Seeking Donations - Floyd of Rosedale
January 1, 2019
Fort Dodge history runs deep, and we have a lot to celebrate. That includes Floyd of Rosedale – a bronze trophy in the shape of a pig that is awarded each year to the winner of the Iowa-Minnesota football rivalry. It began in the1934 game between the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and the University of Minnesota Gophers that ended in controversy over the treatment of one of the Hawkeye’s star halfbacks, Ozzie Simmons, who was one of the few black football players of that era.
In 1935 the Iowa and Minnesota Governors wagered a prize pig relating to the next football game – requesting a fair game. A clean game was fought and Minnesota won; therefore, the Iowa Governor Clyde Herring collected a pig donated by Allen Loomis from the Rosedale Farm near Fort Dodge and walked him into the Minnesota Governor Floyd Olson’s office. The pig was named Floyd of Rosedale. Still today a statue of the pig is exchanged at each rivalry.
What a symbol of fairness, equality, and just an interesting piece of Fort Dodge history! The Rosedale Farm was located near today’s Rosedale Aquatic Center. In celebration of this act of civility and Fort Dodge history, the Floyd of Rosedale Planning Committee is commissioning an artist to install a sculpture that serves as a creative interpretation of Floyd of Rosedale in the Floyd of Rosedale Circle, also known as the North 32nd Street Roundabout.
The scuplture will be situated in the center of the Circle and will stand ten-to-twenty feet in depth. The design will be unique, but sophisticated (not an exact replica) and will serve to tell the story of Floyd of Rosedale with a donor recognition site established along the trail nearby. A request for proposals was recently released, with installation planned in the summer of 2019. Total estimated cost is $125,000, which we plan to raise through grants, and donations.
We’d like your help! To show your pride for Floyd of Rosedale and its representation, please mail a check payable to the Fort Dodge Community Foundation – Public Art Fund c/o Floyd of Rosedale, 24 N 9th Street, Suite B, Fort Dodge IA, 50501. Check out this flyer for fundraising levels.
The Floyd of Rosedale Planning Committee appreciates your support – it is storytelling like this that adds to the unique character of our great community.