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Freedom Rock lands in Oakland

News

April 15th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

An 82-ton pink quartzite rock has landed in Oakland’s Chautauqua Park. The 13-foot long and 10-feet wide boulder was brought in on a special flatbed trailer and carefully maneuvered into place, Monday. The Omaha World-Herald reports the event bringing Pottawattamie County’s version of the “Freedom Rock” to the park unfolded before residents of the community, including members of the Oakland Friday Coffee Ladies,  the group which spearheaded the project and collected donations for the purchase, transportation and, eventually, the painting of a patriotic mural on the rock.

The project began June 10th, 2011 when the coffee ladies traveled to Greenfield to see the Freedom Rock located north of there along Highway 25. Seeking one for Pottawattamie County as a show of respect and remembrance of military service members past, present and future, the group took the idea to the City Council Aug. 8t, 2013, where it was approved.

The rock, formed by a glacier about 2-million years ago, was mined from Schildberg Rock Quarry near Macedonia. Freedom Rocks are appearing in other places and painted by Ray “Bubba” Sorensen, based out of Greenfield. The Freedom Rock in Adair County attracts 14,000 people annually.

About $27,000 was the cost to buy and transport the rock, made possible through grants by the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation and from Oakland Foods and other fundraising. The cost of the painting will be around $8,000.