If anyone has knowledge of the burial location of Mary Vhay, please let me know and Thanks
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Mary Ellis "Mel" Borglum Vhay's passion never faded for Mount Rushmore, the carving created by her father, Gutzon Borglum.
She returned to the mountain often. She maintained close ties to the National Park Service staff. She lobbied to turn the monument's unfinished Hall of Records into a lasting memorial. And as recently as last month, the 86-year-old great-grandmother traveled to Mount Rushmore for ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of the carving's dedication.
Mary Ellis "Mel" Borglum Vhay, the sculptor's daughter, died Wednesday at her home in Reno, Nev.
"She was our last living link to Gutzon Borglum," Mike Pflaum, chief ranger at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, said.
Vhay was born March 25, 1916, in Atlanta, where her father had begun work on the monument to Confederate heroes on nearby Stone Mountain. After a falling-out with the Stone Mountain committee, he undertook the Mount Rushmore project.
She and her brother, Lincoln Borglum, spent their early years traveling among Texas, Connecticut and South Dakota. After her father's death in 1941, Lincoln supervised the final work on the carving.
In 1939, she married David Vhay of Santa Barbara, Calif., and they moved to Reno. They had two children, David and Diana. She was preceded in death by her husband, David Vhay, and her second husband, Don Powers.
"She continued all through the years to have a very close connection with Mount Rushmore. She felt very emotionally connected to the mountain. It was palpable," Pflaum said.
For 20 years, Vhay worked to complete the Hall of Records project. Her father intended to carve a giant room in the granite wall behind the carving. He planned to place permanent records and artifacts inside to show future generations America's cultural achievements. Today, the unfinished Hall of Records is a tall dead-end tunnel into the rock.
Although the giant room never was completed, a permanent time capsule - etched porcelain plates inside a titanium box - was embedded at the tunnel's entrance on Aug. 10, 1998. Mary Ellis Vhay scrambled up the mountain to watch the time capsule being lowered into place.
"We couldn't have kept her away. We wouldn't have wanted to," said Dan Wenk, who was superintendent at Mount Rushmore from 1985 until last year. He left Rushmore in December to run the National Park Service's Denver Service Center. During his time at the memorial, he worked closely with her on the Hall of Records project.
"She was the driving force behind the Hall of Records. She did it with great conviction, and she did it very well," Wenk said. "She was a great lady. She was warm. She was effusive. She had a presence. You were drawn to her," Wenk said.
Wenk said Vhay served as his adviser and sounding board during his tenure at Rushmore. And few people understood Gutzon Borglum's ideas about the memorial as well as she did.
"She was my link with the history of the memorial," Wenk said. "I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for her. … I wish every park in the national park system had someone to help guide the direction with the kind of involvement she had."
In May 2001, Pflaum accompanied the still-spry Vhay and other family members on a climb to the top of Mount Rushmore.
"She went out on Jefferson's head while the rest of us gave her a little space," Pflaum recalled. "She gazed out on that tremendous view, and I sensed she was overcome by emotion. She held her hand to her face, and I knew there were tears in her eyes - and in the eyes of some of the rest of us - as she said, 'This may be the last time I'm on my father's mountain.'"
A funeral Mass will be Monday at the Carmelite Monastery in Reno.
Rapid City Journal
Rapid City, South Dakota
September 12, 2002
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Mary Ellis "Mel" Borglum Vhay's passion never faded for Mount Rushmore, the carving created by her father, Gutzon Borglum.
She returned to the mountain often. She maintained close ties to the National Park Service staff. She lobbied to turn the monument's unfinished Hall of Records into a lasting memorial. And as recently as last month, the 86-year-old great-grandmother traveled to Mount Rushmore for ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of the carving's dedication.
Mary Ellis "Mel" Borglum Vhay, the sculptor's daughter, died Wednesday at her home in Reno, Nev.
"She was our last living link to Gutzon Borglum," Mike Pflaum, chief ranger at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, said.
Vhay was born March 25, 1916, in Atlanta, where her father had begun work on the monument to Confederate heroes on nearby Stone Mountain. After a falling-out with the Stone Mountain committee, he undertook the Mount Rushmore project.
She and her brother, Lincoln Borglum, spent their early years traveling among Texas, Connecticut and South Dakota. After her father's death in 1941, Lincoln supervised the final work on the carving.
