Iowa man treks to this southwest IL village to paint 20,000-pound mural honoring veterans

A 10-ton Freedom Rock, a unique patriotic canvas honoring area military veterans, will be the focal point of downtown revitalization efforts in Shiloh — and is the first one in Illinois.

Recently completed by artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II as part of his national Freedom Rock Tour, the 20,000-pound boulder is the centerpiece of a new park development to not only honor veterans but also immigrant settlers of Shiloh Valley.

Shiloh Mayor Robert Weilmuenster said a dedication ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 8, at the corner of Main Street and Shiloh Station Road in Shiloh. The public is invited to attend.

At this time, a heritage sign that will be a permanent marker at the new Freedom Rock Park will be unveiled. It honors early German settlers known as “Latin Farmers,” and is made possible through the efforts of the St. Clair County Historical Society.

Sorensen arrived in Shiloh on Nov. 15 and had previously gathered ideas to personalize the mural as a tribute to area veterans. While working in a heated tent for about 10 days, he sketched images and painted on the 12 ft. long and 7 ft. tall rock that reflected the local heritage.

For each rock, Sorenson said he wants to honor local heroes as a source of community pride.

“I get some ideas from local people, and I do my own research,” he said.

Several notables included in the design are Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th U.S. President who served as commander of the Union Army forces in the Civil War and was a recruiter in a local church basement when he was a captain; and Medal of Honor recipient Wilbur F. Moore of Lebanon, who received it for valor as an Army private in the Illinois infantry. In 1864, he captured the flag of a Confederate battery while far in advance of the Union lines.

The U.S. Air Force’s impact because of Scott Air Force Base is noted, too, as is the naval missile cruiser — the USS Shiloh — which was launched in 1990 and named in remembrance of the Battle of Shiloh.

Sorensen said his mission began 23 years ago. He was inspired after seeing “Saving Private Ryan” as a 19-year-old college student and decided to thank military veterans for their sacrifices and service in a way he knew how.

“I wanted something to remind people to not forget veterans. Freedom isn’t free,” he said, while working on the rock one chilly fall evening.

Starting in 1999, Sorenson took a graffiti-covered 90-ton boulder and transformed it into the first Freedom Rock, a tribute to U.S. veterans he re-painted every year. Located along Interstate 80 near Menlo, Iowa, thousands of people visit the site every year.

Then, in 2016, Sorensen decided to paint a pair of rocks in each of the 50 states after he finished one in each of Iowa’s 99 counties. The Freedom Rock Tour currently includes 99 sites in Iowa, three in Missouri, and in several other states.

Weilmuenster said residents Dana and Angelia Steffey of Shiloh, who own the business Secure Data Technologies in O’Fallon, presented the idea to the village board and are paying for over half the cost.

“She’s from Iowa and knows the artist. We jumped on it,” Weilmuenster said.

“Scott Air Force Base became involved, as did the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois,” Weilmuenster said. “The school is involved. Everyone is excited about it. It will be along the bike trail, too.”

In preparation for the Shiloh site, Weilmuenster visited the Freedom Rock in St. Robert, Missouri, near Fort Leonard Wood. For the village centerpiece, he found the massive rock through a quarry in Perryville. It was located near the Lake of the Ozarks.

The mayor acknowledged the help of John Kramper, project manager at Hank’s Excavating, for the company’s work.

“He went above and beyond, and was wonderful to work with,” Weilmuenster said. “We were scrambling to get a rock of that size here in time. We had to get a 100-ton crane to lift it onto the concrete foundation.”

Tourism boost?

Village officials hope the new Freedom Rock Park will boost tourism and spur revitalization of Shiloh’s downtown area. It is across from the proposed restaurant, June’s Breakfast Bar and Patio, which is currently under renovation and is expected to open in March.

In anticipation of visitors, a nine-space parking lot has been constructed.

“This is an exciting new direction for Shiloh,” Weilmuenster said. “The park was in the works before the mural part. We’ve owned the ground for years. They are going to complement each other.”

Freedom Rock Park will feature an historical marker donated to the city by a benefactor of the St. Clair County Historical Society, said.

Legacy of ‘Latin Farmers’

The marker recognizes the legacy of “Latin Farmers” — German immigrants who escaped political repression in their country and moved here because they wanted to live in a community with free speech and other democratic ideals, Weilmuenster said.

“They brought books from Germany — some in Latin — and purchased acres of land to farm or divide into lots — thus the nickname, ‘Latin farmers.’ They became engineers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, merchants, and politicians. Friedrich Engelmann, 25, led the group of about 20 Latin Farmers to St. Clair County’s Shiloh Valley,” he said.

The importance of the Shiloh United Methodist Church to the area’s establishment and more of “The Shiloh Story” will be shared during the dedication, and efforts of the “Cemetery Detectives” of the O’Fallon Historical Society have been an invaluable resource for the historical background, Weilmuenster said.

Bubba’s Mission

Sorensen, who grew up on a farm in southwest Iowa and was raised in Fontanelle, studied art at Iowa State University. He worked as a graphic designer for Edje Technologies and Livestock Plus. He co-owns, with his wife Maria, a photographer, Sorensen Studios — a photography and mural painting business.

He and his wife have three children: Independence, 10; Michael, 7: and Liberty, 18 months. They live in Greenfield, which is halfway between Omaha, Nebraska, and Des Moines, Iowa, he said.

“Freedom Rock is something we do as a family,” he said.

Political life, Shiloh excited about site

Sorensen is not only an artist but a politician serving as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from the 20th district. Elected in 2018, he assumed office Jan. 14, 2019. He serves as chair of the House Economic Growth Committee and is vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

He did not serve in the military, so this is his way of giving back, Sorenson added.

Shiloh Village Clerk Brenda Kern said the village is eager to welcome visitors to the new site.

“It is such an honor to have the first Freedom Rock in the state of Illinois, and the Heritage Sign is a great landmark,” she said.

This story was originally published December 7, 2021 at 1:10 PM.