Unchained Liberty

07/19/2026

CHAPTER 9 — "Higher Ground"
A few days ago, someone posted an old video of Lady Liberty on one of the local pages and asked a simple question:
"Has she been found?"
The answer is...
Yes.
And she's coming home.
Since the flood, a lot has happened behind the scenes.
This week I made another trip down to visit her along the river’s edge.
The Mighty Muskegon isn't finished reminding us what happened.
The bank where she once stood has been completely transformed.
The flood didn't just knock her over.
It carried away the ground beneath her.
Since finding her, I've cut away the large log that had settled across her after the floodwaters receded. I've also detached her from the heavy mounting platform that had been bolted to the top of the old maple stump for so many years.
That was an important milestone.
For the first time, bringing her home feels less like hope...
and more like a plan.
The next step will be getting her closer to the water's edge.
From there, with the help of some good friends, she'll make what may be the most unusual pontoon boat ride ever taken on the Muskegon River—a short trip downstream to Anderson Flats, where she'll be transferred to my Jeep pickup for the ride back to RiverHouse.
There she'll get a little R & R.
Not just Rest and Restoration...
but perhaps something even more important.
Preparation.
A new glass globe will once again display the light of her torch.
Fresh solar lighting system will illuminate both the torch and have spotlights shining on her.
A few battle scars do remain.
I think they've been earned.
Meanwhile, another important decision has been made.
Lady Liberty will not return to the exact place where she once stood.
The flood taught us something.
About thirty feet away, on drier, safer ground overlooking the same beautiful stretch of river, work will soon begin on a brand-new pedestal.
A stronger foundation.
A safer home.
The same mission.
And when she's finally standing there again...
welcoming everyone who comes around Liberty Bend...
I suspect we'll all appreciate her a little more than we did before.
After all...
not snow, nor sleet, nor hail... nor flood... keeps this Lady from her appointed duties.
Stay with me.
Our best chapters are still ahead!

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05/10/2026

05/10/2026

CHAPTER 8 — “The Climb Down”
Today, I finally made my way down to see Lady Liberty up close.
Not from the deck of the RiverHouse…
not through binoculars…
not through a camera lens.
Right there beside her.
And let me tell you…
the river did not surrender her easily.
The bank where she once stood high above the Muskegon is gone now.
Ripped away.
What remains is a steep wall of wet clay, exposed roots, fallen trees, and debris left behind by a river that spent days reminding everyone who’s really in charge.
To get down there, I first had to work my way farther upstream to the wood stairway leading toward the river.
From the lowest deck, I used a rope to lower myself the rest of the way down the muddy bank.
Truthfully, the rope was probably going to be even more important for getting back up.
Going down mostly involved sitting in the mud and trying not to slide faster than planned.
Once at the river’s edge, I slowly made my way along the shoreline.
Roots.
Branches.
Trees carried in from upstream.
Wet clay slick as grease.
Every step needed attention.
And then…
there she was.
Still resting where the floodwaters finally left her.
Battered.
Mud-stained.
But unmistakably Lady Liberty.
I was able to get close enough to study the situation carefully and take plenty of photographs so we can begin planning the next stage of the mission:
How to bring her home.
And for the first time since the flood…
that feels possible.
Very possible.
Stay with me.
The next chapter may involve a pontoon boat, a pickup truck… and one determined Statue of Liberty.
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04/28/2026

LIBERTY FOUND!

This afternoon,
after nine days…
I saw her again.

Not far from where she once stood—
about ten meters downstream—
held in place by the very stump that once lifted her high.

For the past week…
that stump had been holding her under water.
Today, the river finally gave her back.

I rappelled about forty feet down the bank to get to her.
And there she was.

Not gone.
Not lost.
Still here.
Still part of the story.

She’s taken a beating.
She’s not where she belongs.

But she’s been found.
And that changes everything.

Stay with me.
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04/23/2026

Chapter 6: “The River Gives Back”
(Written Tuesday, 4/21)

The river is beginning to loosen its grip.
Since peaking mid-day Saturday, the water has dropped about three feet.
For the first time in days, I can once again see a clearly defined bank on the far side.

It’s a small thing…
…but it doesn’t feel small.

At this rate, we’ll be back to official “flood stage” by Friday.
And then—another three feet down from there—
to where the Muskegon is supposed to be this time of year.
In other words…
We’re getting closer.
And with that… comes something I’ve been waiting for:

Hope.

Because if the river is giving ground,
then somewhere out there…
she’s waiting.

This morning, I thought I might have found her.
Not far from where she once stood, I caught a flash of silver
reflecting from beneath the brush along the newly forming riverbank.

For a moment… I let myself believe it.
I grabbed the binoculars, moved closer…
trying to make sense of what I was seeing.
But as I dialed it in, the truth came into focus.

Not Lady Liberty.

Just the crushed remains of someone’s silver inflatable float—
something the river had picked up… and dropped… along the way.
A false alarm.
Probably the first of a many.

But we’re getting closer.

Stay with me.

