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What happened to Mrs. Palmer?

The question was asked during this week’s Luzerne County building and grounds department budget work session in reference to the Ellen Webster Palmer statute that once graced the county-owned River Common near the courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.

Palmer established the Boys’ Industrial Association in Wilkes-Barre in the 1890s to educate and provide social activities for working children, spending her nights teaching breaker boys after they labored at coal mines during the day.

County Operational Division Head Edmund O’Neill assured county council members the statue is safely stored at Baut Studios in Swoyersville, but its future is uncertain because no funds are available to restore it.

Studio representative Conrad Baut said he has kept the statue covered at his building for more than a decade awaiting county instructions on how to proceed.

County officials transported the statue there around 2007 during a revamping of the River Common, with the idea of repairing, restoring and returning it to a more elevated spot closer to River Street. However, the statue plan was shelved amid competition with other projects seeking limited capital funding.

In 2014, prior operational division head Tanis Manseau attempted to revive the statue restoration plan, proposing a $38,000 capital budget allocation for the work. He later withdrew the request, saying the administration had decided to make minor repairs and move the statue into the courthouse to draw attention to the need for donations to complete restoration.

That never happened.

‘Just left it there’

O’Neill said he visited the studio to see the statue in June, and both the studio and an outside preservationist advised it would not be cost efficient to repair the statue due to the extent of damage.

“They just don’t feel it would be worthwhile based on the value of the piece,” O’Neill said, surmising prior county administrators “basically just left it there.”

Baut said he is open to tackling the project if the county wants to proceed, although he would have to complete a thorough cost estimate.

The marble statue has fissures, and the heads of Palmer and the two boys flanking her had been knocked off by vandals and later reattached, he said. Palmer’s nose also is missing.

“I thought it was way too compromised,” Baut said.

If funds are someday earmarked or raised to fix the statue, Baut would recommend it be kept indoors after repairs are completed to prevent further deterioration due to weather exposure.

The statue weighs about 1,200 pounds and would require equipment for relocation, he noted.

No matter what happens with the statue, Baut hopes area residents, current and future, do not forget Palmer’s contributions.

“What a beloved lady she was to care for those boys,” Baut said.

An inscription at the bottom of the statue reads: “Life is a tool to work with, not a toy to play with.”

Councilman Stephen A. Urban inquired about the statue after Councilwoman Jane Walsh Waitkus asked operational division representatives to find out if the county has any historic artifacts in storage. The division is working on a response.

The statue of Ellen Webster Palmer, photographed when it still stood on the River Common in 2005, has been in storage at a studio for more than a decade because Luzerne County officials never proceeded with repair and restoration plans.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_ellen_webster_palmer_PUB_-1-1-1.jpeg.optimal.jpegThe statue of Ellen Webster Palmer, photographed when it still stood on the River Common in 2005, has been in storage at a studio for more than a decade because Luzerne County officials never proceeded with repair and restoration plans. Times Leader file photo

By Jennifer Learn-Andes

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Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.