Gorman Wayside Fitchburg Veterans Memorial

Located at 2377 S. Fish Hatchery Road in Fitchburg Wisconsin

As you may know, we are fundraising to install and maintain Memorials to honor our Armed Forces and their families. Please visit when you can and reflect at this lovely Veterans Memorial Park.

Our Memorials continues to demonstrate our community’s appreciation for those who have served and who are serving in America’s armed forces and to their families, as well as those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. 

We are grateful for your support as we continue to honor Veterans and their families. We are a non-profit 501(c)3 public charity organization and use any funds to install and maintain memorials to Veterans and their families.

Directions

From Madison: From the south Beltline, exit onto Fish Hatchery Road and go south approximately 4 miles.

From County Highway PD and Fish Hatchery Road Intersection: Go south about 2 miles on Fish Hatchery Road, Gorman Wayside is on the right, just south of Irish Lane.

Report From Fitchburg Landmarks Preservation Commission, Tracie Schnell Survey 2019

2377 S. Fish Hatchery Road

Weary Veteran Sculpture (1973-74) #31003

Town of Fitchburg Garage (1956; 1969-70) #239499

Name AHI# NRHP Evaluation

2377 S. Fish Hatchery Road 31003 Not Yet 50 years Old

Description and Statement of Significance

Resting upon a Minnesota granite base, this aluminum sculpture consists of a male figure in uniform, kneeling on one knee in a state of weariness, with a rifle in his hand.56The sculpture, entitled “Weary Veteran,” was designed and created by sculptor Harry Whitehorse, a Winnebago Indian. The sculpture was commissioned by the Fitchburg Club as a emorial for a local boy (Bob Schley) lost to the Vietnam War, as well as other Fitchburg casualties of war. The piece of land upon which the sculpture was installed was donated to the Town of Fitchburg by Mr. and Mrs. Tom Gorman, on behalf of the Fitchburg Club. At that time ,the Fitchburg Town Hall was located adjacent to the donated parcel, now known as Gorman Wayside Park. The club, which was organized in 1968 to develop, promote, and support the various activities of the town, was open to all Fitchburg residents. The sculpture was completed and installed in 1973 (or 1974). 57 Monona sculptor and painter Harry Whitehorse was born in 1927 near the Indian Mission in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. He served in the Navy in World War II, during which time he visited museums while on leave. Upon his return, he attended the University of Madison, where he studied both human and animal anatomy. He also attended the Arthur Colt School of Fine Arts in Madison, where he studied oil painting. In addition, he apprenticed to his uncle who worked as a silversmith. He also learned how to work metal in a factory and, later, as owner and operator of Chief Auto Body & Repair in Madison. As of 1966–the year he was awarded first prize for his submission to the Capital Times-Madison Art Association Sidewalk Art Fair– his design influence was identified as Michelangelo. Following that award-winning sculpture, Whitehorse received a number of commissions. Among his known works include a baptismal font at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church (30 Dempsey Road, Madison; 1971); “Let the Great Spirit Soar,” (1991); and “Asclepius,” (1964), the latter two of which (along with the Fitchburg sculpture) are recorded by the Smithsonian. In August of 2019, Whitehorse’s “The Badger,” a 10-foot-long bronze statue made from the model he created approximately a decade earlier, will be installed across the street from Camp Randall Stadium and dedicated in September.58 No information was found to substantiate potential eligibility under either Criterion A: History or Criterion B: Significant Persons. The sculpture, however, may hold potential eligibility under Criterion C: Architecture, as a work of art executed by well-known sculptor Harry Whitehorse. Completed and installed in 1973 (or 1974), “Weary Veteran,” is not yet fifty years of age. Although the subject sculpture is a notable and relatively early example of Whitehorse’s work, more information is needed to fully place the sculpture within Whitehorse’s lifetime of works in order to fully determine its significance.

57 “Fitchburg Club Gives Memorial Tract to Town,” The Capital Times, 21 January 1970, 2; Joseph McBride, “Fitchburg: Whole Town’s a Club,” Wisconsin State Journal, 22 February 1970, 8; Darling and O’Brien, Fitchburg: A History, 152-153. 58 Sidewalk Art Sales Total $26,000,” The Capital Times, 19 July 1966, 9; Samara Kalk Derby, “Renowned Local Sculptor and Painter Harry Whitehorse Dies at 90,” Wisconsin State Journal, 1 December 2017; Lawrence Andrea, “Remembering Harry Whitehorse,’ Madison 365, 18 September 2018, Available online at https://madison365.com/remembering-harry-whitehorse/, Accessed June 2019; Emily Hamer, ‘Bronze Badger Statue by Ho-Chunk Artist Harry Whitehorse to be Installed Across from Camp Randall,” Wisconsin State Journal, 15 July 2019, article available online at https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/bronze-badger-statue-to-be-installedacross-the-street-from/article_630cbc8f-328a-507f-ac07-a57d490af41e.html.