The Laramie Boomerang reports that the ashes of sculptor Robert Russin and his wife Adele have been interred at the monument he created in 1959 to honor Lincoln’s 150th birthday. Its location in eastern Wyoming marked the highest point on the transcontinental Lincoln Highway: 8,835 feet. In 1969, the monument was moved to the nearby Summit Rest Area (exit 323) when I-80 opened between Cheyenne and Laramie, and is now at the highest point along I-80: 8,640 feet.
Above is a screen shot from the article and here’s a bit of the story:
Joe Russin, one of the sculptor’s sons, said his father’s wish was to be laid to rest near the statute [sic].
“The Lincoln statute became his calling card,” Russin said. “It was one of his favorite statutes.”
The mighty statute was actually made in Mexico City and then brought, in pieces, to Wyoming….
“My dad hadn’t thought about how low the wires were over Grand Avenue,” Russin said. “So they had to move it through Laramie really early in the morning and they cut the electric and telephone wires for each block as they went through.”
ABOVE: Sculptor Robert Russin and assistants work on the bust of Abraham Lincoln. Courtesy Jim Kearns, Manager, University of Wyoming Media Relations.
Tags: Abraham Lincoln sculpture, highway monument, Laramie Wyoming, memorial, rest area, sculpture, Wyoming
Lincoln Highway News 
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