by John Andrews
South Dakota Magazine
I’m always in awe at Mount Rushmore. A surreal feeling washes over me as I walk up the Avenue of Flags and see the four faces gazing off toward the horizon. I think about state historian Doane Robinson, who conceived the idea in the 1920s, and of Peter Norbeck, John Boland and other South Dakota leaders who worked tirelessly to ensure the massive project came to fruition. At the forefront, of course, was sculptor Gutzon Borglum, the irascible artist whose vision slowly emerged from billion-year-old Black Hills granite.
As Mount Rushmore became more firmly entrenched in our culture after its completion in 1941, many South Dakotans developed a sense of pride that such a national attraction was in their own backyard. Eventually, it seems, we even started to become protective of it.
We discovered that when we tried to put party hats on George, Tom, Abe and Teddy.
It happened as South Dakota Magazine kicked off its 25th anniversary in 2010. Mount Rushmore had never graced the cover of the magazine, and we thought it would be fun if we made it appear that the presidents were celebrating the milestone with us. Our graphic designer created a cover with birthday hats photoshopped atop the granite heads.
We were proud, but at least a few readers were upset that we had taken such liberties. Some even thought we’d desecrated the national memorial. It made us wonder: Can’t we have a little fun with it?
Over the years, we’ve amassed a huge file of advertisements that use Mount Rushmore to sell everything from toothpaste to beer. The memorial is also popular among editorial cartoonists who use it to convey a message. We gathered examples such as those for a feature story that explores how the monument has seeped into our popular culture and what people think about it.
Jeffrey Koterba is a nationally syndicated cartoonist who spent 31 years with the Omaha World-Herald. In addition to Mount Rushmore, his cartoons have featured the Statue of Liberty, Washington’s famous crossing of the Delaware River and the Mona Lisa.
“I have respect for monuments and paintings and symbols and the American flag. It’s never my intent to rile people up,” he told us. “But if it’s a symbol that people recognize and I can use it as a vehicle to make a point, then I think it’s fair game. I don’t see it as such a sacred thing that it is above being able to be used for satire or cartoons.”
Check out the full story in our January/February 2023 issue, and if you’re still looking for a blessing of sorts, consider this. After our article appeared, we heard from Robin Borglum Kennedy, Gutzon’s granddaughter, who told us that the Borglum family has long collected cartoons featuring Mount Rushmore. “We’ve seen every president and celebrity added to the mountain and just about every kind of joke,” she said. “It is good publicity, and it reinforces the symbol.”
So yes, maybe it is okay to have a little fun with it.
Gazette Editor’s Note: John Andrews and the excellent staff at SD Magazine also won my appreciation recently by doing a very excellent story in their March/April magazine titled “Who Will Run the Paper” featuring newspaper editors across our great state, many of whom are colleges that I consider friends. This is an excellent article, and having just hosted a field trip of Garretson Elementry students in my offices who asked intelligent questions and had great ideas, I would say that this is especially worth reading and sharing with them! I encourage everyone reading this to pick it up!
