Lions in

waiting

for Hermann

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Remember the lions? Those four lions that are to guard the Hermann Monument on Center Street?

Well, the good news is that they are enroute to New Ulm from the Chinese foundry that created them, with expected arrival in New Ulm in about a month.

It follows, then, that the bad news is, they are cast-iron lions and not made of copper to match Hermann, as originally envisioned by coppersmith Karl Mindermann of Sacramento, Calif.

The rest of the bad news, according to former Councilor Denis Warta, is that an expensive paint removal project has consumed nearly half the money designated for the Hermann base restoration.

The paint-removal cost rose sharply when it was learned that the lead-based paint couldn't be removed by the usual methods, Warta said. There could not be any dust put into the air; nor could any dust or paint particles be allowed to fall on the ground.

"When it was all said and done, it cost $315,000 just to remove the paint," Warta said.

Further complicating things for the base restoration project, Warta explained, is that $400,000 of the $800,000 the city has pledged to the project is from a state bonding bill of four years ago.

Having the four lions on the base is a requirement for obtaining that funding, and the clock is ticking on how long that money will be available, Warta said. The project must be approved by the Minnesota Historical Society and fully completed before 2003.

Although the lions on the base won't be copper, Warta said Mindermann has promised to donate one copper lion that will be the same size as the cast iron lions -- about 8 feet long -- and will live in the monument's interpretative center.

"I think Mindermann was well meaning in his offer to provide the lions as a gift," Warta said, "and it would have been nice to have the lions in the same material as the statue. It just wasn't to be."

After hearing about the project during a visit to New Ulm in 1988, Mindermann sought funding for the lions from Sons of Hermann lodges in California.

"But the lodges out there are declining in membership, so his support base just eroded, and with it, I think, his enthusiasm for the project. But he's still going to provide the one lion," said Warta.

Coming up with suitable lions for the National Registry monument is one hurdle overcome, but overcoming the unexpected cost of removing the paint remains a challenge, Warta said.