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04/22/2026

CHAPTER 5 — “Missing” {Written on Sunday 4/19)
This is the part I never expected to write.
Friday morning (4/17), the river didn’t look like itself.
It wasn’t flowing…
it was surging.
Fast. Relentless.
Four… then five… then six feet above flood stage.
By late morning, the water had reached her feet.
I remember standing on the deck of my RiverHouse…
watching…
feeling that quiet, uneasy sense you get when something isn’t right.
The kind you can’t quite explain.
Around 11:00 a.m., I went outside to check.
She was still there.
Still standing.
Still holding that torch.
A little after noon, I stepped out again—
And she was gone.
Not just the statue.
The stump—the century-old maple base she was anchored to—
and a good section of the riverbank…
gone with her.
Taken.
By a river that, in that moment, wasn’t asking permission from anyone.
My first instinct was to act.
To grab a rope and go down to see for myself.
But I was warned not to try.
Even rescue boats were being kept off the river.
Drones circled overhead.
Officials. Reporters.
People surveying the damage from above… because that was the only safe way to do it.
And I’ll tell you something I didn’t expect…
The moment word spread that Lady Liberty was M.I.A.,
neighbors, friends—even people I’ve never met—
started reaching out.
Asking.
Looking.
Watching.
It’s not just me who feels this.
People care.
Because whether they knew her story…
or just caught a glimpse of her once from the river…
She meant something.
So now…
we wait.
We watch.
And we ask a simple question:
Where is she?
If you’re anywhere along the Muskegon—
downstream from Newaygo—
keep your eyes open.
Because this story isn’t over.
Not even close.
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04/22/2026

CHAPTER 4 — “Liberty Bend”
If you’ve floated the Muskegon, downriver from Newaygo, you know how it goes.
You drift… you laugh… you lose track of time in that emerald-green forest…
and then—without warning—
the river turns.
A sharp, hairpin bend.
And that’s when people see her.
Well above the waterline.
Framed by trees.
Torch lit when the sun begins to fade.
I’ve watched that moment unfold hundreds of times.
Boats slow down.
Tubes bunch together.
People point.
Sometimes they cheer.
Sometimes—out of nowhere—they break into a patriotic song.
And sometimes…
they just stare.
Because they weren’t expecting it.
And for a moment… something shifts.
Out here — where the current carries everyone forward —
she stands still and strong.
A reminder.
That whatever’s had a hold on you…
whatever’s tried to define you…
whatever chains you didn’t choose—
You can break free.
You can start over.
You can live the life you were meant to have.
Some folks around here have started calling this stretch of river…
Liberty Bend.
And I can’t think of a better name.

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04/21/2026

CHAPTER 3 — “Rebuilding Liberty”
For a few weeks, she hung out quietly in my garage—
free, but waiting.
Not chained anymore…
but not yet ready to take her place.
Because some things… you don’t rush.
I wanted her to be more than relocated.
I wanted her to shine.
So I started searching.
A glass flame globe for the torch.
Solar lighting to bring her to life at night.
Floodlights so she wouldn’t disappear into the dark.
Then came the base.
I built it stronger than it needed to be and anchored it to the stump by 8” galvanized screws.
Some things deserve more than “good enough.”
When everything was ready, with the fabulous help of Lesly and her Little Mitten Gang, we carefully wrapped Lady Liberty in a sleeping bag,
…and lowered her down that bank.
Piece by piece.
Step by step.
Until finally…
we stood her upright on that old maple stump, overlooking the river.
Anchored. Elevated. Unchained.
Exactly the way she was meant to be.
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04/20/2026

UNCHAINED LIBERTY
CHAPTER 2 — “The Idea That Wouldn’t Let Go”

Back home, high above the Muskegon, I spend a lot of time looking down at the river.
It has a way of clearing your mind…
and sometimes… of planting something in it.
One spring morning in 2017, I noticed the old maple stump down the bank about sixty feet - 10’ above the edge of the river.
That tree had been there a hundred years before we had to take it down.
What was left was solid. Grounded. Still standing.
And for reasons I didn’t fully understand at the time…
my mind connected the two.
The woman in chains.
And that stump.
So I did what any reasonable man would do…
I grabbed a rope and rappelled down the bank to take a closer look.
About three feet high. Two feet across.
I went back to Battle Creek… pulled up in front of that pawn shop
and measured her base.
Twenty-two inches.
I remember just standing there for a second… smiling.
Because now it wasn’t just an idea anymore.
It was a plan.
I called a couple of very good friends Trish & Bob Thompson — the kind who don’t ask too many questions when you say,
“Hey… I need help moving the Statue of Liberty.”
I walked into that shop with a pocket full of Benjamins…
and paid what I still think of as a ransom.
And just like that…
She was free.
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04/20/2026

UNCHAINED LIBERTY
CHAPTER 1 — “The Woman in Chains”
For years, I took the long way home.
Not because I had to…
but because something along that road kept calling to me.
If you’ve driven to Battle Creek the way I did — down M-66, through the Verona neighborhood — you might’ve seen her too.
Eight feet tall. Steel. Torch raised.
And chained… by the neck… to a pawn shop
Not displayed. Not honored.
Chained.
It was the kind of place you drive past a little quicker than usual.
But she made that impossible.
Because no matter the weather — Michigan gray, summer sun, winter snow — she stood there with a quiet dignity that didn’t belong to her surroundings.
Proud… but not free.
And I’ll be honest with you —
I couldn’t quite explain why it bothered me so much.
But it did.
More each time I passed.
Until one day…
it stopped being something I noticed—
…and became something I knew I was going to change.
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