Courtesy art by Chad Szatkowski

ALPENA – Education has always been central to what makes America what it can be, and with another school year coming to an end, how appropriate to reflect for a moment on various education-oriented installations along the Alpena Bi-Path. It is also fitting because local schoolchildren helped shape one of Alpena’s most enduring civic projects: the Alpena Bi-Path, especially as we celebrate our nation’s Sestercentennial and the 50th Anniversary of the Alpena Bi-Path.

The Alpena Sculptured Bikeway/Walkway–now widely known as the Alpena Bi-Path–emerged from a community-wide effort to celebrate the nation’s Bicentennial in 1976. In May 1974, as communities across the country considered how best to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Thunder Bay Arts Council began discussing a project that would be permanent rather than symbolic–forward-looking rather than fleeting. Working alongside the City of Alpena and numerous community organizations, Thunder Bay Arts helped bring the vision to life.

Even the name “Bi-Path” originated from public participation and education. Local elementary school students submitted more than 700 suggestions in a community naming competition. According to Alpena Sculptured Bikeway/Walkway: A Bicentennial Project of Thunder Bay Arts Council, Alpena, Michigan, Police Officer Russell Mainville, who coordinated bicycle safety programs in area schools, distributed questionnaires asking students to suggest names and explain their reasoning. Three students from Lincoln School submitted the winning entry: “Bi-Path,” with “bi” representing both the Bicentennial and bicycles.

Today, the Bi-Path stands as a living legacy of the Bicentennial era–an example of how civic engagement can invest in the future while honoring the past. Rather than serving as a static monument or one-time celebration, the Bi-Path was envisioned as an evolving public space that continues to reflect community participation and investment.

As another school year comes to a close, it is especially fitting to recognize several sculptures and historical markers along the Bi-Path that connect directly to education, engagement, and learning through experiences – recreating with the art and humanities in nature.

One of the most recognizable landmarks is the towering “Kaiser Paul” Lumberjack Statue on the campus of Alpena Community College. Originally constructed in the 1960s by artist Betty Conn of Birmingham, Michigan, the 30-foot-tall figure was made entirely from recycled Kaiser automobile parts for a Gaylord gas station called “Paul Bunyan’s Gas and Eat.” The sculpture’s hood forms its chest, headlights serve as eyes, and steel shavings create its hair and beard.

After the gas station closed in the 1970s, the statue changed locations several times and narrowly avoided being scrapped. It was later restored and refurbished by Grayling realtor Bernard Hamilton before arriving in Alpena in 1999 through the efforts of Mike Crick and a team of local donors. Additional restorations followed through Alpena Community College’s Auto Body Program in 2001 and again in 2014 with support from the Newport Family, Schepke Forest Products, and NEMROC, Inc. Today, “Kaiser Paul” serves as a symbol of ACC’s Lumberjacks and demonstrates how art, history, industry, and education intersect in meaningful ways.

At the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, several public art installations further reinforce the importance of learning and community.

The bronze sculpture “Two Kids on a Bench,” dedicated in memory of longtime Friends of the Library president Sue Sandy, depicts two children reading together on a park bench. Created by California artist Max Turner and installed in 2006, the life-sized sculpture captures a simple but powerful image of curiosity, literacy, and shared learning.

Nearby stands “Taking Flight,” an abstract stainless-steel blue heron sculpture created by Dan Rambadt of Vanguard Sculpture Services in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Installed atop the library’s historic artesian sulfur well in 2006, the sculpture symbolizes motion and transformation while also drawing attention to an important local landmark – our local library as a center of discovery and dialogue.

The library grounds also host the Daniel Carter Family Historical Marker, installed in 1994 by the State of Michigan. The marker commemorates Alpena’s first permanent settlers: Daniel Carter, his wife Sarah, and their daughter Mary, who arrived in the Thunder Bay region in 1856. While Daniel played a leading role in organizing Alpena County and serving in local government, Sarah acted as the community’s only physician until 1862 despite lacking a formal medical license. Their daughter, Mary, became Alpena’s first teacher in 1858 and was part of the town’s first recorded marriage in 1859. Together, the Carter family helped lay the foundations of civic life, education, and public service in Alpena.

Taken together, these sculptures and historical markers remind us that public art is not simply decorative. Along the Alpena Bi-Path, art and history have become tools for

education, civic engagement, and community identity. Fifty years after its creation, the Bi-Path continues to fulfill the vision of those who imagined it during the Bicentennial era: a public space that celebrates both the nation’s ideals and Alpena’s local history and encourages recreation with the arts and humanities within nature.