McMinnville without Hebe hard to imagine
I recently saw a piece of an article on the newspaper Website concerning the condition of the Greek statue on the square. The article mentioned it would take $18,000 for the restoration.
I’m not sure what repairs need to be made but the price tag does seem expensive. What amazed me about the article though, was Alderman Rickey Minton stating the statue meant nothing to him.
I guess it’s easy to criticize those things you don’t understand. As I say that, I have to remind myself I do not know the history of the statue. How did it get where it is? What is the significance of the statue?
Those are questions I would think would have to be answered before deciding whether to spend money on the statue. I could not imagine downtown McMinnville without the statue. It’s been there for as long as I can remember.
Therefore, there must be some meaning for its existence. We are going through a similar situation here in Pulaski. On our town square, we have a statue of Sam Davis. Most people estimate it’s been 20 years since we cleaned the statue. The Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the Daughters of the Confederacy have worked together for the past three months to raise money for the cleaning and restoration.
Because our city square is on the National Registry of Historic Places, the restoration work must meet certain requirements. A company out of Huntsville, Ala., doing the work is charging just over $2,000 – a lot less than the $18,000. It is my hope one or two civic organizations in Mcminnville will take it upon themselves to go out and raise the money and find the best price there is for the statue’s restoration.
Glenn Lance
News Director
WKSR Radio
P.O. Box 738
Pulaski, Tenn.