The winner: Shannon Feeley, Glenwood Springs: Lady Liberty stands miniaturized in front of the Weld County Court House. The statue was part of the “Strengthen the Arm of Liberty” theme adopted by the Boy Scouts of America during its 40th anniversary. From 1949 to 1951, the Boy Scouts donated 200 statues to towns and cities all across America. Statues were placed in 39 states, as well as in some foreign countries.
Teresa Schmidt, Greeley: The Statue of Liberty on the corner of 9th Street & 9th Avenue in downtown Greeley has been proudly displayed next to the courthouse as long as I can remember. In the 1990s, Lady Liberty was abducted on an early summer night. A pair of drunken individuals decided to take Lady Liberty home with them. Lady Liberty did not go quietly. Following the trail of debris, the police were led to a nearby apartment.
Upon knocking on the door, the mystery of the missing statue was solved. There stood the Statue of Liberty, in the apartment with the abductors. The thieves were arrested. The statue was repaired and returned.
David Caldwell, Greeley: The statue pictured in the Nov. 22 Denver Post welcomes visitors to the historic county courthouse in Greeley. The miniature replica of the Statue of Liberty was placed on the northeast corner of the courthouse lawn by the Boy Scouts of America as part of a nationwide celebration of the Scouts’ 40th anniversary in 1950.
Alan J. Nazzaro, Parker: I first saw this statue while visiting my children, who were both attending UNC at the time. I grew up in Jersey City, N.J., where the real Statue of Liberty is literally only a stone’s throw away from the shoreline. I never visited that island, so close to my home, until I was grown and had kids of my own and took them from our home in Parker, to visit my family in Jersey City. How ironic that they would both attend college in Greeley with UNC a stone’s throw away from the replica of the real Lady! My daughter now works for the state and in her spare time runs a tee-shirt company, which designs and sells shirts to assist nonprofits in fund-raising. The company is called “Shirts for Justice.” How’s that for a fitting compliment to this story?
Nicolett B. Darling, Johnstown: The miniature Statue of Liberty is guarding the Weld County Court House located at 9th Street and 9th Avenue in downtown Greeley, Colorado. She reminds us that justice should always prevail.
The Weld County Court House, designed by architect William N. Bowman and dedicated on July 4, 1917, was built to last and is still in use. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
