Despite my youth, I’ve traveled a bit through our wonderful country. I’ve gone up to the top of the Empire State Building, peered at the Liberty Bell, driven across the Golden Gate Bridge, toured D.C. and visited the U.S. House of Representatives. Of course, I’ve also looked at miles and miles of the Midwest from the top of our Gateway Arch. Being in the presence of each of these monuments to history is moving, impressive in its own way. But the visit that took my breath away was seeing Mt. Rushmore.
The scope of sculptor Gutzon Borglum’s art is mind-boggling. Sixty foot tall images of presidents are carved into the face of the mountain in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and “carved” suggests a delicate hand whereas some of it was done with dynamite. In my mind, that’s even more impressive. There stand Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt. Their visual impact is enhanced by a wonderful National Parks Service visitors’ center that features evening programs of fireworks and patriotic music. If these presidents could smile, they would. It’s almost perfect, but how might it be improved?
That thought was shared with me by a friend as she recollected one of the questions on her college application. “Which four people would you put on Mt. Rushmore?” it asked. This led to a fun dinner discussion as we discussed various candidates for the mountain. We didn’t get any closure but the food was delicious. A week later, I still find myself thinking about the question and pondering my candidates. For sure, these people need to be integral to the U.S. and so are already famous. And while Hawkeye embraces this criterion, he also thinks that four white guys portraying our country’s history is a bit limiting. The sculpture of Mt. Rushmore was completed in 1941, but in 2026 we ought to be looking more inclusively at life – and history. That’s not to take anything away from George, Tom, Abe, and Teddy, but what about people who weren’t president? What about people who were marginalized but made a big difference? Yes, Hawkeye is woke.
OK, dear reader, before you read any further. Who would you put on the mountain? Would you stick with the Fab Four? If another person comes to mind, which of the incumbents steps down? Can you see why this question has been rattling around in Hawkeye’s brain? An easy solution that came to him was simply to expand the monument. I mean, the Black Hills cover 6,000 square miles so surely there’s room for four more faces. Or forty. Or four hundred! OK, Hawkeye’s enthusiasm is tamped down by the prospect of carving those additional faces. We can’t find funding for repairing all of the tornado damage in North St. Louis, so how likely would this be? Back to four.
Hawkeye began quite traditionally by thinking of what other presidents should be on the mountain. His personal favorite is FDR and then there’s Obama. A strong case could be made for each of these guys. Conversely, in one of the more foolish proposed acts by a member of the U.S. Congress (and that says a lot), Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida proposed that President Trump’s face be carved into Mt. Rushmore. Give me a break! His image should be on a WANTED poster; no mountain for him.
After considering different presidents who might warrant being mountained (a new verb that seems appropriate), I thought about others who had a tremendous impact on the evolution of our country. Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, immediately came to mind. When Lincoln met her, he purportedly said, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war.” Talk about the power of words! Former slave, author, and abolitionist Frederick Douglass came to mind as did Susan B. Anthony who led a campaign to enable women to vote and Frances Perkins, the first woman to be a member of a presidential cabinet when she was FDR’s Secretary of Labor. What about Dr. Jonas Salk who invented the cure for polio? Neal Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon?
But Hawkeye has become more realistic about life as he ages. No more Hostess Cupcakes and Cokes for breakfast and four, alas, is the number of faces that fit on Mt. Rushmore. So with apologies to Harriet, Frederick, and a host of others, Hawkeye winds up choosing presidents. Their job, after all, is to move the country forward so they can become mountained. Hawkeye sticks with Washington (it’s always good to be #1). Lincoln remains there too because without him our 50 states would likely comprise six or eight different countries. Teddy Roosevelt gets replaced by FDR, his fifth cousin. More than leading the forces in WW II, FDR showed that government can help people. Finally, my last candidate is Barack Obama. If you have a pre-existing condition, thank him that you’re still insurable. He also quelled the 2008 financial crisis and, oh yeah, was the first non-white guy to be president. That sent a wonderful message to the world.
I’m now back to musing about other candidates. What about Oprah, John Steinbeck, Kamala Harris, and Ted Drewes? More and more possible names come to mind so maybe more Black Hills sculptures are needed after all.
Sculptor
1927 to 1941
60-foot-tall depictions of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln,[5] respectively chosen to represent the nation’s foundation, expansion, development, and preservation.[6] Mount Rushmore attracts more than two million visitors annually[1] t
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, November–December 2026.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
