It was late fall 2009 when area resident Joseph Metzen and sculptor R.T. Wallen met and the Spirit of the Rivers monument was conceived. Metzen describes the meeting with Wallen as envisioning a small sculpture to serve as a focal point for a local park.
Then, during their lunch meeting, the small project blossomed, in both size and scope. After lunch, Wallen and Metzen toured the area and selected the current spot, near the Manitowoc/Two Rivers border across from the Aurora Medical Clinic, where the soon-to-be-dedicated Spirit of the Rivers monument now sits.
This one-of-a-kind public sculpture depicts three Native American figures — an elder, a woman and a young man portaging a canoe. The 10-foot figures rest on a plinth 3 feet high, with the 20-foot canoe towering 18 feet above the ground. The figures appear to emerge from Lake Michigan just off Mariners Trail and the newly restored Forget Me Not Creek.
