[Dialogue] Iron Man

[Bill Bailey]

Terry, yes it was Terry and Jean Loomis who designed and looked after the 
building of the Iron Man. Jean was from New Zealand, and while Marianna and 
I were in Auckland NZ we did have a chance to visit them.

Bill Bailey


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Terry Bergdall" <bergdall2 at gmail.com>
To: "Order Ecumenical Community" <oe at wedgeblade.net>
Cc: "Colleague Dialogue" <dialogue at wedgeblade.net>
Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 11:25 AM
Subject: Re: [Dialogue] Iron Man


> Thanks, Marshall. Just after I sent my message to you, I sent a  similar 
> one to Aimee Hillard. Though she was not nearly as confident  as you, the 
> name she mentioned was also Jean Loomis. Maybe others on  this listserv 
> can add to the story.
>
> For four years, 1980-1984, Pam and I lived on the second floor of the 
> Community Center (a.k.a. Program Center, Sheet Metal Union Hall) 
> overlooking the 5th Ave triangle. The Iron Man statue had long been on 
> the site by that time. Twice I remember cars running into it in the 
> middle of the night. One was after a gang related incident:  both the 
> passenger and driver were killed. It was some kind of set-up because I 
> remember a large number of young men in the area milling around on  foot 
> immediately after the "accident" occurred. They were silent  except for a 
> strange kind of gang-related whistle or call (I can't  remember which). I 
> do remember it that was VERY eerie -- especially  with dead bodies slumped 
> in a crashed car that had bent the statue  entirely out of shape. We 
> called 911 but the entire crowd quietly  melted away into the streets and 
> alley before the police arrived.
>
> The next morning Lela, as she had done so many times before, made 
> arrangements for the Iron Man to be resurrected and stand tall once 
> again.
>
> Once more, Marshall, thanks for helping me to document this piece of 
> history. I'm giving a printed copy of it to Marge Philbrook this  morning: 
> I'm sure she has an appropriate place in the Archives to  file it!
>
> Terry Bergdall
>
>
> On 3 Dec 2009, at 01:45, W. J. wrote:
>
>> The sculptor was Jean Loomis, wife of Terry Loomis, who created it  in 
>> the summer of 1968, along with the 5th City wall mural (which you  can 
>> see in the 5th City movie) that was painted on the Order's long- gone 
>> building on the corner of 5th Avenue and Trumbull--the home of  the 
>> Businessmen's Association at one point. I'm sure Jean built the  original 
>> 'model' (similar to the copies Lela presented to Mayor  Daley & others) 
>> and scaled it up for an industrial fabricator to  execute. For years the 
>> Iron Man 'stood' in the patio next to this  building. Finally, after we 
>> got 5th Avenue closed in front of the  shopping center, it was moved to 
>> its current site. Of course it kept  getting knocked down by reckless 
>> motorists, and then resurrected in  place, over and over, according to 
>> Lela.
>>
>> Marshall
>>
>> That's my story & I'm stickin' to it, but others may have more to add.
>>
>> The Iron Man picture on the cover of ICAI's DVD was shot by Nelson 
>> Stover during the Living Legacy event timeframe. So it's relatively 
>> recent.
>> From: Terry Bergdall <bergdall at gmail.com>
>> To: W. J. <synergi at yahoo.com>
>> Sent: Wed, December 2, 2009 10:35:55 AM
>> Subject: Iron Man
>>
>> Marshall,
>>
>> You may have seen that I suggested that the new Directory have a  picture 
>> of the Iron Man statute in Fifth City. This occasioned some  people 
>> asking question about the statute that I cannot answer. Maybe  you can 
>> help me. Your name came to mind as someone who might  remember these 
>> things.
>>
>> Some think that a young woman was the artist who created the statue.  Is 
>> this correct? Do you know her name? Do you know how we got the 10  foot 
>> statue made?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Terry
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>
>
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