The Dedicated Volunteers...Butte, Montana men and women
The 90-foot-tall Our Lady of the Rockies statue on
the East Ridge had modest beginnings in the minds of two Butte men five years ago.
The idea
originated with Bob O'Bill in 1979 when his wife recovered from a serious
illness. In thankfulness, O'Bill thought he would build a five-foot statue
of the Virgin Mary to be placed, perhaps, in a city park.
O'Bill mentioned the idea to two men since
deceased who thought in larger terms. They were Joe McCarthy, killed
when the vehicle he was riding in was struck by a train near Divide, and
Bill Dorr, who died of cancer.
Dorr really pushed for a
larger statue 120 feet. McCarthy emphasized the engineering problems
with a statue that size, but was willing to try for a 90-foot figure.
Butte sculptor John Mazzola fashioned a 90-inch model of a
statue, which was displayed around town for a while to raise funds,
although the foundation eventually rejected Mazzola's prototype,
preferring instead to model the statue after a 10-inch ceramic
figurine.
Through collaboration with Joe
Roberts, owner of Rocky Mountain Equipment Co., the idea mushroomed into
reality. Roberts was a continual driving force, O'Bill said, and he
virtually gave the keys to his business to the crews working on the
statue.
Roberts and Bob Koprivica put up an initial pot of
$2,000. The Anaconda Minerals Co. donated a grader, loader, and a
bulldozer to clear the road - about $250,000 in equipment. Others became
drawn into the project donating time, labor, supplies and
money.
Working quietly, organizers inspected possible locations
on the East Ridge before coming up with one they thought suitable at
8,500-foot Saddle Rock.
The group negotiated for a mining claim
at the site that was owned by several people, including Guy Ossello. The
owners agreed to give the foundation a permanent lease on the ground at
no cost.
The group then mapped out a 1 1/2-mile road that
wouldn't cross public land and so avoid land-use review processes in
Jefferson County, Butte-Silver Bow or the Forest Service, and the
subsequent publicity.
To build the road and blast a ledge on the
rocky precipice, the foundation obtained permission from the private
landholders and a small miner's exclusion permit.
Early Days...
"The road was completed in 1981, largely due to efforts of
bulldozer operator Mike Cerise and handyman and equipment procurer Bob
Jelick," Roberts said.
When word finally leaked out, it sparked
some controversy in the form of letters to The Montana Standard. No
organized opposition ever formed, however, and the stream of letters
dropped off to an intermittent trickle.
O'Bill said he doesn't
think about the criticism the group got in the beginning. "We had a lot
of support too," he said.
A number of things, including the
Anaconda Co. layoffs that left fewer men to donate time because they
left town to look for work, combined to delay the project.
O'Bill said there were tough, depressing times, particularly
once when there was only $14 in the fund and the bulldozer was broken
down on the mountain.
But, everyone kept working. The statue
began to take shape by 1983 and one of the hands was completed in July
that year.
Bill Barth, a retired Anaconda Minerals Co. engineer,
supervised the blasting of Saddle Rock, and arrangements were made to
pour the enormous concrete base Sept. 14, 1985.
Roberts and the
foundation then intensified their search for a helicopter to take the
Lady to the perch on the East Ridge. They saw an airlift as preferable
to trucking the sections to the site , which would have been
inaccessible during winter, and would have required the statue be cut
into smaller pieces.
The group initially hoped to hire or have
donated a private helicopter, but after learning there were none in the
country available large enough to do the job, started a tortuous journey
through military channels.
Among the key players were Joe
Monahan, who works in the Senate Library in Washington, D.C., and a
brother of Roberts employee Ed Monahan; Stan Kimmett, a Montana native,
retired Air Force colonel and former secretary of the Senate; Sen. John
Melcher; and Adjutant Gen. Jim Duffy of the Montana National Guard.
Sens. Barry Goldwater and Paul Laxalt also petitioned the Pentagon on
Our Lady's behalf, and Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger finally
signed the needed papers on Nov. 21 after months of delays and political
maneuvering.
Although one condition of using the National Guard
chopper was that the foundation pay all costs associated with the lift
estimates ranged from $1,900 to $9,000 per hour.
The Sikorsky
Skycrane left its base near Reno Dec. 16, 1985, on a seven-hour journey
to the Mining City, with stops for refueling in Elko, Nev., and Idaho
Falls. Its performance over the next four days captivated thousands, and
was especially gratifying to the men who started it all.
"That
night when the lights went on was the greatest day of my life," O'Bill
said. "That was payday. We're elated."
Roberts added: "Those of
us who have contributed to Our Lady of the Rockies have no illusions
about the statue. It is only pieces of sheet metal welded together to
symbolize love and motherhood. "
'It is not something to worship.
But we hope it becomes an object of respect."
 
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