JOHN DAY – Grant County Change Committee Peer Leader Larry DeCew was recently in KJDY Studios to provide listeners with an update on the new statue project for John Day.
A bronze and granite sculpture depicting a pioneer family called The Promised Land was constructed by Eastern Oregon artists David and Lee Manuel, commissioned by the Oregon Trail Coordinating Council, and donated to the City of Portland in 1993.
The City of Portland’s website explains, “Following protests in downtown Portland, the monument was removed and placed in secure storage in 2020. The City of Portland choose to deaccession the work in 2023 and, in 2025, accepted a disposition recommendation to return it to its original creators, David and Lee Manuel.”…