Downtown Muskegon - Recent News - Warming up to Chuck: Public drawn to lumber baron Charles H. Hackley's statue

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Warming up to Chuck: Public drawn to lumber baron Charles H. Hackley's statue

Dec 2, 2009
Muskegon Chronicle
Heidi Fenton

MUSKEGON — It’s not uncommon to see people gathered around a park bench, taking a minute or two to stop and engage in animated conversation.

But when the person sitting on the bench can’t talk back, the scene is a little more interesting, said Dan Rinsema-Sybenga, manager of the Muskegon Main Street program, a downtown development effort.

Rinsema-Sybenga stops for coffee at the Baker College Culinary Institute of Michigan’s Sweet Spot cafe in downtown Muskegon on most weekday mornings. Almost every time, he says, a small group of people is gathered outside, examining the newly installed sculpture of Charles H. Hackley.

Hackley is portrayed sitting on a park bench at the corner of Third Street and Clay Avenue.

The sculpture was dedicated in early October. Since then, it has become a point of interest — and, seemingly, even affection — for downtown visitors.

On a recent morning, Hackley’s bronze likeness was adorned in a soft cream-colored scarf and a United Way T-shirt that community members had brought by.

From time to time, people stopped, pulled out a camera, and snapped a couple shots as they sat on the bench next to Hackley.

Schoolchildren visiting downtown museums swarm it. Members of community groups pose for pictures with it. Passersby move in for closer looks, studying details in the statue’s face.

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“It’s just fun to see so many people interacting with it,” Rinsema-Sybenga said. “People are so proud of the heritage that Hackley left here and the institutions that really are oriented and available to the public because of his generosity.”

Hackley made millions in the lumber industry in the late 1800s and helped Muskegon transition into an industrial city at the turn of the century. He established Hackley Hospital, Hackley Public Library and Hackley Park, along with Muskegon’s manual training school.

The interactive sculpture was made possible through a private donation from retired Bennett Pump Co. and SPX Corp. executive Peter Turner, who brought it to the attention of city leaders that there was no public statue of the city’s most influential resident. Residents Susan Clink and Toni Reynolds made donations for the bench and an accompanying plaque.

One of the most important aspects of the statue is its ground-level positioning, said E. Jane Connell, director of collections and a senior curator at the Muskegon Museum of Art. Where other pieces of artwork are up on pedestals for display, people can relate more to Hackley, she said, because he’s approachable.

“The fact that you could sit down on the bench next to him is, I think, very much a part of the idea that it would be participatory in that way,” Connell said. “If it’s more grounded, you come to it, and it presents itself to you a bit differently.”

For Turner, the community’s embracing of the project has been especially rewarding.

Turner said the position of Hackley’s likeness, which looks out over nearby Hackley Park and Hackley Public Library, seems especially fitting. He noted how people new to Muskegon can glance at the plaque and get an instant history lesson on the development of the city’s downtown. He’s excited to see how Hackley slowly becomes more and more a part of the streetscape.

“I’m hoping to see a picture with a chef’s hat on him from the Culinary Institute behind,” Turner said with a laugh.