CARRINGTON, N.D. (KFYR) – The Chief is back. That’s the giant statue outside the Chieftain Conference Center in Carrington. The Chief has been a fixture there for 50 years.
Last fall, crews took The Chief down for repairs. The paint on the fiberglass statue had started to peel. Workers at Carrington Motors repainted the entire 21-foot statue from head to toe, and even reattached his feather that broke off during a paint refresh in the 90s.
“It’s been sitting down in the basement, and so when we had it redone, I went down and got it and we took it up to the people who repainted it and they redid the feather. It was stuck back in there so he’s complete now,” said Gary Clark, who is in charge of maintenance at The Chieftain Conference Center. “We get a lot of tourists that come through just to see The Chief and they stop to eat and then they take pictures. It’s just something they do,” said Clark. He hopes this new coat of paint lasts 30 years or more.
The Chieftain is on Highway 52 in Carrington, and the statue has been a tourist attraction for five decades.
Story by Jody Kerzman.