Armstrong installation is dedicated
John Cerney is still in awe of the support he received from Wapakoneta to ensure his Neil Armstrong installation went smoothly.
“I had so much help,” he told the crowd of an estimated 150 people who were on hand for the dedication of the free-standing art he installed at Maple Lane Farms, just east of Wapakoneta. “And I had coffee and doughnuts, lunch, cocktails at 5…it was through the roof.”
Cerney, a California-based artist, said this is only the second time one of his projects has had a dedication ceremony to welcome it to a community.
“This experience is unlike any of my other projects; I appreciate the love,” he said. “It must be a midwest thing.”
He told those attending a little bit of his history and how he got into this type of art installation. His goal is to have at least one in all 50 states; Ohio marks the 24th state toward that goal.
Some of his pieces are “naturals,” including the Wapakoneta piece. Cerney said his friends in Cincinnati told him about the state’s aviation history; he was also intrigued by the city’s name. A quick Google search confirmed he wanted his next piece to be here.
Cerney donates one installation each year; Wapakoneta was a natural in light of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.
Cerney worked with the First on the Moon Committee — specifically President Deb Fischer — to handle the details of finding a suitable space and the other logistics connected with the installation. Property owner Bill Shaw said it took him about “10 seconds to say yes.”
Shaw shared how he and his wife Martha — Marty — came to acquire what some people still refer to as the “Pangle place.” Marty was an Emrick; her grandfather has built the home and
raised hogs through the late 1930s. She was back in the area for a high school reunion when she found out the property didn’t sell at an auction.
“She called me and told me ‘I want to buy this property,’ and I knew for me that meant I’m going back to work,” Shaw told the crows as they chuckled. He is a sixth generation Texan but had no qualms about following his wife back to her hometown. “I love it here; I love our friends, I love our neighbors.”
Agreeing to host the installation, Shaw said, was their duty as “caretakers of history; of our part of history. I was honored to be asked to support this.”
Shaw sees this as an opportunity to give back to the community, state and country, as Armstrong is not only a local hero, but an international one as well. He proposed the time is right to cultivate the best minds of the world to advance discovery to the next phase. He’d like to see a Neil Armstrong scholarship program developed, open to the smartest people of the world, to push forward scientific advancement of the world’s capability to move on to the next phase of exploring the universe.
Ohio Senator Matt Huffman (R-lima) was on hand for the dedication as well, presenting Fischer with a Senate Resolution acknowledging the donation and importance of the installation. Armstrong, he said, “is the most famous man in history and he came from Wapakoneta, Ohio. Having this beautiful mural here really brings that home.”