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This sunbonneted pioneer mother carrying a Bible and satchel and leading her young son by the hand echoes Bryant Baker's famous "Pioneer Woman" for Ponca City, Oklahoma. It was sculpted by Dorothy L. Koelling in 1989, and dedicated on the Wichita riverfront in 1994. According to the dedication plaque, it "symbolizes the hardhip and dreams of early Wichita pioneers." It was given in memory of Eva M. and Will G. Price to recognize "their devotion and inspiration to the cultural and business life of Wichita." The statue stands in front of the civic center, near statues of a Native American man holding a peace pipe, Lebanese immigrant Farris George Jabara, and a group of children at play representing America's future.

Hardship and Dreams

Hardship and Dreams

Hardship and Dreams (rear side of statue)

Hardship and Dreams (rear side of statue)

Dedication plaque

Dedication plaque

Prescott, Cynthia Culver. Pioneer Mother Monuments: Constructing Cultural Memory. University of Oklahoma Press, 2019.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Cynthia Prescott

Cynthia Prescott

Cynthia Prescott