Edison statue coming to Milan

MILAN — Thomas Edison is still going to Washington, D.C., but he's going to stop in Milan first.A new statue of the famous inventor, selected as one of two statues to represent Ohio in the National Statuary Hall collection in the U.S. Capitol Building, has been sitting in the state capitol building in Columbus.It will go to Washington, D.C., eventually this year to take its place in the U.S. Capitol. But in the meantime, it will spend the summer on display in the lobby of the Milan Public Library.The announcement that the statue is coming to Milan was made Thursday by state Sen. Randy Gardner, R-Bowling Green, and by Don Gfell, owner of the Sights and Sounds of Edison antique shop in Milan and a member of the state commission dealing with the Edison statue. Both men worked to get the statue to Milan.Gfell said he expects to get the statue in Milan by June 7 or so.The dedication ceremony for the statue in Washington is likely to be in September or October. So for several months, until Tom Edison hits the road again, he'll be on display in Milan for much of the summer tourism season, Gfell said."We're going to feature the statue in the main lobby, right where people come in," said James Tolbert, director of the Milan-Berlin Township Public Library. "We're very excited about it."The statue will be in an open room with lots of lighting and windows, visible even when the library is closed."We're going to be doing some programming around it," Tolbert said, noting that the library already plays up the connection between Edison and Milan, where the famous inventor was born."There are several Edison features already in the library," Tolbert said. "There's a large mural of him."And the children's area has an Edison theme, he added."It's the best place in the world to see it," Gfell said. "You have to see it when you come to the library. It's all handicapped accessible. The lighting is beautiful."The library is also going to obtain the base that the statue will rest upon. Everybody will get to see it just as it will look at the U.S. Capitol complex, Gfell said.Ohio is represented by two statues in the U.S. Capitol: President James Garfield, and former Ohio Gov. and Congressman William Allen.Garfield will stay, but the Allen statue will be hauled back to Ohio and will be replaced with the Edison statue.The Edison statue was sculpted by Zanesville, Ohio, sculptor Alan Cottrill. The statue depicts Edison holding up one of his most famous inventions, the light bulb.Reach reporter Tom Jackson at jackson@sanduskyregister.com, follow him at www.facebook.com/tomjacksonregister/, read his articles online at www.sanduskyregister.com/TomJackson.Ohio governor's office photo. Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, at right, unveils a statue of Thomas Edison at the Ohio Statehouse.