Freedom Rock on display in Solon

SOLON - Johnson County has received its very own Freedom Rock.

Artist Ray 'Bubba” Sorenson finished painting the large boulder on Oct. 22 outside the American Legion post in Solon.

Sorenson, who is from the southwestern Iowa town of Greenfield, has a goal of painting a rock in each of Iowa's 99 counties to honor veterans. Each rock takes six to eight days to paint, he said.

'Most of these towns I probably never would have gotten to in my lifetime,” he said. 'I thought it would be cool to have a piece of artwork in every county of the state that I was born in.”

The Solon rock features a depiction of Col. Richard Johnson, the county's namesake. Sorenson also painted a wreath-laying scene at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The Solon Area Community Foundation paid for the estimated $10,000 cost of the rock, according to Denny Gruber, who serves on the foundation's board. The foundation also received a $1,000 donation to go toward the cost of the project, and Gruber said the plan is to put a sidewalk around the rock.

'To have a professional artist come and do an art project here for us in Solon was real special,” Gruber said.

Sorenson said a 'tour of people” are going from town to town to see each rock, which Gruber said was an incentive for the project. He plans to complete rocks in 40 counties this year. Visitors can find out which counties already have Freedom Rocks at www.thefreedomrock.com.

Sorenson said he next planned to head to Mahaska County.