The latest sculpture, titled Ground Boss, by Garland Weeks was dedicated in Joplin, Missouri on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. This bronze sculpture was commissioned and donated by the Robertson family for the Joplin Rotary Sculpture Garden in Mercy Park. A reporter for the Joplin Globe was present and published an article about the dedication. In part, the article included:
The bronze sculpture, Ground Boss, depicts a life-size mine boss standing on an ore outcropping wearing a Sunshine Lamp helmet and resting a mattock, or pickax, on his shoulder. The design was inspired by the vision of [Henry] Robertson, who remembers being taken down into diggings by his grandfather, a miner and owner of two mines… Because of Robertson’s family history and childhood experience in the mines, he was able to describe … things he remembered seeing to help shape the [sculpture].
In addition, the reporter included the following about the dedication,
An audience of about 30 gathered [Tuesday, April 1, 2025] for a ceremony marking the [sculpture]’s installation. It creates the effect of a promontory, jutting out at the edge of the westernmost point of a pond in Mercy Park. Unlike those who attended, though, Ground Boss was unaffected by the morning’s brisk 18 mph wind and 48-degree temperature.
The bronze sculpture, Ground Boss, depicts a life-size mine boss standing on an ore outcropping wearing a Sunshine Lamp helmet and resting a mattock, or pickax, on his shoulder. The design was inspired by the vision of [Henry] Robertson, who remembers being taken down into diggings by his grandfather, a miner and owner of two mines… Because of Robertson’s family history and childhood experience in the mines, he was able to describe … things he remembered seeing to help shape the [sculpture].
In addition, the reporter included the following about the dedication,
An audience of about 30 gathered [Tuesday, April 1, 2025] for a ceremony marking the [sculpture]’s installation. It creates the effect of a promontory, jutting out at the edge of the westernmost point of a pond in Mercy Park. Unlike those who attended, though, Ground Boss was unaffected by the morning’s brisk 18 mph wind and 48-degree temperature.
Read more of the longer article here.
Finished sculpture in situ at the Joplin Rotary Sculpture Garden.
Installation of the sculpture at the garden.
Bob Headee, Board President of the Joplin Rotary Sculpture Park, Henry Robertson, Donor who commissioned the sculpture "Ground Boss", and Garland A. Weeks.
The Robertson family who commissioned the sculpture.
Henry Robertson talks about the sculpture during the dedication.
Henry Robertson, left, with sculptor Garland A. Weeks, right.
The crew of Sign Designs who installed the sculpture weighing about a thousdand pounds on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
Detail of the sculpture showing the Hercules Powder box, lunch pail, and gloves.
