Let Inside NAU take you back in time this summer with tidbits of university history.
The ‘handsome’ lumberjack
The 8-foot bronze statue of a shirtless lumberjack holding an ax in front of the NAU Bookstore was commissioned by past NAU President J. Lawrence Walkup for a student artist to create a “handsome, muscular youth, more symbolic of campus” than the traditional bearded, plaid-clad lumberjack.
Sculptor Charles Bonney used himself as a model to save the expense of hiring one. He finished the lumberjack statue in 1968 and was paid $1.70 an hour. He worked 20 hours a week for many months. He also received a $500 honorarium for his efforts, which helped him pay for school.
Source: Mountain Campus, The Story of Northern Arizona University, by Platt Cline, page 295