ROADRUNNER GETS FACELIFT

Even a 25-year old Roadrunner can stand a little cosmetic surgery.

Following a conspicuous absence of about three weeks, one of the area’s most recognizable landmarks returned on Friday. Angelina College’s Roadrunner statue, a campus icon since 1982, resumed its perch alongside Highway 59 after undergoing a complete overhaul from Futch Signs by Joan of Lufkin.

On hand for the Roadrunner’s return were several AC staff and faculty members, local media and Kay Ferguson, daughter of I.W. “Buckshot” Ferguson – the artist who created the sculpture those many years ago.

“I know my dad would be very proud of this,” Ferguson, who made the trip on behalf of her ill father, said. “It meant so much to him to get to do the work; he always enjoyed contributing to the community. He’d love to see how his Roadrunner looks today.”

Buckshot Ferguson, whose works are scattered across East Texas – he sculpted the golfer statue in front of Crown Colony; the Lumberjack in front of Diboll High School; and the tiger on the campus of Pineland High School, among others – was commissioned by then-AC board member Joe Denman to create the statue early in 1982. Kay Ferguson said it took her father between 6-12 months to complete the work in his studio in Pineland, and the 2,000-pound Roadrunner has been standing before the AC Administration Building since September of that year.

Ferguson said the Roadrunner was one of her father’s last pieces of art: In the early ‘80s, he became a pastor and ceased his marvelous creations. Now 76, Ferguson currently resides in Hemphill.

Lyle Witherall, who along with other employees of Futch Signs by Joan performed much of the Roadrunner’s facelift, marveled at the statue’s construction and overall makeup.

“When I really started working on the Roadrunner, I couldn’t believe all the craftsmanship and detail put into it,” Witherall said. “It’s amazing how (Mr. Ferguson) was able to layer all that steel and angle iron, and get it all to fit together so perfectly. It was all hand done, and it’s really a remarkable piece of art.”

Witherall said the restoration process involved a “needle gun” used to remove the old coats of paint. In addition, Witherall said, Ferguson originally covered his final product with the same acrylic coating used on basketball gym floors. That had to come off as well. The final stage included consulting old photos of the Roadrunner in an effort to match the paint colors as closely as possible.

The end result was Friday’s return of the popular Roadrunner to its familiar position on-campus.

Complete with a brand-new makeup job.
 

RESUMING ITS PERCH – Workers use a crane to lower the Angelina College Roadrunners to its base on Friday. The sculpture, created by I.W. “Buckshot” Ferguson in 1982, recently received a full makeover from Futch Signs by Joan in Lufkin.	FLOWN SOUTH – The Roadrunner left this sign behind during its three-week absence.	Kay Ferguson (left), daughter of artist and Roadrunner sculptor I.W. “Buckshot” Ferguson, poses before the refurbished Roadrunner with Dr. Patricia McKenzie, Dean of Instruction at Angelina College.

 

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