This afternoon the weather was nearly perfect for outside activity. We headed for the town of Greenfield for some sightseeing and who knows what else. At one point we were walking around the downtown area and we came upon an interesting sight.
There between two bushes was the statue of a bison, sometimes erroneously referred to as a buffalo. Well, the camera had to come out for that! Especially when I saw the body of the bison behind its mane was painted in a mural.
Turns out this animal was commissioned for the Indiana Bicentennial celebration in 2016. This bison was named “Whitcomb” in honor of James Whitcomb Riley, Greenfield’s famous author. The paintings traces the history of Indiana natural history and agriculture from the Ice Age to modern times. The Bisontennial (get it?) statues were seen all over the state in different designs and colors.
Roadtirement 
I remember visiting Riley’s boyhood home once a very long time ago. Have you ever been to his grave in Crown Hill Cemetery?
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Oh yes his grave overlooks the whole area including the Indy downtown skyline. We’ve been there several times.
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Hahahaha! Bisontennial. That’s a beautifully painted bison butt. Have you seen the movie “True Stories” by David Byrne and the Taking Heads? It’s about the sesquicentennial celebration of “specialness” of Virgil Texas. It was made in 1986 when technology was taking off. Byrnes makes a lot of great statements on culture, food, architecture and music in the movie. John Goodman plays Lewis the Bear.
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Yes I remember it well. Goodman was great, and thanks for the brain tap. 😂
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That’s great you saw it. Not a lot of people know about it. It was an architectural professionals cult classic through the late 80s. A few years ago my programmer was getting ready to go to Kansas for a family reunion. I lent him True Stories. He came back from the family reunion and sid the town had a parade that was very similar to the parade in True Stories with Shiners in their little cars, etc.
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In our home town decades ago they had a yearly town festival. There were at least ten Shriners club participating in the parade. Big clown cars, small clown cars, big Harleys, tiny mini bikes, you name it there was a Shriner’s club that had it!
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We get the Shriners on mini bikes at our parades in Corrales.
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They are a hoot! 👍
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isn’t it amazing what you see when you go looking – thanks for sharing
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It does make for adventure. 😉
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How could you resist a picture of a bison with painted behind? Thanks for posting.
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LOL 😉
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Wow very unique sculpture of Bison and the painting tracing back it’s history makes it so special! Thank you for sharing 💕
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Our pleasure. We enjoy sharing things we have seen.
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Rooster and I saw those when we visited there. They ate cool.
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He still lives between those two bushes. (It is on the SW corner of US 40 and Ind SR 9)
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I recognize this guy! He’s right along the National Road, right? Seems like there’s an antique store or two down the street that I stopped at.
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Yes, you are exactly right! He’s on the SW corner of US 40 and Indiana State Road 9. Good memory…
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I was there on a bitterly cold December day a few years ago. That was a wonderful trip but I didn’t linger on that corner! Great statue!!
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The Hoosier State can indeed have some pretty severe winters. Maybe you can visit sometime in a warm season!
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I think I’ve visited in all the seasons now and have found it most pleasant. That particular week everything was very festive which helped to soften the harshness of the temperatures!!
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Glad it was not a total loss. 👍😀
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Not in the least! It was a great trip and I still think back on it fondly. 🙂
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I can hear Burl Ives
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LOL…well played, Derrick!
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🙂
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Is there a trail to view all the Bisontennial statues I wonder?
Great post thanks, it was very interesting.
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Don’t know if there is a listing of them. That’s a good question though, and worth a check! Thanks for sharing.
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Come to Buffalo, NY, you’ll see these statues everywhere.
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Actually we have been to Buffalo, and yes, we saw many of the statues (as you said) everywhere! Thanks for sharing.
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Very cool! Who was the artist?
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According to the information plaque the artist is “Deborah Smith and friends”
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I always like to see the artist credited (for obvious reasons), so thanks for finding out and sharing it. She and her friends did a great job on it.
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You are most welcome.
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It’s a cool picture .👍👍
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Thank you!
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😀😃
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Neat!
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It was fun to find this guy between two bushes in a downtown block! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
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