Of the many stories I’ve encountered over the years at The Chronicle, the tale of the Gospodor Monuments is one of the most unusual and memorable.
An eccentric Seattle millionaire, a bafflingly unique artistic vision and hundreds of feet of tubular steel topped with glowing sculptures. From a journalist’s perspective, what’s not to like?
I started covering the story more than a decade ago as neighbors came to grips with the unexpected creation on a quiet stretch of prairie just south of the Winlock-Toledo exit.
“Another weirdo comes to Lewis County,” one neighbor said.
“I think it’s pretty skookum,” said another, using a Chinook jargon term for impressive.
When Gospodor built his tall spires in honor of Mother Teresa, American Indians of all tribes and Holocaust victims in the summer of 2002, the creation was literally a show-stopper. Traffic backups stretched for miles as people gazed in perplexed awe.
Frustrated transportation officials forced Gospodor to cover up a sign explaining the monuments. Engineers figured that drivers were glancing at the sculptures but actually slowing down and clogging traffic as they read the sign.
Gospodor kept up work on his monuments, adding a giant weather vane that he claimed was the largest in the world (only a few miles from the World’s Largest Egg, I might add — an enormous two-for-one experience for visitors).
When Gospodor died in September 2010, he was working on adding a monument to Susan B. Anthony and the women’s suffrage movement.
In his will, Gospodor left nearly all of his estate to the poor and needy. His Toledo-area monuments, he said, should go to a nonprofit group that would fulfill his vision.
It’s appropriate that the Cowlitz Tribe has taken over ownership of the property, as we reported on Saturday.
Gospodor felt strongly about the need to memorialize and honor Native Americans, so much so that he commissioned a wooden statue of Chief Seattle for his monuments.
Alas, that statue is showing signs of age. Its paint is cracking. One of its arms has come off and is now propped neatly behind the statue.
The tribe hasn’t yet decided how it will fulfill and maintain Gospodor’s vision.
Along with maintenance, I would suggest roadside interpretive markers along Camas Road so passersby can at least try to understand what is meant by these towers on the prairie.
The monuments are the first big thing that thousands of drivers see as they come north into Lewis County each day. Let’s use the eye-catching opportunity they provide.
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Brian Mittge is editor-in-chief of The Chronicle. Contact him with comments and news tips at bmittge@chronline.com or (360) 807-8234.
