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CRAZY
HORSE – Callers and e-mailers from around the country
congratulated Crazy Horse Memorial officials on Monday for
“priceless” publicity the nonprofit, educational project
garnered in a live nationally televised report.
In
starting its series about “dangerous jobs,” the NBC “Today”
morning news show sent anchor Ann Curry to Crazy Horse.
During
four cut-in live reports broadcast around dawn Monday, May 19,
Curry reviewed the 60-year history of the world’s largest
mountain carving. She also climbed atop the 90-foot-high
carved face of Crazy Horse, rappelled down part of the
granite sculpture and set off a blast that removed 1,100
tons.
The
outcome? Curry, her TV crew and the Crazy Horse mountain
carvers finished the day’s work safe and unharmed.
Despite
the potential risks, Curry maintained a lighthearted mood,
with help from carving foreman Casimir “Cas” Ziolkowski and
“Today” co-anchors Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer back at
the studios in New York.
A
million-dollar satellite truck that Peak Uplink brought to
Crazy Horse from New Castle, Colo., enabled the live two-way
conversations.
Curry
yipped a high-pitched “yikes” as she and her climbing
companions backed off the edge of the carving’s arm to scale
down the rider’s chest area.
“Annie,
is that scary to you?” Vieira asked.
“You
know, going over the edge is scary, that’s the one moment.
Now that you are on (the ropes and bracing legs against the
mountain), you’re pretty secure,” Curry replied.
She
credited Crazy Horse mountain crewman Rich Barry with
training and safety monitoring. His helmet camera helped
record the movements of Curry and Ziolkowski as they
inspected the high wall for potentially deadly loose rocks.
Although
he’s worked on the mountain since age 7 and done extensive
rope climbing, Cas Ziolkowski confided, “I don’t like heights at
all.”
The high
wall of the rider’s chest drops more than 100 feet, and that
part of the mountain extends more than 400 feet. That height
is risky enough; Curry and the men inspected the mountain by
walking down it backwards and in pre-dawn shadows, lighted
by floodlights ringing the mountain.
“Do you
think you will live to see it (the mountain carving)
finished?” Curry asked.
“Depends
on how long I live,” he quipped.
He is one
of seven children of sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and his
wife, Ruth, to continue working on the mountain carving. Two
grandsons also have briefly worked summer jobs on the
carving.
Whether
his children and other members of the third generation join
the work on the nonprofit, education project is entirely
their call, Casimir told Curry. “They have their own lives.
They have a choice to do it, just as we did.”
Why does
he continue his father’s work 60 years later?
“It needs
to get done. I made a commitment to him and I said I’d do
it.”
To the
inevitable question of when the carving will be finished,
Casimir repeated his standard “Monday” reply, which is
open-ended because he hasn’t said which Monday.
In her
“Today” interview, Memorial President-CEO Ruth Ziolkowski
said she and Korczak never emphasized a deadline, which is
influenced by weather and the rate of private contributions
that fund the project.
“I just
think that the important thing, and so did Korczak, is that
the work should never stop,” Mrs. Ziolkowski said.
Curry
provided an exclamation point to continuing the work,
pushing the detonator button to remove 1,100 tons from the
front of the horse’s face.
Watching
their colleague’s report and work impressed Vieira, who
called Crazy Horse “an amazing monument.’’ Lauer succinctly
summarized, “That’s cool.”
NBC
“Today” has been the country’s most-watched morning show for
12 years running. That kind of exposure for one of South
Dakota’s leading attractions drew applause from visitor
industry officials and others immediately after the
broadcast.
“It was
VERY COOL. This PR is priceless,” said one Rapid City
marketer in an e-mail to memorial Development Director James
Hagen.
Publicity
is expected to continue for the Memorial as it celebrates
its 60th anniversary this year of the June 3,
1948, dedication of the project by Korczak Ziolkowski and
Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear.
The
“Today” show report continues to publicize the Memorial and
its efforts to honor Native Americans. Two video clips from
the live broadcast are posted on “Today” web site,
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/
At the
bottom of the page you will find the links to:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24704406#24704406
and to
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24707531#24707531
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