include hollowing out the back, installing more interior supports and replacing rotten material with wood-colored fiberglass.
He has done similar sculptures in every state as part of his “Whispering Giants” series, and has had to make such repairs elsewhere.
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