Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
BEDFORD – A bluejacket for Mitchell, a bulldog for Orleans and a strawberry for Borden are three of six limestone sculptures being carved for the trail communities along the Monon South Trail.
The sculptures pay homage to the high school mascots in the trail communities. Campbellsburg, home to the West Washington Senators, will have a sculpture of an Uncle Sam hat; New Pekin’s sculpture is a cavalier hat, symbolic of the Pekin Eastern Musketeers. Salem’s sculpture will be located near the restored L&N boxcar. The inspiration for that sculpture is “The Boxcar Children,” a children’s literary series about four orphans who make a home inside an abandoned boxcar.
Kopelov Cut Stone, 2321 39th St., in Bedford, is carving the statues, which were commissioned by Radius Indiana, the Monon South Trail developer. Radius is using funds from READI 1.0 for the project.
“It’s exciting to know these will be on a trail used by so many people,” said stone carver Kino Kopelov.
Kopelov admitted he wasn’t familiar with the Monon South Trail, which will span about 60 miles from Lawrence County down to Clark County, when he was approached by Radius Indiana about carving the statues but said he’s thankful for the opportunity to add unique points of interest for trail users and the trail towns.
Radius Indiana brought in local sculptor Amy Brier to design and create clay models for Kopelov to carve.
“We knew that the Monon South Trail was going to be special, and we wanted it to feature unique elements that would not only be part of the trail-goers’ experience but also a part of the local community fabric as well,” said Jeff Quyle, Radius Indiana president and CEO. “These statues of the school mascots speak to the identity of Southern Indiana communities, and that’s important. We think that tourists who come to enjoy the Trail will end up enjoying the communities too, and they’ll take pictures of themselves with these statues; in that way, pictures of these statues posted on social media are going to provide a lot of extra attention that will enhance the economic development potential of the trail.”
Kopelov Cut Stone specializes in historic restoration work and custom carving. The business has been in Bedford since 2015 when the owners relocated from New Mexico to Indiana to be closer to the limestone industry.
Kopelov said the mill works on projects all over the Ohio Valley region as well as around Lawrence County. Carving stone sculptures for a public trail, however, is a first for Kopelov.
The first sculpture to be completed is the Orleans bulldog. Standing at 5 feet 9 inches, the carving is just the right size for selfies with trail users. Kopelov said he expects to have all the sculptures completed by September.