"It's A Bust"

 D. Elton Trueblood’s Memorial service was held at Stout Meeting House in Richmond, Indiana in January 1995.  I was there to mourn and to celebrate the life of my beloved mentor and friend of nearly a quarter of a century.  Someone said at the service, “The first time I went to see him, I asked him ‘Who is Elton Trueblood?’  and with a twinkle in his eye he answered back, ‘Your friend.’”  Elton was that to me, “a friend,”and so much more.  

After the service I went to Teague Library (Elton’s study) across from the Earlham School of Religion which he had helped found in 1960. There on a bookshelf was a bronze sculpture of Elton, created by Jimilu Mason (1930-2019).  I was familiar with Jimilu through The Church of the Saviour in Washington, D.C. and with her sculptures of “The Servant of Christ” and “The Parable.”

When “The Servant Christ” (Christ offering to wash the feet of the people who pass by) was installed at Christ House (a medical facility for homeless men) many people questioned why Mason would want to have the piece displayed outside “where it would surely be abused”.  She responded, “there is very little they could do to him that hasn’t already been done.”  “The Parable” sculpture at The Festival Center shows a man seated on a large cinder block and at his feet is a carpenter’s square.  Dressed only in a shirt and pants, his shirt sleeves rolled up above his elbows and his collar open.  His face wears a beard and mustache and his feet are shoe-less.  His arms reach out in front of him, and he looks as if in conversation.  Mason said, the sculpture “represents a Christ…teaching that there is more than brick and mortar to building a city.  The leaders must be good servants.”

I knew Jimilu through those works of art, but she was most famous for her “busts” of Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Sam Rayburn, and other notable personalities—including Elton Trueblood.  As I looked at the bronze bust, someone behind me said, “That should be at the Yokefellow Center.”  I agreed.

I carried the sculpture home in a carry-on bag.  It was heavy.  At the airport check-in, I was asked “what on earth do you have in the bag—a bowling ball?”  “No,” I replied, “It’s a bust.”  I’m not sure the fellow knew what kind of “bust” I was talking about.

Elton’s “bust” had a home at the Yokefellow Center for 17 years.  Then, it was placed in a box and stored away in the garage.  A week or so ago, I decided that Jimilu’s art and my beloved mentor and friend’s bust should not be hidden away.  After all it isn’t a bowling ball, it’s a work of art, it’s a memorial, it’s a bust!