Ribbon cutting photo by Nancie Battaglia
A big thanks to Lake Placid News for their coverage of the unveiling of “The Beacon of Hope,” a statue of Harriet Tubman that’s on loan at the John Brown Farm. Their article features a lot of great detail about the program and the shared histories of John Brown and Harriet Tubman.
From the article:
Martha Swan, founder and director of John Brown Lives!, the official friends group of the John Brown Farm State Historic Site, said that the exhibiting “The Beacon of Hope” was well over a year and a half in the planning. Swan is not sure whether Wofford’s wife Odyssey reached out to her or she to them when she first heard about the artwork, but she said it took many hands to make it possible.
“We were in conversation with Parks well over a year ago to get permission for its temporary installation at the farm,” said Swan. “And then we had to raise the funds to cover the cost of transportation, installation, rental fees and dedication expenses. There were so many hands and eyes on all aspects of this down to the smallest detail, such as making root beer and apple pie available, examples of the food Tubman created and used to fortify people and raise money for her various causes.”
—Lake Placid News
Martha Swan with co-organizer Shawndel Fraser (photo by Naj Wyckof for LP News)