Over the last 50 years, hundreds of coats of paint have been applied to the Ben Franklin statue on the Franklin College campus.
Daily Journal Archives
News from around Johnson County as reported on July 9 in the pages of the Daily Journal and the Franklin Evening Star from the last 112 years.
On this day in 2014, the main story on the front page of the Daily Journal was about how a Franklin College tradition left the statue of Ben Franklin worn, leading to repairs.
More than 10 years of alternating colorful paint jobs on the Franklin College statue of Ben Franklin followed by new coats of standard gray paint were erasing the definition of Ben’s face, clothes and hands —- and damaging the limestone base underneath.
Starting the following week, a contractor was set to begin the long process of applying paint stripper, power washing off old coats of paint, meticulously scraping paint out of joints and wrinkles and repairing the underlying stone. The statue had stood outside the college for 50 years and hadn’t had any restoration work done since 2003.
After all the paint was gone and repairs were completed, the contractor would put on a new sealant to protect the statue.
Ideally, the sealant would prevent moisture and paint from seeping into the stone to cause new damage. But no one was sure whether it would make it easier to clean Ben in the future or whether paint would no longer stick to the statue.
The college wasn’t trying to discourage people from painting the statue, a longtime tradition to honor fallen friends, to celebrate accomplishments or rally support for local teams or causes.
But college officials wanted to take steps to protect it so it could remain a landmark on the college for another 50 years, said Franklin College director of facilities and energy management Tom Patz.
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Other memorable Johnson County stories from this day
2005
Local bookstore owners were hopeful the release of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” would be “magic” for cash registers.
1994
Law enforcement was looking for a Greenwood man accused of impersonating an attorney.
1984
Utility companies that dug into Franklin’s brick streets were now required to replace the bricks they tore out instead of repaving with asphalt or concrete.
