Thousands of people each day drive by the “Pioneer Family Memorial” sculpture on the east bank of the Fox River in downtown Elgin without giving much thought to the man who created it.
His name was Trygve Rovelstad, an acclaimed sculptor and medal designer who was born and raised in Elgin.
Perhaps the biggest fan of Rovelstad, who died in 1990 at the age of 86, is Gregory Crawford, whose admiration for the artist has become a passion. He not only collects Rovelstad pieces but puts them on display and strives to make people aware of Rovelstad’s legacy.
“Trygve was a true American patriot, and I am motivated to present that spirit and also of the pioneers to future generations,” said Crawford, a Carpentersville native and graduate of Elgin’s Judson University who now lives in Virginia.
For Veterans Day this year, Crawford displayed some of his collection at VFW Post 8241 in McLean, Virginia, and helped present 103-year-old Regina Benson, who worked as an Army nurse during World War II, with a Rovelstad-designed Pioneer Medal from his own collection.
The medal was designed in the 1930s and features the same image as portrayed in the statue in downtown Elgin.
At the exhibit, Crawford also displayed pieces related to Rovelstad’s work as editor and designer of the American Roll of Honor, which is located in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The finished version has more than 27,000 handwritten names of Americans who died during operations launched from the Great Britain during World War II.
Rovelstad is best known for medals he created for the U.S. War Department, including the Combat Infantryman Badge, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Occupation of Germany Medal (Gen. John J. Pershing Medal) and the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) Medal and Insignia lapel pins.
His non-military work inclused a life-sized bronze statue of state Sen. Richard J. Barr, which stands in the Illinois State Capitol Rotunda in Springfield, and the Chicago Coin Club’s 50th anniversary medal.
Rovelstad started his art education at the Fabyan Villa art studio in Geneva and later studied and worked at the studio of famed sculptor Lorado Taft on the University of Chicago campus. He attended classes at the Art Institute of Chicago and at Beaux-Arts Institute of Design in New York City.
Crawford said he met Rovelstad in the early 1980s when he attended a presentation Rovelstad gave to the Elgin Coin Club. The artist talked about designing the Elgin Commemorative Half Dollar, created in 1936 to mark the centennial of Elgin’s founding.
Crawford joined the Pioneer Memorial Foundation of Illinois and became friends with the artist.
“I got to know Trygve and the challenge of maintaining support for the (Elgin) pioneer statue project over many decades, which dates back to the 1930s,” he said.
Crawford said he and a friend created the Pioneer Run at Tyler Creek in 1984 to raise awareness and funds for the “Pioneer Family Memorial” sculpture.
It wasn’t until the late 1990s that enough money was raised through private donations and state, county and Elgin funds for the project to come to fruition. The sculpture was unveiled on Veterans Day 2001, 11 years after Rovelstad’s death.
“I found Trygve as honorable as his artwork,” Crawford said. “I think it is a shame that he often had to be his own advocate to get funding for works that would ultimately be erected on public property.”
Crawford’s collection of Rovelstad’s work includes sculpture, casts, drawings, paintings, photos, pamphlets, correspondence and documents.
“They have a variety of historic, patriotic, modern and just fun themes,” he said. “This is what surprised me, given his pioneer focus, coupled with his work for the War Department.”
Crawford’s goal, he said, is to create a website that educates people on Rovelstad’s work and to donate his collection to a museum, library or university.
“Art is for the public to see,” Crawford said.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
