Concrete Ambitions: Why you should make this Price County gem your inspirational rainy day stop

These days my job has led me to some remote destinations-homes on dead end roads, rustic turn-of-the century cabins and family farms. Some of these journeys have taken me past places I forgot to remember- Jim Peck’s Wildwood Adventure Park and Shotgun Eddys.

Some of these journeys have taken me past places I have never been…

Which is how I found myself smitten on a rainy spring day at the entrance of Wisconsin’s Concrete Park, ready to follow the signs and see what it was all about.

I had no illusions of grandeur. I could tell from the road that these were not marble statues or European monuments. I had no expectations that I was going to be witnessing some profound modern art installation.

But what I discovered was so much better.

And it was profound to me in it’s own way.

Before this day I had never heard the name Fred Smith. I had never been told a single story about his life. But after reading a few signs, peering in the windows of the house he raised his family in and seeing his smiling face in a photograph, I felt like I knew him- or at the very least- I knew his spirit.

He reminded me of the handful of characters I have had pass through my life in the last decade and a half, including my old neighbor across the way. I always stopped to hear his stories when he was outside because he told the type of tales that proved how tough and innovative that generation could be, never looking for extra praise or acclaim, always doing what needed to be done.

I enjoyed Fred’s quote on one of the signs- because I could hear that statement ringing true for my old neighbor and many others I have gotten to know. The question was what inspired him to start these creations-

“It’s gotta be in ya to do it.”

A simple enough answer, but meaningful.

If you know, you know.

I have a new found appreciation for anyone who was being unique and finding their talent before there was technology to share ideas, before there was social media judgement or praise, or any ambition of getting rich and famous. People like Fred Smith were pure in their craft. This became his second act hobby.

It reminded me that in a world that often feels like it is moving too fast – it’s never too late to be an artist, if that is something deep in your soul. You don’t have to do everything- be everything- all at once. Sometimes it’s tempting to focus on what we haven’t accomplished. Or to pass judgement on someone for wasting their talent. Not everything in life has to have monetary gain to be worthwhile. And not every career path is going to be a dream come true. We put pressure on youth to go to college to find something they love doing as if it will be their only chance to discover what that is. Maybe Fred needed to be a lumberjack first, a husband, a father…maybe that life of experiences is what made his statues feel so special.

Because they did feel special.

Even as time steals the jeweled glass from the concrete shapes, leaving them less shiny and adorned, their humble forms still tell his story.

They made me smile.

They had an energy around them.

I’m not sure how to explain it unless you see it for yourself. The thoughts and designs and ideas…

They were silly and lighthearted,

rugged and soulful,

whimsical and beautiful…

They were probably everything Fred Smith wanted them to be.