Carlsen statue featured on website

The statue of Dr. Anne Carlsen, dating from 1984 and located on the campus of the Anne Carlsen Center of Jamestown, is featured in an authoritative website documenting historical monuments of the Northern Plains.

Remembrance in Stone is the title of the website (www.heritagerenewal.org/stone) established by North Dakota State University’s Center for Heritage Renewal. A guide to historical monuments on the northern plains, Remembrance in Stone is intended both to showcase the research of NDSU history students and to provide information to heritage tourists in the region. Web pages feature individual historical monuments, providing location (including coordinates), historical background, photographs and video clips.

Carlsen was administrator of what is now Anne Carlsen Center, which has provided educational and therapeutic services for the disabled for more than 30 years, having moved up from a teaching post as she obtained her advanced degrees. Sculptor Elmer Peterson, who fashioned the statue of Carlsen, had to overcome Carlsen’s initial reluctance to be depicted in public sculpture. She eventually consented to a design that positions her in the position of a mentor to a young boy.

“There are lots of Internet guides for travelers out there,” said professor Tom Isern, director of the center. “The difference with ours is, we do the documentary and field research to make our features authoritative. The story of Dr. Carlsen was researched for us by NDSU history student Zach Jendro. And certainly the inspirational story of Anne Carlsen is one of the greatest ever rendered in monumental form in our state.”

Tags: news, history