By Daniel Nolker
Ranger-Review Staff Writer
For over 40 years, renowned Glendive artist Pamela Harr has been transforming clay and bronze into vibrant scenes of life. Together with her late husband Harvey Rattey, Bridger Bronze has created over 1,500 sculptures.
Now, Harr is realizing her dream to share larger-than-life versions of her work as a permanent contribution to the community she loves. By the end of May, a new sculpture will stand on the grounds of Dawson County High School as a tribute to love and loyalty. Although it will be a new addition to Glendive, Harr said the project has been decades in the making.
“One evening in 1980 Harvey was telling me stories about a little white dog he had when he was a kid that would be waiting by the mailbox every day when the school bus brought him home. Now Harvey didn’t own glasses and couldn’t see the dog far away, but he told his friends that he could see his pup since he knew he would be waiting. Then, as Harvey told the story, it got to be a game with the kids to see who could see the dog first as they approached Harvey’s bus stop,” Harr said.
“That evening I decided to start a sculpture of three dogs sitting by the mailbox. After staying up all night, by morning I had it done. I often work non-stop when I can clearly see a sculpture like I could this one in my mind.”
When the first edition of 50 bronze sculptures sold out, Harr created one a little larger.
In the early 1990s she created an even larger version at the request of the Bozeman Lion’s Club who wanted to raise money to pay for a police drug dog by selling raffle tickets with the sculpture as the prize. The campaign was a great success and raised roughly $12,000. With the proceeds, the department purchased their first dog, Aris, a German shepherd imported from Belgium. During her career, Aris was credited with saving four lives while she served several counties at airports, freight companies, and public relations visits to schools.
Since the new life-size tribute to canine companions will sit faithfully in Dawson County, Harr used local dogs as models. Each dog has a unique quality that she wanted to include in the sculpture.
“The dog to the left of the mailbox was a neighbor’s border collie named Lady who wandered into my studio and sat and modeled for me just as if she knew what she was doing. The scratching dog was a rottweiler mix rescue dog named Abby that we adopted from the Humane Society. She sure did love kids,” Harr said.
“For the center dog I am using one of Eastern Montana’s newest highway patrol officers. She is a Belgian malinois named Mika. The article written about Troopers Barry Kilpela and Mika was in the Ranger-Review last November and gave me the idea to use her for the model for the middle dog.”
Standing one and a third times larger than life size, the dogs will be immortalized in a fitting tribute to their loyalty “Waiting for the School Bus.” Weighing at least 500 pounds, the monument will be made of around 60 bronze castings welded together at Billings Bronze and transported to its permanent home at DCHS.
“For many years I’ve dreamed of sculpting a life-sized tribute to our faithful canine friends and I made up my mind that this would be the year. Since dogs love kids and it’s one of the best places in town to have it, I am doing the sculpture as a gift to the Dawson County High School and my community for everyone to enjoy,” Harr said.
Prolific Artist to Continue
Giving Back
Even before “Waiting for the School Bus” is complete, Harr has already started work on another contribution to the community. Her next project is a life-sized sculpture of a boy holding a retrieving dummy for his young labrador dog.
The piece is in memory of Ty Milne who passed away last August. Its planned location will be near the intersection of Merrill Avenue and Towne Street next to the old Glendive Chamber of Commerce building. She is working on a small model now, which will be bronzed in a limited edition sold with the proceeds going to the casting of the larger sculpture.
She is also working on a larger than life version of another of her popular sculptures. “The Price” depicts missionary and pioneer Narcissa Whitman in a moment of utter anguish as she holds her two-year-old daughter, who went out to get two cups of water, fell in and drowned. Harr completed the first version of the sculpture a few years after her first husband passed away.
“I was so touched by emotion after reading one of her letters home to her family that I couldn’t get this vision out of my mind and had to create it in clay and then in a small bronze. Narcissa’s loss epitomizes the heart breaking losses we experience throughout our lives. Since 1975 when I first fell in love with this concept I’ve dreamed of turning my vision into a larger than life-size tribute to this courageous woman,” Harr said.
Although it will eventually be displayed at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas, Harr said The Price will stand in Glendive when it is finished.
Harr’s long-term dream is to have sculptures displayed all over Glendive.
Not only does she want to contribute to beautifying the community, she also wants to share the importance of art in people’s lives.
“I really feel strongly about the value of art. When you view something that gives you a sense of awe or pleasure, endorphins are released in your brain and they make you feel good. Even sad and emotional sculptures are important for people to view,” Harr said.
Even though she has been working as an artist for over 40 years, Harr’s passion spurs her onward, continuing to inspire her work.
“I think as you get older, you can’t just sit back and watch television. You have to get out there, realize your dreams and keep active. Since Harvey’s passed away, my focus is doing the sculptures I’ve dreamt of doing for years. The subjects I choose speak to people’s hearts and reflect my faith and love for God. I want to make them life size so more people can enjoy them,” Harr said.