Christopher Fernandez: Printing of new Opechee Park Indian statue is 6 weeks away

To The Daily Sun,

In response to Melody Towle's letter to the editor (Oct. 10) regarding Keewakwa Abenaki Keenabeh ("The Defiant One"), the sculpture that until recently stood in Opechee Park:

In April 2019, we had a laser scan performed on Peter Toth's "Whispering Giants," Keewakwa Abenaki Keenabeh ("The Defiant One") to capture its exact dimensions and shape, down to the tiniest detail. Using a large format 3D printer, we are having the laser scan reproduced to create a new statue in pieces that can be assembled in the park and secured to the existing pedestal. The printers are effectively running 24/7. The statue is being printed to eight millimeter, two-layer acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA), which is thermal stable, meaning making it last longer in the wild than other plastics. Once it is done printing, it will be partially assembled in 6-foot increments and trucked to Laconia from Houston, Texas.

Once erected we will seal the seams between the sections and complete finishing and painting. We have had structural discussions with the printer as the statue will weigh quite a bit and will be craned onto the pedestal where there will be four 4-foot diameter alignment posts.

At our latest update last week, we are rough six weeks out from the printing being completed.

This entire project has been funded by the Winnipesaukee Muskrats organization, President Michael Smith, Scott Everett, Peter Erklauer and donations by the public. The work has cost nearly $20,000. A total of $2,250 has been raised online at www.gofundme.com/native-american-statue-laconia-nh as well as other donations from the public.

You can get updates when they occur on the "You know you're from Laconia, NH when..." Facebook Page.

Christopher Fernandez

Laconia