Montezuma!
Iowa's town for all seasons!
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| Montezuma's first-in-the-nation monument to the Bill of Rights. |
We are home to Bill of Rights monument
July 20, 2008
History was made on July 5 in Montezuma.
That's when Montezuma's new monument to the Bill of Rights was dedicated.
Yes, that was right in the middle of the community's "Let Freedom Ring" celebration. What time could be more appropriate?
Comedian/juggler Chris Bliss returned to Montezuma to join a few hundred of his closest friends in dedicating the monument.
He had been here on April 22 to do a show in Memorial Hall, which served as a sort of kickoff event for what became a community project.
The Bill of Rights puts United States citizens above the government.
The Bill of Rights - the first 10 amendments to the Constitution - sets the United States apart from every other nation on the planet. And Montezuma has set itself apart by being the first place in the U.S. to erect a monument to these most-important documents.
The monument is located in front of the Poweshiek County Courthouse.
Bliss was behind this effort, from a national standpoint. Also behind it were Montezuma resident Hazel Sig-Hester, the Poweshiek County Board of Supervisors, Frank Brownell, and many, many others.
Founder of MyBillofRights.org, Bliss is working to get monuments to the Bill of Rights placed in state capitals around the nation, along with town square displays such as the Montezuma project.
Sig-Hester had offered to pick up the entire cost of the project, which could run to $15,000, but Bliss felt there should be grass-roots support and that the local community should be involved.
Bliss has appeared on the Tonight Show as a comedian and is a sensation as a juggler on YouTube.
He came to Montezuma in advance of a show he did in Memorial Hall on April 22. He professed and demonstrated respect for other people, and was clearly deeply grounded in what he believes in - especially the Bill of Rights.
The fruits of his belief and work - as well as of many in the community - now stands guard in front of the courthouse. When you're in Montezuma, don't miss it!
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| Another view of the monument. |