JOHN DAY – Grant County Change Committee Peer Leader Larry DeCew was recently in KJDY Studios to provide listeners with an update on the new statue project for John Day.
A bronze and granite sculpture depicting a pioneer family called The Promised Land was constructed by Eastern Oregon artists David and Lee Manuel, commissioned by the Oregon Trail Coordinating Council, and donated to the City of Portland in 1993.
The City of Portland’s website explains, “Following protests in downtown Portland, the monument was removed and placed in secure storage in 2020. The City of Portland choose to deaccession the work in 2023 and, in 2025, accepted a disposition recommendation to return it to its original creators, David and Lee Manuel.”
The Grant County Change Committee was able to secure the statue for the City of John Day to display. DeCew explained that the next steps have been taken and last month, the sculpture left Portland bound for the artists’ home in Enterprise:
“On the evening of October 15th, I got a couple of texts saying it was going to leave Portland the next day. So, my wife and I packed a bag…and we intercepted it in Pendleton. A couple of our group members were with us, and we followed it to Enterprise.
It was really a special moment…we had just met the Manuel family when the statue pulled into their driveway. David hadn’t seen it for thirty-some years. It was really cool.”
Larry DeCew said that upon inspecting the piece after its arrival, David and Lee Manuel expressed that they’ll be able to restore the piece. The City of Portland reports, “The artists plan to partner with Wallowa County students on a new skilled-trades program to restore the piece.”
Listen to the full podcast with Grant County Change Committee Peer Leader Larry DeCew below: