Thursday, October 04, 2007
Posted By:
Noah Albert
Photo:
Pilar Wiley
America is a great place. So much so that John Ehn felt moved to immortalize his vision of the old West in concrete. Mr. Ehn was a trapper in Michigan until he moved to Woodland Hills in 1941 and opened a motel—the Old Trapper's Lodge. At this point John Ehn also took up sculpture and continued to work in concrete until 1981, when he passed away. His work was originally located on the Old Trapper’s grounds, but when the Lodge was destroyed and the sculptures needed a new home, Pierce College was kind enough to adopt the pieces. Located at the far end of campus on El Rancho Drive between the "Agricultural Science" and "Equestrian Area" many people who work at the college don’t even know the statues exist. And so as Pierce College dissipates beneath the burden of financial distress, mysterious volunteers come every year to retouch the pieces and keep the colors vibrant and fresh, causing some to speculate about the cursed sculptures that John Ehn left behind.
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