Day 2:  Murfreesboro, TN to Cape Girardeau, MO.  Driving through Paducah, Kentucky today, we came across an impressive sculpture in Noble Park.  Called Wacinton, the hand-carved wooden statue was created from a 56,000-lb. red oak in 1985 to honor the Chickasaw who claimed the lands in Western Kentucky and Tennessee by a Hungarian-born artist.  Peter Wolf Toth immigrated to the U.S. with his parents at an early age, settling in Ohio where he later attended art school.  Beginning in the early 1970s, Toth began creating a series of more than 70 sculptures of Native Americans called the "Trail of the Whispering Giants."

  

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In the last forty years, Toth has traveled around the country chiseling expressive faces out of local trees.  Ranging in size from 20 to 50 feet tall, examples of these sculptures stand in every state and several Canadian provinces.  Working with cities, parks, chambers of commerce and private individuals, Toth carves his creations in the local communties where they will be exhibited.  Sometimes he accepts assistance with living expenses but he refuses all offers of compensation.
  
Toth drew inspiration from John F. Kennedy's famous statement, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."  His sculptures, he says, are his donation to America.  See Wikipedia for a list of all the statues and their locations.
  
The statues are not meant to represent a particular person nor are they totems.  "I study each of the giant logs until I can visualize the Indian within," he says, "and then I try to intertwine the spirit of the tree with the spirit of the Indian."   The face is meant to be an interpretation and blend of all the Indian cultures in that particular state.

Wacinton statue and the commemorative stamp

An Illinois letterboxer has taken on the daunting task of creating a letterbox to honor each of these magnificent sculptures.  As faithful representations of the sculptures, the stamps that he carves for the boxes are works of art themselves.  Of course, the letterbox is hidden somewhere near the sculpture, like the one we found today in Paducah.  We look forward to visiting more of these dual works of art.