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| Caddo Parish Confederate Monument |
But there was something wrong.
Clio's hand was gone.
Clio is the Muse of History who stands at the base of the monument in all of her classical beauty, holding a scroll in her left hand and with her right she is pointing to a memory book for the war dead.
As it turns out, Clio's arm was broken by a trespassing trumpet player who climbed over the decorative fence that encloses the monument. Mr. Trumpet Player then climbed the base of the monument, scaled his way up, grabbing Clio's outstretched arm for support, and sat on a ridge just above her head to play his instrument. He rested his leg on her arm, and the arm shattered.
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| Clio's damaged hand |
Just a few weeks after that, a vandal armed with paint filled water balloons approached the monument in the dark of night and threw the balloons, thus causing thousands of dollars in damage. The photos below show some of the paint damage but trust me when I tell you it is much worse in person.
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| Paint damage |
The monument was installed by the Shreveport Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1905 and is the work of Texas sculptor Frank Teich from Llano County. Mr. Teich has several other monuments in the city, including work at Greenwood Cemetery. It is a 30-foot tall granite and marble centaph depicting not just Clio, the Muse, but also a lone soldier at the top of the column, and four busts of four Confederate generals. While Confederate monuments are present in many towns across the South, ours is unique in its beauty and composition. There is not another one like it. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.
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| The Caddo Parish Confederate Monument 1905 |
The monument needs our help.
The Shreveport Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy has obtained two estimates from reputable restoration experts to repair Clio and to remove the paint. It isn't as easy as going to Home Depot, getting chemical, and a water hose. The estimates are both very close and both very expensive.
The UDC is raising money to restore this monument. The estimates are in stages - one is to repair the hand, another for the paint removal and that includes overall cleaning from the pollutants that are eating away at the stone.
We need to raise $6,000.
That's a lot of money and the UDC does not have it. The UDC is a non-profit, charitable group that gives its money to charities, so writing a $6,000 check is out of the question. Your help is needed.
Please consider making a tax deductible donation to the repair of the Caddo Parish Confederate Monument. Your support is needed now, more than ever. Your donation can be sent directly to the Shreveport Chapter of the UDC:
United Daughters of the Confederacy
Shreveport Chapter #237
P. O. Box 52083
Shreveport, LA 71135-2083
No amount is too small. And those end of the year tax deductions are coming up!
Please share this post on Facebook and via email; you never know when some benevolent soul will see it and see a need to help out!
In compliance with a 2005 Tennessee Court of Appeals decision, the university will pay the Tennessee Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy $1.2 million as a return in present value of $50,000 the organization contributed to the George Peabody College for Teachers in 1933 toward the building’s construction and naming rights. Vanderbilt will pay the sum with gifts from anonymous donors designated to be used specifically for this purpose. No institutional funds will be used to return the donation.
ReplyDeleteHow about asking for some help from Tennessee Division?
ReplyDeleteIn compliance with a 2005 Tennessee Court of Appeals decision, the university will pay the Tennessee Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy $1.2 million as a return in present value of $50,000 the organization contributed to the George Peabody College for Teachers in 1933 toward the building’s construction and naming rights. Vanderbilt will pay the sum with gifts from anonymous donors designated to be used specifically for this purpose. No institutional funds will be used to return the donation.
@rsh I received your comment but won't post it because I don't want to post your email address. We will contact you, though, and thank you so much for your interest in helping us!
ReplyDelete@rsh, I am sure my UDC President will thank you on behalf of our organization but I personally want to thank you for your very generous donation. I am simply breathless. Thank you so very much!
ReplyDelete