Statue of founder being moved to Dresden
Dave Longaberger is coming home — or at least his statue is.
The Longaberger Co. has announced that the statue memorializing the company’s founder will be moved from the Longaberger Homestead in Frazeysburg to a site in Dresden, where the company’s operations are based.
A final date for the move as well as a final location in Dresden are to be announced soon, a statement from the company said.
“Dave was our founder, a visionary and a life-long resident of Dresden,” said John Rochon Jr., Longaberger president and CEO, in a statement. “It’s only appropriate that his memory be immortalized in the village.
There will be a rededication of the statue, he said, promising it will be “a pivotal moment in our history — marking our commitment to Dresden and to preserving Dave Longaberger’s legacy.”
The Dave Longaberger Memorial, which includes a statue of Longaberger as well as an eagle and several large inscribed rocks, was created as the result of contributions from Longaberger’s sales force, customers and the Longaberger Co.
The relocation of the statue is another step in the basketmaker’s retreat from its glory days.
In early October, the Longaberger Co. announced that it would move its staff from Frazeysburg back to Dresden. That followed the decision in July 2016 to vacate its offices in its iconic basket building in Newark.
The Longaberger Co. opened the Longaberger Homestead in June 1999. The $25 million complex, which includes shops, restaurants and demonstration areas, was intended to feature a daily parade, street entertainers and variety shows.
However, the company has struggled since Dave Longaberger’s death in the year it opened. Bad economic times and changing décor tastes sent sales from a peak of $1 billion in 2000 to about $100 million in 2014.