Which statue of a historic Ohioan should be sent to Washington to represent the state in the National Statuary Hall Collection?
Paul Brown from Massillon
Thomas Edison from Milan
Bob Hope from Cleveland
Dean Martin from Steubenville
Annie Oakley from from Greenville
Jesse Owens from Cleveland
The Wright Brothers from Dayton
Currently one of Ohio's two statues is William Allen a congressman and former Ohio Governor (?)
I read an article about it in the Columbus Dispatch. I'd never heard of Allen before... or why Allen is losing his spot. Other states have switched statues. Each state has 2 statues. President James Garfield is Ohio's other statue.
From the Cleveland.com blog:
"Whatever happened to the effort to replace Ohio's statue of William Allen in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall with someone else?"
Cleveland.com goes on to say:
"History hasn't been kind to former Ohio Gov. William Allen of Chillicothe. Political stands that he took in the 1800s -- backing slavery and criticizing Abraham Lincoln -- didn't exactly wear well with time.
Two years ago, a group of state legislators in Columbus decided that Allen's marble likeness should no longer represent Ohio in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall Collection, where each state contributes two sculptures of native sons and daughters."
The poll was first published yesterday on ColumbusBestBlog.com Jessie Owens from Cleveland is in the lead.... others I put on the poll based on the AP article in the Columbus Dispatch....who each have one vote each? Annie Oakley, The Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison.
The committee selecting the statues has already been to visit Edison's birthplace.
Someone voted for General Willam Tecumseh Sherman from Lancaster Ohio on the "other button" poll on ColumbusBestBlog.com General Sherman of the Civil War?
An old, old NY Times article - November 3, 1885 dateline "Columbus" about William Allen's statue being added to the group. That article referred to William Allen as a former Governor of the Ohio.
Or should Allen remain? The Cleveland.com post says:
"Allen isn't the only figure in the collection who took political stances that weren't vindicated by history.
Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis and General Robert E. Lee are there, too, along with anti-evolution crusader William Jennings Bryan."
Maureen McCabe Real Living HER Worthington
Tomorrow March 25, 2009 at 9:50 a.m. there's a statewide Tornado Drill 