St. Urho, (sculpture).

St. Urho, (sculpture).

Ward, Jerry, 1947- , sculptor. (copy after)

Seppala, Rita, designer.

F.A.S.T. Corporation, fabricator.

St. Urho, (sculpture).

Saint Urho, (sculpture).

Sculpture: fiberglass, painted; Base: concrete and fieldstone.

Sculpture: approx. 12 ft. x 8 ft. 8 in. x 4 ft. 4 in.; Base: approx. 4 ft. 1 in. x 8 ft. 8 in. x 6 ft. 6 in.

(On plaque on base:) THE LEGEND OF ST. URHO/ONE OF THE LESSER KNOWN, BUT EXTRAORDINARY LEGENDS/OF AGES PAST IS THE LEGEND OF ST. URHO-PATRON SAINT/OF THE FINNISH VINEYARD WORKERS./BEFORE THE LAST GLACIAL PERIOD WILD GRAPES GREW/WITH ABUNDANCE IN THE AREA NOW KNOWN AS FINLAND./ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE UNCOVERED EVIDENCE OF THIS/SCRATCHED ON THE THIGH BONES OF GIANT BEARS THAT/ONCE ROAMED NORTHERN EUROPE. THE WILD GRAPES WERE/THREATENED BY A PLAGUE OF GRASSHOPPERS UNTIL/ST.URHO BANISHED THE LOT OF THEM WITH A FEW/SELECTED FINNISH WORDS./IN MEMORY OF THIS IMPRESSIVE DEMONSTRATION OF/THE FINNISH LANGUAGE, FINNISH PEOPLE CELEBRATE ON/MARCH 16, THE DAY BEFORE ST. PATRICKS DAY. IT TENDS/TO SERVE AS A REMINDER THAT ST. PAT'S DAY IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER AND IS THUS CELEBRATED BY SQUARES./(text continues with description of traditional celebrations) unsigned

St. Urho stands holding a pitchfork with a giant grasshopper impaled at the end of it. He has a beard and moustache, and wears a long-sleeved leather shirt that hangs down below the waist, baggy leather pants tucked into moccasin boots and a belt of rope with a knife secured in it. The sculpture is mounted on a rectangular base.

Religion -- Saint -- St. Urho

Animal -- Insect -- Grasshopper

Occupation -- Farm

Object -- Tool -- Rake

Outdoor Sculpture -- Minnesota -- Menahga

Administered by Menahga Civic and Commerce Association, Menahga, Minnesota

Located Helsinki Boulevard & Highway 71, Menahga, Minnesota

St. Urho is the patron saint of Finish Vineyard Workers. According to legend wild grapes once grew in Finland and when the grapes were threatened by a plague of grasshoppers, St. Urho banished them with an incantation. The Finnish people celebrate this event on the 16th of March. The women and children dress in purple and green and gather around the lakes in their country repeating St. Urho's incantation. The men, dressed in green gather on the hills overlooking the lakes. They listen to the chant, kick out like grasshoppers and disappear to change from green to purple costumes. The sculpture is a replica of an original wood carving, designed by Rita Seppala and carved by Jerry Ward. IAS files contain a transcription of text on plaque. IAS files contain related excerpt from Moira Harris' "Monumental Minnesota," St. Paul: Pogo Press, 1992, pg. 72-73, with information on the sculpture's creation.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Minnesota survey, 1994.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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