Few people care more about Akron’s history — and the future of Akron’s history — than former City Councilman John Frank.
Frank is a Republican who represented Ward 8 for 20 years. Seriously. A Republican on Akron City Council. Can you imagine such a thing? Haven’t seen that since he retired 17 years ago.
But like most of Frank’s history-related quests — including his hard work to keep Glendale Cemetery a respected Akron landmark — his latest interest is nonpartisan.
Frank asked me what happened to the huge, elaborate statue that sat in front of Acme No. 1 on West Market Street from 1980 until just a few months ago. He identified it as “the pride and joy” of the company’s late President Fred I. Albrecht, grandson of the founder.
Frank’s favorite columnist didn’t know the answer but was able to track it down through the magic of email.
The pioneer with the rifle in his hand, standing behind his wife and child, is alive and well and greeting passers-by at the grocery chain’s newest property, Acme Fresh Market 21 on Massillon Road in Green.
The 12-foot-high pink marble statue is the focal point of a new park just east of the store. The park, which includes a small lake, a creek and winding paths, was completed in September, about a year after the store opened.
Albrecht commissioned the statue when he was planning Acme 1 because he wanted to honor the pioneers who settled along the Portage Trail. According to a Beacon Journal story from July 1980, he was annoyed as a youth at the big Indian statue at Portage Path and West Market Street because he thought the pioneers deserved at least as much credit as the Indians for settling the area.
Albrecht’s granddaughter, Katie Swartz, says her grandfather “wanted to pay respect and acknowledge the significant role the pioneers played in developing our community.”
She said the Albrechts also wanted to emphasize the importance of the family unit. According to our 1980 story, Grandpa needed a bit of prodding from Grandma on that score.
When Fred told the family about his plan for a statue of a lone male pioneer, Francia Albrecht said, “Fred, who shops at your stores?”
Um, primarily women.
Well then, Francia replied, they deserve equal time, because pioneer women fought through the same hardships as the men.
Fred quickly saw the light. He hired a Vermont sculptor named Frank Gaylord, who fashioned the monument from marble quarried in Maine.
Swartz, Acme’s marketing director, says the company’s archives don’t contain information about the cost. However, a 1982 article in an advertising publication called Progressive Grocer says the family paid $30,000, which translates to about $86,700 today.
Lost in shuffle
Swartz says the company decided to move the stone during the ongoing $9 million renovation of Acme 1 because that location, at the corner of Market and Bryden, had become too busy for anyone driving by to absorb the statue’s many details.
When former Councilman Frank was informed of the move, he was not thrilled. “Fred wanted to honor the pioneers who founded Akron, not the pioneers who founded Green.”
Swartz says she expected to hear reactions along those lines but thinks the new location is highly suitable.
“It’s all about that entrepreneurial, family, hard work [theme] — those are the values Acme stands for across the board, not just at Acme 1.
“And that pioneering spirit happened across the region. For some West Akronites, Green might be ‘so far away,’ but this is our community, so we feel it’s very appropriate.”
Swartz believes some folks will also quarrel with the statue’s positioning within the park because it faces away from Massillon Road, Green’s main drag. “It’s facing east because my grandfather always liked the sunrise, not the sunset as much.”
New art
Swartz says that before the Acme 1 makeover is finished (probably by next summer), Fred’s baby will be replaced by a new “statue or sculpture or element” that will be “more geometric, less detailed, more appropriate for a busy intersection.”
She says ideas are still being bandied about, but the brainstorming is well underway and includes “some local and one not-so-local artist.”
What to sculpt? Well, if you ask me, it’s high time to honor a certain newspaper columnist for his many years of pioneering, backbreaking work — such as typing emails, reading old stories and driving all the way to Green.
Bob Dyer can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com. He also is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bob.dyer.31