PORTLAND - Verlen
Kruger's love of the Grand River was well known.
Kruger - whom a magazine writer once called "arguably the greatest
canoeist who ever lived" - paddled every major river in North America
and many others as well.
But the Grand River was home. His Delta Mills residence was near the river,
and he led canoe expeditions to study the river and document its problems.
Friends think it only appropriate that a statue they hope to erect in
his memory overlooks the Grand.
"I remember when my brother Dan and I first met him when he stepped
ashore as he returned from his 28,000-mile 'Ultimate Canoe Challenge'
through North America," said Mike Smith of Portland.
"It was near Thompson's Field in Portland. That seems like a perfect
place for the memorial."
Kruger, a master plumber by trade who was introduced to canoeing at the
age of 41, is a legend among canoeists, having paddled more than 100,000
miles before he died in August 2004.
He remained active to the end, celebrating his 80th birthday with a 2,040-mile
canoe trip along Alaska's Yukon River.
Friends seeking to honor his accomplishments formed the Kruger Memorial
Organization, chaired by Dan Smith, in January 2005. They received approval
from the Portland City Council last September to place a life-sized bronze
statue of Kruger near Thompson's Field and have started efforts to raise
the $40,000 they estimate will be needed for the project.
Derek Rainey, a sculptor who teaches at Portland High School, was commissioned
as artist for the project. He nearly has completed a clay sculpture from
which a mold for the statue will be made.
"I wish I could have met him," said Rainey, a kayak enthusiast
who has numerous photos of Kruger posted around his garage, which doubles
as his studio.
"He looked like a very lean Santa Claus. He had a perpetual grin,
crow's feet around his eyes and a bushy beard. He looked like a French
voyageur."
Voyageurs were fur traders who traveled by canoe in the 18th century in
North America.
Rainey, whose "War Cry" memorial stands in Mount Pleasant, said
the Kruger project will be about 9 feet high.
"He wasn't a very tall man, but he will be standing on a 3 1/2-foot
base," Rainey said.
Mike Smith said he and his brother became close friends of Kruger after
their initial meeting.
"I spent tons of miles racing with him or against him in canoeing
events," Smith said.
"Verlen was a man who never believed in road blocks," he said.
"He always had a positive attitude. He encouraged everyone to enjoy
our waterways and the tranquility of canoeing. He was one of a kind."
John Slawinski of Lansing enjoyed canoeing and friendship with Kruger
during the last five years of Kruger's life.
"He was representative of what people need to do," Slawinski
said. "They need to enjoy the outdoors and love life. He called rivers
the 'super highways of God' and you don't even have to pave them."
Contact Hugh Leach at 377-1119 or hleach@lsj.com.
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