‘Lady Justice’ gets a lift
Shawshank Reunion gives $10,000 for Wyandot County Courthouse workBy Kevin Risner, krisner@advertiser-tribune.com
UPPER SANDUSKY - Even before Hollywood movie-makers visited Wyandot County to make parts of a highly successful movie, the Wyandot County Courthouse was a cherished part of the Upper Sandusky downtown.
"It's really the centerpiece of our town," said Bill Mullen. "From any two-story house in town you can see the dome with Lady Justice on it. Unfortunately, it is the dome part that is showing wear. That's what we've got to get done."
Mullen is a resident of Upper Sandusky and the organizer of the Shawshank Reunion held in August. The reunion was to mark the 15th year since the filming of "The Shawshank Redemption" in and around Upper Sandusky.
The movie focuses on the experience of a man wrongly convicted of murder and sent to prison. Courtroom scenes were shot in the Wyandot County Courthouse.
Most of the prison scenes were filmed at the Mansfield Reformatory.
"Our courthouse has been kept up over the years, but as any courthouse it needs maintenance," Wyandot County Commissioner Joyce Morehart said.
Mullen raised enough money during the reunion to give the county a check earlier this week for $10,000 to go toward the restoration of Lady Justice and the copper dome.
"We did get a check from Frank Darabont, the movie's director, for the courthouse restoration," Mullen said. "It was $1,000. They also sent lots of memorabilia."
Mullen said Darabont and the movie company sent signed posters and other items. Some of the items were auctioned off to raise money. Some items were given to the Mansfield Reformatory and to Malabar Farm, another filming location. Mullen said one signed poster has been set aside to give to Ashland or the Huntington Bank in Ashland.
Bank scenes from the movie were filmed there.
Work to repair Lady Justice is to cost about $23,000. Besides the $10,000 from the Shawshank Reunion, the county also has received $1,500 from the local American Legion post for the project.
Morehart said the commissioners are expecting at least one more local donation for the project.
"Sometime in January we have it designated, we will be taking the lady down," Morehart said. "Over the years part of her skirt has blown off and her scales have blown off. The dome and the lady are riddled with bullet holes from people shooting pigeons over 100 years."
In addition to his interest in restoring the Wyandot County Courthouse, Mullen owns a building known in Upper Sandusky as the Stephan Lumber Company. The business, now closed, was a regular part of the town for more than 100 years. The inside of the lumber company building was the setting for the prison workshop in the movie, according to Morehart. Mullen may convert part of the lumber company building into a Shawshank museum, Morehart said.
Mullen also has been following the story of another courthouse - the one in the middle of Tiffin. He said he is hoping the Seneca County Courthouse can be saved and restored.
Mullen said printing work was done in Tiffin for the Shawshank Reunion. He said visiting Tiffin gave him opportunities to appreciate looking at the historic Seneca County Courthouse.
There could be another Shawshank Reunion next year, Mullen said. The reunion this year marked the 15th year since the movie was filmed. Mullen said Hollywood marks the movie's anniversaries from the date of release in theaters, so 2009 would be the 15th anniversary in Hollywood of the movie's 1994 release. If there is another reunion next year, Mullen said he hopes major stars of the movie would return to take part.
Perhaps by the next Shawshank Reunion, Lady Justice might be repaired and back on her place atop the Wyandot County Courthouse.
