Lincoln (Neb.) - Oct. 16, 1998 - A life-size bronze replica of an ancient mammoth is ready to travel from Cody, Wyo., to its home in front of the University of Nebraska State Museum in Lincoln, crossing the same land the now extinct mammoths roamed more than 30,000 years ago. The sculpture is 15 feet, 7 inches tall, weighs 5,000 pounds and is patterned after the giant fossil skeleton on display in Elephant Hall at the museum.
The giant bronze statue by Fred Hoppe of Malcolm will be loaded on a flatbed truck at the Caleco Foundry in Cody at 8 a.m. (MDT) Oct. 19 and begins its trip east at about 7 a.m. the next day. The truck will follow Wyoming Route 120 to Thermopolis and continue on U.S. Highway 20 to Casper. From Casper, the truck takes Interstate 25 to Cheyenne and then switches to I-80 for the rest of its trip.
Because of the size of the sculpture, the truck can only drive in daylight so an overnight stop is planned Oct. 20, at the closest town, depending on travel conditions. A stop also is scheduled in North Platte, near the site where the Archie fossil was unearthed. It will be at the Stockman Motel either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, when visitors can see the sculpture during an event sponsored by the Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum. The truck leaves North Platte around noon Oct. 21 and is expected to arrive in Lincoln before dark.
On Oct. 22, the statue will be installed in front of the museum at Morrill Hall, 14th and U streets. A crane will lift the statue off the truck and place it on a concrete base. A formal dedication of the sculpture is planned for Nov. 21.
ARCHIE FACT SHEET
Who is Archie? - "Archie" is short for Archidiskidon imperator
maibeni, the now extinct imperial mammoth that is a cousin of
today's living elephant. He is on display in Elephant Hall at the
University of Nebraska State Museum in Lincoln. The Archie fossil
measures 25 feet, seven inches from tusk to tail and weighed
about 15 tons when he roamed the plains 30,000 years ago. He
wasn't alone. Mammoth fossils have been found in every county in
the state. The life-size bronze statue of Archie will sit in
front of the museum in Morrill Hall on the university campus,
drawing attention to the museum with its impressive fossil
display. For more information, call James Estes, museum director,
(402) 472-3779.
It's a Big Job - It took four months to case the life-size
mammoth bronze at the Caleco Foundry in Cody, Wyo. The statue was
cast in 86 sections; is 15 feet, 6 inches high; and weighs 5,000
pounds, containing three tons of bronze. For more information,
call Bucky Hall, co-owner of the foundry, at (800) 267-5803.
Home Sweet Home? - Archie should feel right at home on his
platform in front of Morrill Hall. Peg Bolick, curator of botany
and associate professor at the museum, and NU emeritus geologist
Bill Wayne analyzed earth samples to a depth of about 20 feet
below the platform site to reconstruct a picture of what the land
was like 20,000 years ago. It seems that it was a spruce bog,
typical of the planet during the last ice age - and just the kind
of climate Archie would have loved. Call Peg Bolick at (402) 472-
2613.
Archie is a Friends Project - The idea for the monumental
sculpture originated with the Friends of the University of
Nebraska State Museum, a group organized in 1983 to assist the
museum with fundraising and other projects. The Friends raised
the $100,000 for the Archie statue by selling 100 small versions
of the sculpture. For more information, call Betty Anderson, past
president of the Friends of the NU State Museum, at (402) 435-
0220.
That's a lot of Bronze - Nebraska artist Fred Hoppe of started
working on the Archie sculpture in 1992 in a barn outside his
rural Malcolm home. He studied ancient cave paintings and
pictures of frozen mammoth carcasses to make the sculpture as
authentic as possible. Hoppe first reproduced Archie's skeleton
in wood, added Styrofoam for muscle and finished with clay for
skin. For more information, call Betty Anderson, past president
of the Friends of the NU State Museum, at (402) 435-0220.
Archie Artist has Mammoth Reputation - Fred Hoppe is an award-
winning sculptor specializing in bronze artwork. Hoppe created a
life-size bronze dog team for the Iditarod Museum in Alaska;
George Bush and Norman Schwartzkopf own his bronze eagles. In
Nebraska, Hoppe created "Husker Legacy," a statue of football
players in action that stands on the east side of Memorial
Stadium on the university campus. Hoppe's career progressed from
museum taxidermy to wildlife sculpture. His research and field
studies have taken him to remote areas in Europe and Africa and
all over North America, including 37 trips to Alaska. Hoppe is an
NU alumnus and said he remembers seeing the Archie skeleton for
the first time during a visit to the State Museum at Morrill Hall
when he was 7 years old. For more information, call Betty
Anderson, past president of the Friends of the NU State Museum,
at (402) 435-0220.
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