It’s been nine months since Cecil Andrus died. The four-term Idaho governor and Secretary of the Interior for the Carter Administration has numerous Idaho institutions named after him, including an elementary school, a plant and a wilderness area. Now, a city park in Boise bears his name.
Hundreds of people gathered at the now former Capitol Park in downtown Boise Wednesday, many sharing personal stories about the legendary Democratic politician. Andrus Center Executive Director John Freemuth says the renaming of the park will help carry his legacy into the future.
“It is a way to remind people again of the governor and secretary’s legacy and celebrate that after losing him in August," says Freemuth. "And [to] just kind of make it permanent so when people walk by they say ‘well who was this man?’”
Tracy Andrus addressed the hundreds of people there to celebrate her dad’s life and thanked sculptor Benjamin Victor for his work on a bust of Andrus, which is now on display at the park. Victor says he spent the last three months creating the piece.
“Probably the first month of that was just spent going over photos and talking about what they would like to see – the age, etc. – and so I really spent a month on the bust itself and then a month casting.”
The new bust of Andrus captures him with a slight but warm smile, with a quote below it that begins with the message: “Now we must look ahead.”
Find reporter Frankie Barnhill on Twitter @FABarnhill
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