The Register Guard -- November 15, 2003

The quiet prankster: Statue depicts Ken Kesey reading to children

A Register-Guard Editorial

November 15, 2003

Ken Kesey was not a modest man by any stretch of the imagination, so it's safe to say he would have thoroughly enjoyed Friday's unveiling of a life-size bronze statue of him on the Willamette Plaza at Broadway and Willamette Street.

Kesey would have savored the comments of the speakers who ranged from author Barry Lopez to photographer Brian Lanker to Congressman Peter DeFazio, although he might have guffawed when the tributes ventured now and then into the realm of the ponderous. But there's little doubt that the part of the ceremony he would have loved most was Mayor Jim Torrey reading to an entranced audience from Kesey's "Little Tricker the Squirrel Meets Double the Bear."

Kesey is best remembered for modern American classics such as "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Sometimes a Great Notion." But his hands-down personal favorites were the books he wrote for children. "I'm up there with Dr. Seuss," he once boasted.

It's only fitting then that the bronze statue of Kesey that was unveiled on a stunningly beautiful autumn afternoon was of Kesey sitting on a bench reading to three thoroughly captivated children.

It's also only fitting that Kesey has been honored with such a charming, down-home sculpture, one that reflects his love of family and community and - look closely at that face - his incandescent sense of humor.

Artist Pete Helzer's sculpture shows Kesey in his hyper-energetic early 40s, dressed in his trademark cap, work pants, suspenders and a long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up over his thick wrestler's forearms. He looks every bit like the comfortable, eccentric neighbor that so many of us knew - and that so many of us miss.

Helzer was an inspired choice as an artist. The sculptor lives just a mile or so down the road from Kesey's Pleasant Hill farm and coached two of his sons in wrestling. It also was Helzer who crafted the bronze memorial to one of those Kesey sons, Jed, that is located at the top of Mount Pisgah.

At the conclusion of Friday's ceremony, Lanker, who led the effort to build the memorial, invited local folks to drop by for a visit with their old neighbor. Lanker pointed out that there is an empty place on the Mount Rushmore granite bench for visitors to sit and reflect.

"If you're real quiet, you'll hear Ken reading to you," he said.

Related:

Statue embodies spirit of Kesey

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