HAD PICTURE TAKEN WITH RI’S INDEPENDENT MAN IN 2024

NANCY

CECIL

NOT BILL

NOT ANY BLAIS

When I learned that the Rhode Island State House Independent Man statue would again be removed from the dome in Providence last year I waited to see if there would be any public viewing after the 23.75-karat gold leaf application and repairs to the marble base were completed. It seems the powers that be chose to avoid all the controversy of a mall display the 1975 event created and opted instead to go directly to viewing at the state house after repairs were completed.

A quick timeline of events associated with the statue’s departure from and return to the state house dome in 2023/24:

The statue was removed in December of 2023. In January 2024 the statue underwent cleaning and restoration at the Rhode Island National Guard’s North Main Street Armory. In April, the statue went on display in the state house lobby while awaiting completion to work on the marble base. The marble base repair was completed sometime in November or early December due partly to the delay in getting the Georgia marble due to Hurricane Helene. The statue was returned to the state house dome on December 18, 2024.

I tried to get Bill, and Jackie and Dan Blais together to re-create our picture from 1975 but unfortunately schedules never meshed. The statue returned to its perch without us capturing an updated photo.

I did however take Cecil to see the statue. I thought I had explained the general idea of the statue, throwing words like “freedom, independence, liberty,” and the like at him. I probably even mentioned the importance of the statue incorporating an anchor in its design, talking about how the anchor was a long-standing emblem used by the state. I definitely talked about how his previous sightings of the statue from the ground made the statue look much smaller than its actual size. But Cecil was only six at the time and all my well-intended insight and chatter seems to have been lost on him. I learned later that he told his parents that I took him to see a statue that “looks like Hercules, but isn’t.”

When we visited that day (August 27, 2024), I was fussing with getting my phone out and ready to take a photo and then realized Cecil had written his name in the guest register located next to the viewing area. I later completed the entry with his last name and town of residence as well as adding my own information. Only after I got home did it occur to me that I should have taken a photo of the book/page. I thought about going back while the statue was still on display but it just never happened.

This week I was wondering if the guest register was something that would be accessible via the state library or archives. I went to the state library (in the state house) earlier this week and inquired. The employee there indicated that she thought the register probably hadn’t gone to the archives yet and that the governor’s office most likely was in possession of it. I was given an email address for someone to contact. Two hours and three or four additional employees later, I had a PDF image of the page. Pretty cool.