The borough is assuming all costs for a Freedom Rock memorial to honor veterans, relying on an 8-year-old community promotion fund to help cover much of the expense.
The assembly agreed to pull the remaining balance of $19,000 from the Marian Glenz Fund, which was established in 2018 after Glenz bequeathed $50,000 to the borough to promote Wrangell.
Glenz, who died in 2017, helped out at the museum and served for a decade on the town’s visitor bureau. The $50,000 was “to be used to promote Wrangell,” according to her will, as reported in the Sentinel in 2018.
Borough Manager Mason Villarma and assembly members agreed in budget deliberations last month that using the remaining money for the Freedom Rock memorial would be a good use of the funds.
Total expenses will exceed the $19,000 and will include commissioning the painting of the boulder, the artist’s travel, supplies, pouring concrete at City Park and building a protective structure over the rock.
A 6-foot-tall by 5-foot-wide boulder has been selected at the state rock pit by the airport.
The borough plans to host the artist from July 20 to Aug. 3 to paint the rock.
The idea to set up a Freedom Rock in Wrangell came from resident Jenn Miller-Yancey, who discovered the artwork while traveling by RV with her husband, Eric Yancey, in Iowa in 2025.
The Freedom Rock tradition began in 1999 in Iowa, when artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II painted a large boulder as a thank-you message to veterans. He has since painted similar rock murals in 10 other states.