In 1939, she married David Vhay of Santa Barbara, Calif., and they moved to Reno. They had two children, David and Diana. She was preceded in death by her husband, David Vhay, and her second husband, Don Powers.
"She continued all through the years to have a very close connection with Mount Rushmore. She felt very emotionally connected to the mountain. It was palpable," Pflaum said.
For 20 years, Vhay worked to complete the Hall of Records project. Her father intended to carve a giant room in the granite wall behind the carving. He planned to place permanent records and artifacts inside to show future generations America's cultural achievements. Today, the unfinished Hall of Records is a tall dead-end tunnel into the rock.
Although the giant room never was completed, a permanent time capsule - etched porcelain plates inside a titanium box - was embedded at the tunnel's entrance on Aug. 10, 1998. Mary Ellis Vhay scrambled up the mountain to watch the time capsule being lowered into place.
"We couldn't have kept her away. We wouldn't have wanted to," said Dan Wenk, who was superintendent at Mount Rushmore from 1985 until last year. He left Rushmore in December to run the National Park Service's Denver Service Center. During his time at the memorial, he worked closely with her on the Hall of Records project.
"She was the driving force behind the Hall of Records. She did it with great conviction, and she did it very well," Wenk said. "She was a great lady. She was warm. She was effusive. She had a presence. You were drawn to her," Wenk said.
Wenk said Vhay served as his adviser and sounding board during his tenure at Rushmore. And few people understood Gutzon Borglum's ideas about the memorial as well as she did.
"She was my link with the history of the memorial," Wenk said. "I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for her. … I wish every park in the national park system had someone to help guide the direction with the kind of involvement she had."
In May 2001, Pflaum accompanied the still-spry Vhay and other family members on a climb to the top of Mount Rushmore.
"She went out on Jefferson's head while the rest of us gave her a little space," Pflaum recalled. "She gazed out on that tremendous view, and I sensed she was overcome by emotion. She held her hand to her face, and I knew there were tears in her eyes - and in the eyes of some of the rest of us - as she said, 'This may be the last time I'm on my father's mountain.'"
A funeral Mass will be Monday at the Carmelite Monastery in Reno.
Rapid City Journal
Rapid City, South Dakota
September 12, 2002
If anyone has knowledge of the burial location of Mary Vhay, please let me know and Thanks
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Mary Ellis "Mel" Borglum Vhay's passion never faded for Mount Rushmore, the carving created by her father, Gutzon Borglum.
She returned to the mountain often. She maintained close ties to the National Park Service staff. She lobbied to turn the monument's unfinished Hall of Records into a lasting memorial. And as recently as last month, the 86-year-old great-grandmother traveled to Mount Rushmore for ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of the carving's dedication.
Mary Ellis "Mel" Borglum Vhay, the sculptor's daughter, died Wednesday at her home in Reno, Nev.
"She was our last living link to Gutzon Borglum," Mike Pflaum, chief ranger at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, said.
Vhay was born March 25, 1916, in Atlanta, where her father had begun work on the monument to Confederate heroes on nearby Stone Mountain. After a falling-out with the Stone Mountain committee, he undertook the Mount Rushmore project.
She and her brother, Lincoln Borglum, spent their early years traveling among Texas, Connecticut and South Dakota. After her father's death in 1941, Lincoln supervised the final work on the carving.
In 1939, she married David Vhay of Santa Barbara, Calif., and they moved to Reno. They had two children, David and Diana. She was preceded in death by her husband, David Vhay, and her second husband, Don Powers.
"She continued all through the years to have a very close connection with Mount Rushmore. She felt very emotionally connected to the mountain. It was palpable," Pflaum said.
For 20 years, Vhay worked to complete the Hall of Records project. Her father intended to carve a giant room in the granite wall behind the carving. He planned to place permanent records and artifacts inside to show future generations America's cultural achievements. Today, the unfinished Hall of Records is a tall dead-end tunnel into the rock.
Although the giant room never was completed, a permanent time capsule - etched porcelain plates inside a titanium box - was embedded at the tunnel's entrance on Aug. 10, 1998. Mary Ellis Vhay scrambled up the mountain to watch the time capsule being lowered into place.
"We couldn't have kept her away. We wouldn't have wanted to," said Dan Wenk, who was superintendent at Mount Rushmore from 1985 until last year. He left Rushmore in December to run the National Park Service's Denver Service Center. During his time at the memorial, he worked closely with her on the Hall of Records project.
