Celebrity Benches

“Dove Tales”, Bench for Rita Dove Commissioned by Rita Dove & Fred Viebahn in 2005. Created by Life JAMS Artists, Kali Detherage & Ronnie Garrett, under the direction of Cathy Ledeker.

Rita Dove served as Poet Laureate of the United States and Consultant to the Library of Congress from 1993 to 1995 and is currently Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Current bench location: Rita and Fred’s home in Virginia.

“Life Braids”, Bench for Toni Morrison Commissioned by the Toni Morrison Society, the Van Go bench was presented to Toni Morrison at her 75th birthday celebration, February 17, 2006. Created by Life JAMS Artists, Kali Detherage & Melanie Bolden, under the direction of Cathy Ledeker.

Morrison’s major awards include the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for "Beloved, " and the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature, making her the first African American to be so honored for a body of literary work.

Current bench location: Toni Morrison’s home- Princeton, New Jersey.

“Red Dog”, Bench for Don Gardner Commissioned by the “Dog Days” participants in January of 2008. Created by Life JAMS Artists, Cynthia Ortega & Andrew Padilla, under the direction of Cathy Ledeker.

Don "Red Dog" Gardner, a retired Lawrence police officer, has run a popular summer exercise program for the last 25 years. “Red Dog Days” is a community workout program created by Don and offered for free to any person who would like to participate. About 900 Lawrencians currently work out during “Dog Days”. Don Gardner has received numerous awards for his service to the community.

Current bench location: The home of Bev and Don Gardner, Lawrence, KS.