Why is the process on the Crazy Horse monument going faster?
T. Denny Sanford admits it: He would like to see the horse’s head completed on the Crazy Horse monument near Custer before his time on earth is done. That was a large part of his motivation when, in fall 2007, the philanthropist and owner of First Premier Bank offered to match up to $5 million raised by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. So far, the foundation has reached $3 million of that – and collected the same amount from Sanford. As a result, work on Thunderhead Mountain is moving at a rate in which 2,000 to 3,000 tons of granite are being blasted away roughly every 10 days, depending on the season. And the head of the horse ridden by Lakota warrior and mystic Crazy Horse comes ever closer to the surface. “It will be going on for another 50 years, completing the whole thing, I’m sure,” said Sanford, who turns 74 in December. “But yes, I’d like to see the horse’s head completed.” It’s been 61 years since the storyteller in stone, Korczak Ziolkowski, blasted the first 10 tons off
Due to modern equipment, technology and the laser-scanning for measurements, they will be able to block and carve the Crazy Horse Memorial much faster now. They have also been working on the rider’s torso to the right elbow. The memorial will not be all done in 10 years, but we will see the horse’s head. It would be nice to see the torso done, but that is many years away I’m afraid. Remember this monument is being worked on without the help of the government’s money. [http://www.pathawks.com/2008/01/crazy-horse-memorial.html] Sources: http://www.pathawks.com/2008/01/crazy-horse-memorial.