"She was the driving force behind the Hall of Records. She did it with great conviction, and she did it very well," Wenk said. "She was a great lady. She was warm. She was effusive. She had a presence. You were drawn to her," Wenk said.
Wenk said Vhay served as his adviser and sounding board during his tenure at Rushmore. And few people understood Gutzon Borglum's ideas about the memorial as well as she did.
"She was my link with the history of the memorial," Wenk said. "I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for her. … I wish every park in the national park system had someone to help guide the direction with the kind of involvement she had."
In May 2001, Pflaum accompanied the still-spry Vhay and other family members on a climb to the top of Mount Rushmore.
"She went out on Jefferson's head while the rest of us gave her a little space," Pflaum recalled. "She gazed out on that tremendous view, and I sensed she was overcome by emotion. She held her hand to her face, and I knew there were tears in her eyes - and in the eyes of some of the rest of us - as she said, 'This may be the last time I'm on my father's mountain.'"
A funeral Mass will be Monday at the Carmelite Monastery in Reno.
Rapid City Journal
Rapid City, South Dakota
September 12, 2002
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Mary Ellis "Mel" Borglum Vhay's passion never faded for Mount Rushmore, the carving created by her father, Gutzon Borglum.
She returned to the mountain often. She maintained close ties to the National Park Service staff. She lobbied to turn the monument's unfinished Hall of Records into a lasting memorial. And as recently as last month, the 86-year-old great-grandmother traveled to Mount Rushmore for ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of the carving's dedication.
Mary Ellis "Mel" Borglum Vhay, the sculptor's daughter, died Wednesday at her home in Reno, Nev.
"She was our last living link to Gutzon Borglum," Mike Pflaum, chief ranger at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, said.
Vhay was born March 25, 1916, in Atlanta, where her father had begun work on the monument to Confederate heroes on nearby Stone Mountain. After a falling-out with the Stone Mountain committee, he undertook the Mount Rushmore project.
She and her brother, Lincoln Borglum, spent their early years traveling among Texas, Connecticut and South Dakota. After her father's death in 1941, Lincoln supervised the final work on the carving.
In 1939, she married David Vhay of Santa Barbara, Calif., and they moved to Reno. They had two children, David and Diana. She was preceded in death by her husband, David Vhay, and her second husband, Don Powers.
"She continued all through the years to have a very close connection with Mount Rushmore. She felt very emotionally connected to the mountain. It was palpable," Pflaum said.
For 20 years, Vhay worked to complete the Hall of Records project. Her father intended to carve a giant room in the granite wall behind the carving. He planned to place permanent records and artifacts inside to show future generations America's cultural achievements. Today, the unfinished Hall of Records is a tall dead-end tunnel into the rock.
Although the giant room never was completed, a permanent time capsule - etched porcelain plates inside a titanium box - was embedded at the tunnel's entrance on Aug. 10, 1998. Mary Ellis Vhay scrambled up the mountain to watch the time capsule being lowered into place.
"We couldn't have kept her away. We wouldn't have wanted to," said Dan Wenk, who was superintendent at Mount Rushmore from 1985 until last year. He left Rushmore in December to run the National Park Service's Denver Service Center. During his time at the memorial, he worked closely with her on the Hall of Records project.
"She was the driving force behind the Hall of Records. She did it with great conviction, and she did it very well," Wenk said. "She was a great lady. She was warm. She was effusive. She had a presence. You were drawn to her," Wenk said.
Wenk said Vhay served as his adviser and sounding board during his tenure at Rushmore. And few people understood Gutzon Borglum's ideas about the memorial as well as she did.
"She was my link with the history of the memorial," Wenk said. "I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for her. … I wish every park in the national park system had someone to help guide the direction with the kind of involvement she had."
In May 2001, Pflaum accompanied the still-spry Vhay and other family members on a climb to the top of Mount Rushmore.
"She went out on Jefferson's head while the rest of us gave her a little space," Pflaum recalled. "She gazed out on that tremendous view, and I sensed she was overcome by emotion. She held her hand to her face, and I knew there were tears in her eyes - and in the eyes of some of the rest of us - as she said, 'This may be the last time I'm on my father's mountain.'"
A funeral Mass will be Monday at the Carmelite Monastery in Reno.
Rapid City Journal
Rapid City, South Dakota
September 12, 2002
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