Factory Workers Gift a Bust of Washington Irving

      There are many busts of Washington Irving, but most of them are located in his home state of New York. He died in 1859 and eleven years later, a group of investors near Indianapolis decided to name their new suburb after the beloved writer. For years there had been talk of erecting a monument to the man in the neighborhood. After the city annexed Irvington in 1902, local officials promised a monument that never came. In 1936, Grace Julian Clarke, whose father was a founder of the community, called for park officials to erect a bust for the Irving Circle Park. Silas Carr, a city councilman, successfully petitioned for WPA funds and in the summer of that year sculptor William Kriner put the finishing touches on the limestone bust of the author. Perched atop a limestone pillar, the sculpture became the target of vandalism. Finally, the city moved the bust to a more protected place in 1943 in front of School #57 where it has been for 80 years. 

     By the early 1970s, the Irving Circle Park looked quite forlorn without its original fountain or a bust of Washington Irving. John Readle, a local policeman, decided that the small green space needed a facelift. He successfully lobbied the city and helped to raise funds to recreate the fountain.  (later replaced in the 1990s) He also worked with his contacts at the International Harvester plant on Brookville Road to recreate the bust.  The factory had been a major employer for the city since 1938. Hundreds of workers and executives lived in Irvington and on the east side for decades.

     Hollie E. Cox first began working for the factory in 1939 as a pattern maker.  The young man was just getting started in life. During World War II, he left the plant and served overseas in the European theater of the war. In fact, he fought at the Battle of Bulge during the brutal winter of 1944. He survived the war and returned home where his job still awaited him at International Harvester. He married Leona Boyle in 1948 and they later had two children, Katy and Russell. We are not exactly sure how Mr. Cox became involved, but he helped to recreate the new bust of Washington Irving in 1971. It was cast in iron and coated in copper. They used the Kriner bust as the model for the new Irving. Instead of a stone pillar, Mr. Cox and others welded the head upon a metal pole. And while the factory and the workers are now gone, the bust serves as an enduring legacy of their time on the eastside of Indianapolis.  

   

The new iron bust of Washington Irving is in the center of the photo while the older limestone bust is at the right in 1971. (photo courtesy of Katy Smith)

Hollie E. Cox (left) and another International Harvester employee work on the new Washington Irving bust in 1971. You can also see the original mold in the photo. (courtesy of Katy Smith)

Pattern maker, Hollie E. Cox, used the historic limestone bust as the model for the new iron bust in 1971. William Kriner, who sculpted figures on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Indianapolis, created this bust of Washington Irving in 1936. You can see the historic vandalism on Irving's neck. Local officials eventually moved the bust to the grounds of IPS #57. (Photo courtesy of Katy Smith)

Hollie E. Cox added a copper coating on the bust of Washington Irving in 1971 at the International Harvester plant on Brookville Road. (photo courtesy of Katy Smith)

The beautiful new copper-coated iron bust of Washington Irving in 1971 at the International Harvester plant on Brookville Road. (photo courtesy of Katy Smith)

Washington Irving still watches over the Irving Circle Park. He has suffered from the effects of weather and vandalism. Most recently, someone has drawn all over his face with a permanent marker. (photo taken on April 9, 2023)

William Kriner's limestone bust rests on a stone pillar in front of IPS #57. The ravages of weather have removed some of the features of his face. A previous act of vandalism in the 1940s is still visible on his neck. (photo taken on April 9, 2023)

  Photo provenance:  On February 11, 2023, I attended a reading by local poet Angela Barnes. While standing in line for her to sign my book, I met Katy Cox Smith, who was standing behind me. Her father helped to create the iron bust of Washington Irving in 1971. She generously sent scans of these historic family photographs.

Sources:  William Kriner bust--"Irvington Looks to Dedication of Life-Size Bust of Namesake," Indianapolis News, July 6, 1936, 20; "Washington Irving Bust to be Dedicated on Sept. 11," Indianapolis News, August 7, 1936, 15; Iron bust--Michael P. Tarpey, "Policeman's Pride in His Irvington to Restore Fountain," Indianapolis Star, September 22, 1971; "Indiana Rose Festival Selects City Policeman for Environment Award," Indianapolis Star, October 4, 1971; For more information on sculpture in Indiana--Glory June Greiff, Remembrance, Faith, and Fancy: Outdoor Public Sculpture in Indiana, Indiana Historical Press, 2000.