GutzonBorglumOnline

I am glad to see this work being done.

Reader Ron asks if there is a comprehensive biography of son Lincoln. Unfortunately, Lincoln spent much of his life known only as Gutzon’s boy, which is a pity because he was a talented sculptor and a hard worker. There are books about me that go into some detail about Lincoln’s life, but I am unaware of any that focuses on him. A pity. It is fitting that the visitor’s center at Mount Rushmore is named for him.

Lincoln was born on April 9, 1912, my first child. (His mother, Mary, was my second wife.) Although we named him James Lincoln de la Mothe Borglum, he quickly became known by his middle name. It is no secret that Abraham Lincoln was my favorite president and the subject of the first sculpture I completed that received wide-spread recognition. That bust was displayed in a store window on Fifth Avenue in New York in 1909, the 100 year anniversary of his birth. It was eventually installed at the U.S. Capitol rotunda.

Lincoln was with me when I picked the location for Rushmore. He was there for every dedication ceremony and helped with much of the work. In fact, he probably spent more time working on the mountain than I did.
It was always Lincoln’s ambition to study engineering back East, but I needed his help with the monument. So in 1933, at the age of 21, I made him a full-time pointer, although he didn’t receive any pay at first. The other pointers taught him everything he needed to know and he became a popular member of the crew. He used to park his car near the hoist house so the operator could listen to baseball scores and telephone the scores to the crew on the monument. In fact, during my occasional temper tantrum, it was Lincoln who was able to convince the crew to stay on.

A year later, in 1934, the Mount Rushmore Commission added Lincoln to the payroll at a dollar an hour, decent pay during the Depression. By 1937, still in his 20s, Lincoln would fill in for me as the Project Sculptor when I was on the road. He had a natural artistic talent, practicing in a variety of mediums, and even sold photographs of Rushmore to the Saturday Evening Post, one of the most popular magazines of that era. In 1938, Lincoln became superintendent of the project, and received an annual salary of $4,800. (I might mention, again, that the other engineers who had held that position all quite after disputes with me. Still, I think my temper has been overstated in the past.)

That’s not to say that Lincoln didn’t have a fiery streak. In 1939, I hired Korczak Ziolkowski as my assistant. He had won the gold prize for sculpting at the World’s Fair in New York and I recognized his talent. But Lincoln and Ziolkowski didn’t hit it off and had some trouble deciding the pecking order at the project. My God, they had worked together for only 19 days when they got into a bitter argument that quickly turned into a physical altercation. Imagine it, two men who were in their physical prime from moving and carving stone. Lincoln was a husky young man but Ziolkowski was a giant. Lincoln’s injuries were substantial enough to require medical attention in town. As a result, I was forced to let Ziolkowski go; I certainly couldn’t have the crew think it was OK to assault the superintendent.

At the time of my death, most of the work had been completed, but Lincoln stayed on to finish the hair on Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln and do some work on Lincoln’s collar and head. He finished the work on October 31, 1941. It was his decision to not complete the torsos, as represented on the models.

Lincoln wrote three books about Rushmore, including “My Father’s Mountain,” and created a number of religious works for churches in Texas.
He also served as superintendent of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial from October 1, 1941 through May 15, 1944. Like many of the men who worked on Rushmore, Lincoln’s lungs were permanently scarred from breathing granite dust for so many years. On January 27, 1986, he died in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Lincoln loved Rushmore as much as I did. He once said, “I’ve climbed over every inch of that damn mountain and I still get a lump in my throat every time I see it.”

Thank you for your question.

G. Borglum

I’ve been back from my holiday travels for a few days now, but haven’t taken the time to add anything to this web log. It is interesting to me that so many of the men (is it all men?) who operate these sort of sites in South Dakota continue to mentally doodle on their web logs, even when they don’t have a lot to say. Today, I’d like to write a review of web logs in South Dakota, the way that my friend Todd Epp frequently does.

I find myself spending countless hours each day reading the web logs. I most enjoy South Dakota Watch because of the breadth of its content and the civility exhibited by Mr. Epp. His daily digest of work that he has seen on the internet provides me with a useful road map of worthwhile reading. Mr. Epp has been very kind to me an for that I am grateful.

I also am a frequent visitor to the Dakota War College because I am fascinated with the mechanics of politics and Mr. Powers has provided me with tremendous insight into the workings of a modern day campaign. With that said, I must confess that I still don’t understand what motivates politicians these days. In my prime, most politicians seemed to have a fearless dedication to public service. I don’t believe that is always the case during these times.

I am often amused by the antics of the South Dakota Blog Watch Man. I have tried, like others, to take a guess as to his identity but would be embarassed to share by theories, since I am certain they are incorrect. I have noticed that the South Dakota Blog Watch Man has taken a more serious tone lately — except when he dressed down the youngsters at South Dakota Politics recently — and have come to value his insight.

Beyond that, I must admit that Mr. Bear’s postings at Don’t Worry About The Government have become my guilty pleasure. Although he doesn’t live in South Dakota, most of his posts seem to deal with issues affecting the state, particularly concerning the affairs of Sen. John Thune.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Mr. Hunhoff’s web log that is a companion to South Dakota Magazine. I just purchased the most recent issue of that publication and I would recommend it as a fine periodical, as grand as anything I could create. I was amused by the story about Chislic in the magazine since that was a popular snack among some of the Eastern European workers I employed on and off while carving Mount Rushmore.

The story involving Sen. Thune, a used car dealer from Sioux Falls, and the Meta Bank (what, by the way, is a Meta Bank? I was certain when I first saw the post that it was some sort of typographical error.) It appears that Sen. Thune finds himself standing in a pile of buffalo dung, and I am curious as to whether he will be able to escape the many questions unscathed.

Shortly before I arrived in South Dakota, Sen. Peter Norbeck found himself in a similar controversial position, but he had already left elected office and his problems involved an issue of free speech, so I have difficulty holding in in contempt. Sen. Norbeck spoke out against World War I and found himself charged with sedition, a court action that was later dismissed. Sen. Thune’s alleged malfeasance seems to be of a different color, since he was aiding a friend who may already have been facing financial troubles.

As many of you know, I have faced my own legal troubles in the past. When I parted ways with the Daughters of the Confederacy at Stone Mountain, Georgia, my last act was destroying the plaster models I had constructed to guide my work. These usually sweet-talking southern belles were not amused and I was forced to flee from Georgia to North Carolina with the state police in hot pursuit.

Well, it is time to go. I discovered while on vacation how much I enjoy my afternoon nap and so I will repair to the day bed. I am planning to write something about the new motion picture being filmed about my life, but it might happen on another day.

My hope is that all of you had an enjoyable Fourth of July. I look forward to visiting with you again.