RHINELANDER (WJFW) — Rhinelander is home to many Hodags and, as of Friday, it’s home to one more: The Iron Hodag.
The nonprofit ArtStart and the Rhinelander Chamber of Commerce welcomed the Iron Hodag sculpture Friday to its new home in the pocket park on Brown Street.
The new sculpture is made from scrap metal and artifacts collected and donated by the Rhinelander community.
“You can find plane parts and street signs and Rhinelander beer cans,” said Melinda Childs, community and cultural development director for ArtStart. “And all sorts of other surprises and all of them have a story.”
The sculpture was commissioned by Ron Gaber, a former Rhinelander resident who wanted to show his appreciation for the city.
“You talk Rhinelander, you talk Hodag,” he said. “And it brings people together in all types of circumstances. It’s sort of the glue of the culture of Rhinelander, so it’s nice to contribute to that.”
It was his own cousin, Don Gaber, that he commissioned to create the sculpture. But oddly enough, they had never met before this project.
“I met him online, doing a video chat and that kind of thing for this project,” Don explained. “And in-person yesterday was just the icing on the cake. It’s kind of nice meeting family that you’ve never really met before.”
Ron was impressed by his new cousin.
“He’s a Gaber,” Ron said. “He works hard, he’s creative and he contributes to the community.”
Ron’s wife, Elsie Gaber, said that their meeting was almost like they had known each other forever.
“It was like two buddies getting together for a reunion,” she said. “I mean you would never have believed they hadn’t met before.”
Although they’re going their separate ways for now, Don and Ron have an excuse to get together and admire their handy work.
“When you see in person,” Ron said. “It’s ten times great than what I saw online.”
Don added: “I’m really happy that Ron’s happy with it. That’s the main thing.”
There is also a scavenger hunt associated with the sculpture, asking people to identify all of the historic parts and interactive objects hidden within it. Copies of the scavenger hunt are available at ArtStart and the Rhinelander Chamber of Commerce.