I really enjoyed my visit with Frank Gaylord in Williamstown, Vermont on April 14th. Frank is the artist of our William Penn statue located in Penn Treaty Park. He is 91 and living in a senior housing complex in this little town that was settled in 1781. I was greeted with a smile, a firm handshake and Frank wearing a Temple sweatshirt. He was proud that he attended the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia after WWII and studied under Boris Blai. We chatted for awhile and listened to memories of this accomplished artist. Born in West Virginia, studied in Philadelphia and lived most of his life in Barre Vermont.

I was early for my scheduled 1:00PM visit with Frank and looked around the town that still retained the character of bygone days. A memorial Obelisk was prominent and I was curious to its origins. It was a powerful reminder of those that died in the Civil War. The names and ages of local residents who lost their life in the war between the North and the South was placed on the site in 1869. It struck me on how many died from such a small town. A monument to death and sorrow. I also passed thru Bennington,Vermont which is noted as a place of a 1777 battle in the American Revolution. A tall stone monument was placed near the site in 1891. A memorial of the battlefield victory.

However, I traveled to Vermont to record any memories that this noted sculpturer had on our granite statue of William Penn, who was a man of peace. The 1682 story of Peace and Friendship between the Original People and the Quakers brought me to Williamstown, Vermont. Although Frank Gaylord is better known for the Korean War Memorial in Washington DC, it is our statue of William Penn that resides on our land of Peace, Penn Treaty Park, that prompted the trip.

Our William Penn statue made from Vermont granite had a back story that has been written in the Ken Milano book on Penn Treaty Park. Frank remembered some of the difficulties he encountered dealing with officials in the City of Philadelphia in the early 80’s that almost derailed him from having the statue placed in Penn Treaty Park. Frank also mentioned that the scroll in front of Penn was used to provide support for the tiny feet of Penn.

The Daughters of the American Colonists commissioned Frank to create the William Penn statue for the 300th anniversary of the founding of Pennsylvania in 1982. They intended this gift to be given to the City and placed in the old,smaller Penn Treaty Park. As chronicled by Milano we almost lost our Penn statue if not for the efforts of the Penn Treaty Park Tercentenary Committee and Elaine Pedan. Ultimately we overcame all hurdles and the work of art by Frank was placed on the land to mark the 300th anniversary of Pennsylvania.

Motivation to record the words of Frank Gaylord also had another impetus for me. In 1979 I meet George Baker, an elderly man who was involved with local history. George gave me a copy of a letter he had written in 1950 trying to have a statue of William Penn placed in Penn Treaty Park. He was unsuccessful in this endeavor but lived to see Frank’s sculpture placed in the park 32 years later.