In honor of its 100th year of service to the community, the Fargo Lions Club has gifted the “The Spirit of the Sandbagger” monument to The City of Fargo. The monument, located at the northeast corner of 1st. Ave. N. and 2nd St. across from Fargo City Hall, will be lighted and maintained by The City. Donors helped raise $200,000 to fund the public art, which honors the perseverance, diligence and bravery of the thousands of volunteers who fought numerous Red River floods.
“Our motto as Lions is ‘We Serve’ and, as Lions, we strive to live out this motto every day. We sincerely hope that all who pass by this monument to sandbaggers, working together to accomplish goals only possible through their collective efforts, will be inspired to join in on efforts within their communities,” said Project Manager Jane Pettinger.
The public art piece was originally envisioned by Fargo Lions Club member Mike Benson. Local artist Karen Bakke designed the piece using a mixture of local men and women as models. Bakke designed the figures in the monument before handing her vision over to Brock Davis of Davis Designs for fabrication. With permanent flood protection in Fargo less than six years from being fully realized, “The Spirit of the Sandbagger” will also serve as a reminder for future residents and visitors of the past generations who rose to the challenge time and time again.
“I am proud to have a permanent, indelible marker of the unbreakable spirit of the community which meets every challenge with unrivaled tenacity and an eagerness to help their neighbors. I am truly grateful to the Fargo Lions Club for having the vision and determination to forever memorialize our City’s flood fighters, and for the generosity of the donors who made this public art possible,” said Fargo Mayor Dr. Tim Mahoney.