After more than a year of planning, the massive stone that will become Glidden’s Liberty Rock made the 23-mile trip from just outside of Bayard today (Thursday) to its place in Northland Park. The boulder, which was donated by Richard and Kathy Hunter of Scranton, weighs approximately 60 tons and took the contractors, Billy Bell House Moving, nearly two hours to transport the stone to the northeast corner of Arizona Street and Highway 30. Glidden Mayor, Roger Hartwigsen, says the community has been waiting for this day for a long time.
Close to 30 people waited in the Northland and Aquatic Center Parks for over an hour to watch the boulder come into town. Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II, who is known for painting the Freedom Rocks throughout Iowa, is scheduled to paint the boulder sometime next year with an emphasis on Glidden’s many veterans. However, Hartwigsen says they still have plenty of work left at the Liberty Rock site before they can even schedule the artist.
Work is also planned elsewhere in Northland Park. City Administrator, Brooke Peterson, says residents should be excited for all the changes coming to that area of town.
Hartwigsen hopes the Liberty Rock will serve as a positive reminder that we are all Americans amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis,
