A SECRET LEGACY REVEALED...

Before I start,

 I would like to thank Stephanie at

 The Enchanting Rose

 for picking my sitting room reveal

 as one of her features last week

 for her Roses of Inspirations linky party.

  She is such a kind and loving woman 

and it is my honor

 to consider her a friend

 and to be included in her wonderful party.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Nevada County Fairgrounds

 is a beautiful, scenic place. 

 It is even seen by some

 as the most beautiful fairgrounds

 in Northern California.

It certainly has its share of 

serene and calming places,

nestled as it is 

under tall pines...

...and along side a large pond

 where an abundance

 of wild life reside.

Now the gates are closed

 and there is an unusual stillness over all,

 but it isn't hard for the imagination

 to recall the sights and sounds

 of laughter and good times,

 eating corn dogs and roasted chestnuts

 by an open fire,

 the paths lined with California Gold,

 the marigolds,

 and the carnival rides filled

 with the young 

and the young at heart.

At the entrance to the fairgrounds,

 standing tall over all,

 through the clamor and the quiet,

 is one of the most recognizable icons

 of Nevada County, 

the draft horse monument,

 known as the

 Gentle Giant.

Photo courtesy of The Union

From left:  Contractors Jerry F. Orlandi and Robert A. Hildebrand, along with Todd Andrews, sculptor, stand in front of the "Gentle Giant" monument at the Nevada Country Fairgrounds.  The three men know the location of a secret time capsule in the statue's base, which was dedicated on July 21, 1996.

We found out this morning 

from an article in our local newspaper,

 The Union,

 that the Gentle Giant

 has a long kept secret.

Robert Hildebrand, pictured above,

 donated his labor to build the base

 of the monument in 1991. 

 At that time, 

he installed a secret time capsule,

 inside the base, 

to hold a few personal items

 for his children to discover years later

 and news articles 

that detailed the events 

swirling around the project's construction.

At the time of construction

 there was a lot of negativity

 concerning the project.

  People thought it was too much money 

and that the money could be more wisely spent,

 along with it taking too long

 to complete.

 The structure was finally put in place

 five years after the base concrete

 was poured 

and when the $250,000 needed

 to pay for the impressive steed

 was raised.

The main fund raising tools used

 to complete the venture

 was to charge companies and individuals

 to put their names

 on one of the twenty or more plaques

 on the base.

 The price was $50 per line

 and each plaque had 200 lines.

  Some companies paid for a whole plaque

 at the cost of

 $10,000.

Photo courtesy of The Union

In this file photo, the "Gentle Giant" monument is lifted onto its base.

When the base was completed 

there was a 2X8 foot time capsule installed.

  It was a huge hole and 

Hildebrand asked that a steel tank be made

 to fit the space 

so the contents could be protected from deterioration.

  He also asked for

 a small amount of space

 to add his own time capsule.

 Both requests were never addressed

 so the huge hole was covered with rocks

 and no one involved in the project

 remembers ever putting anything

 into the time capsule. 

 One person had a video tape to add

 but it was lost

 during the construction.

 Hildebrand went ahead 

and added his own time capsule anyway

 and since he is now leaving the area

 and moving to Arizona,

 he says he will disclose the location 

of his capsule 

if a decision can be made

 to put something in the main time capsule.

  He says,

 after 25 years,

 it is time.

Todd Andrews 

designed and cast

 the massive bronze structure

 that sits on top of the base.

 He tells a tale

 about what is under

 the tail 

of the horse.

Andrews placed a few gargoyle-type faces

 around on the horse. 

 One, in particular,

 was placed under the tail,

 sitting on the horse's rear end.

  He said it was just

 a whimsical gesture,

 a face blowing a kiss,

 but it

 backfired!

When the statue was first put in place,

 a group of Boy Scouts

 was brought in to polish it.

  Andrews, foolishly, told them

 about the face on the horse's rear

 and the scouts

 started teasing each other,

 saying that their faces

 "looked like a horse's butt."

One of the boys teased

 was of Maidu Indian descent.

 When he told his parents, 

they became enraged

 and the sheriff's office told the fair board

 that they had the image

 of a Native American

 on the horse's butt

 and to expect a protest

 from that community. 

 A protest did ensue at the unveiling 

but, by that time, the situation was resolved.

  An official of the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

came to inspect the piece 

and said it obviously wasn't a depiction

 of a Native American,

 but Andrews covered the face 

over with wax

 at that time.

The wax has since been scraped off

 by someone

 and it now 

rears its

 ugly head again.

FYI:

  I personally looked all over the horse 

as best I could,

 as it is very high up off the ground,

 and this is my opinion only,

 that this is the face in question.

 If you stand back from the photo

 and look closely 

you might see the face 

in the above photo 

in the left, bottom corner.

 It appears in the higher photo

 in the lower right hand corner.

 I was unable to spot any other gargoyles.

It may have had its controversies

 but, in reality,

 this monument

 is a beautiful sight to behold

 and a symbol that stands

 for the strength and honor 

of the people and the animals

 that forged ahead

 and helped build

 this beautiful country.

...Judy...

The Gentle Giant surrounded by springtime

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