Celebration of Spirit Collection

Ten of the sixteen original sculptures can be found within Las Sendas as denoted on the map. Pictures and biographies of these ten are included in this section.

All contents taken directly from Las Sendas: The Dreamers, The Builders, The Community. Find out more about this book HERE! 

George Washington Carver

1864-1943

George Washington Carver was an African-American scientist, botanist, inventor, and environmentalist who revolutionized Southern agriculture. Became director of Agriculture at Tuskegee Institute and was a pioneer in the field of discovering uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, pecans, cotton, tobacco, corn stalks, and crop rotation. Inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame. 

Las Sendas Location:

Southwestern Corner / Sonoran Heights Parke

Sculptor Artist: Eric Blome, Chicago - Illinois

Duke (Edward Kennedy) Ellington

1899-1974

Duke Ellington was an African-American pianist, jazz-band leader, and composer of over 2,000 pieces of music. Performed at NYC's Cotton Club, toured the USA and the world, and held concerts at Carnegie Hall performing his music. "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing"! Ellington was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 by President Nixon.

Las Sendas Location:

Entrance of Trailhead Members Club

Sculptor Artist: Dan Davidson, Sante Fe - New Mexico

Paul Leroy Robeson

1898 - 1976

Paul Robeson was an African-American college athlete, lawyer, spiritual singer, actor, and civil rights activist. Among his many achievements: scholarship to Rutgers University in 1915. He earned twelve major varsity college letters, elected to Phi Beta Kappa, graduated from Columbia University Law School. His career path led him to becoming a critically acclaimed actor and singer of the 20th century performing on Broadway and on European stages. 

Las Sendas Location:

East Corner of Harriet Tubman Children's Parke

Sculptor Artist: Rafael Zamarripa, Guadalajara - Mexico

Harriet Tubman

1820-1913

Harriet Tubman was an African-American abolitionist. Considered the "Moses of her people" after leading over 300 black slaves north on the Underground Railroad to freedom before the Civil War. With a bounty on her head, this former slave and illiterate woman later served during the Civil War as a laundress, nurse, scout, and spy behind Confederate lines for the Union Army. John Brown and Frederick Douglass befriended her. In 1995, the U.S. Postal Service honored her life with a postage stamp. 

Las Sendas Location: 

Harriet Tubman Children's Parke - Corner of E. Saddleback & Eagle Crest Drive

Sculptor Artist: Jane DeDecker, Loveland - Colorado

Spencer W. Kimball

1895-1985

Spencer W. Kimball was the 12th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints. he was known for his dynamic energy, his openness and genuine love for all humanity. While an Apostle, he worked with Native Americans to overcome economic hardships. he was a powerful speaker and defender of the Mormon faith. As a religious scholar he wrote The Miracle of Forgiveness and Faith Precedes the Miracle and greatly increased missionary numbers and church membership. 

Las Sendas Location:

Parking Circle at Boulder Mountain Swim center

Sculptor Artist: Russell Bowers, Mesa - Arizona

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

1906-1945

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German-born Protestant Lutheran Pastor and theologian, writer, and participant in the resistance movement against the Nazi regime. After a failed plot to kill Hitler he was arrested, sent to prison, concentration camps and ultimately executed by hanging. His writings like The Cost of Discipleship, Ethics, and Letters and Papers from Prison exerted great ecumenical influence and inspiration for future world leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
 

Las Sendas Location:

South Corner of Desert Foothills Parke

Sculptor Artist: Willem Van Der Velden, The Netherlands

Thomas Merton

1915-1968

Thomas Merton was a French-born world traveler who became a Trappist monk, pacifist, prolific writer and a pioneer scholar in worldwide ecumenical movements, as well as, a re-known religious thinker and social critic. He met the Dali Lama in India and the Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen master. Merton took a non-violent stand during the race riots and Vietnam Wars of the 1960's. He was most comfortable as a writer and known for his autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain.

Las Sendas Location:

Sierra Pass trail, South of Featherwind

Sculptor Artist: Russell Bowers, Mesa - Arizona

Albert Camus 

1913-1960

Albert Camus was a French novelist, essayist, journalist, playwright and philosopher. During WWII was a member of the French resistance while working as a reader and editor and mingled with Sartre and Beauvoir in Paris. through his writings, he had great influence on philosophical issues and the conscience of Western man. he worked for human rights with UNESCO and resisted capital punishment. Author of The Stranger published in 1942 whose theme and outlook are often cited as exemplars of existentialism. Camus won the 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature. 

Las Sendas Location:

Wash south of The Summit

Sculptor Artist: Tom Bollinger, Tempe - Arizona

Shahadah (Islam Symbol)

The Islamic Profession of Faith

Historians say the star and crescent were the insignia of the Ottoman empire. During the time of Muhammad, Islamic armies and caravans flew simple solid-colored flags (black, green or white) for identification. It was a polytheistic icon used before the birth of Christ and during the Ottoman empire. Today, this symbol is featured on the flags of several Muslim countries, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. the crescent moon and star is an international recognized symbol of the faith of Islam.

Las Sendas Location:

Foothills Trail, South of Rock Canyon I

Sculptor Artist: Tom Bollinger, Tempe - Arizona

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

1907-1972

Rabbi Heschel was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century. he was committed to strengthening ties with people of all faiths. Early in his life, this Orthodox Conservative was arrested by Gestapo and deported to Poland where he worked to obtain visas for Jewish scholars in Europe before leaving for London and New York City. A prolific scholar and courageous social activist, he marched with Martin Luther King jr. in Selma, Alabama and that same year founded an interfaith clergy to oppose United States involvement in Vietnam.

Las Sendas Location:

Sunrise Point Trail, East of Eagle Canyon

Sculptor Artist: Boris Spivak, Ukraine; Seattle - Washington.