🏃‍♂️ From Logging Cable to Living Art: Stick-Figure Sculptures Bring McKenzie Track to Life

By Michael Bergmann | McKenzie Community Track and Field/ Founder of IncubatorU

Sometimes there are hidden treasures beneath the surface of an an area that has not seen the light of day for years. As a team of dedicated community members cleared the pond trail last month we discovered logging cable that had been buried for years underneath the berm of the pond. We knew that would be problematic as we continued to look at ways to create a running and walking path around the pond and make it safe for everyone to enjoy.

Cliff Richardson took the time last week to unearth and pull out the logging cable that was unearthed. When Cliff sent the photo with all of the cable in his trailer we thought it could be a great opportunity to seek out artists and collaborate to create stick figure sculptures and tell a story with material from thje past.

The McKenzie River Valley is known for its natural beauty, resilient community, and deep roots in the timber industry. But at the McKenzie Community Track and Field, a new chapter in our valley’s story is being written—one made of steel, sweat, and imagination.

We're excited to introduce a creative new art project that bridges our past and present: life-sized stick-figure athletes crafted entirely from old logging cable—a raw material that once powered our forests and now powers our inspiration.

🔩 Why Logging Cable?

For decades, thick steel cables dragged timber across Oregon’s mountain slopes. These rugged relics of the logging era—often left in old sheds or rusting in forgotten corners of the forest—are part of our story.

What better way to honor that legacy than by bending those same cables into symbols of motion and resilience?

These figures aren't just artistic—they're deeply symbolic. They remind us that what once hauled trees can now uplift people. We’re literally turning the tools of our past into monuments for the future.

🎨 Meet the Sculptures: Motion in Metal

Spread along the perimeter of the McKenzie Track, each sculpture captures the graceful simplicity of movement:

• 🏃 A runner mid-stride on the track’s curve

• 🦘 A high-jumper soaring upward

• 🚶 A walker in quiet reflection

• 🧒 A child sprinting with joy

Forged from twisted and repurposed cable, these sculptures contrast industrial strength with human fluidity. They create an atmosphere of energy and welcome—a permanent “cheer squad” of cable runners urging us forward.

🛠 A Ground-Up Community Project

This is innovation from the ground up. Literally.

We’re using what we already have—materials, history, and community heart—to build something fresh. Here’s how you can get involved:

🔧 Call for Artists

Do you know a local artist that works with metal and sculptures?

🤝 Sponsor a Sculpture

Families, businesses, or local teams can “adopt” a stick-figure and dedicate it to someone special.

🎓 Learn & Lead

Workshops for students and volunteers will teach basic metalwork, storytelling through art, and community design principles.

📖 Trackside Stories

Each sculpture will be accompanied by a small plaque or QR code sharing a bit of logging history and an athletic insight—linking our heritage to human movement.

💬 What This Project Means

This isn’t just public art. It’s personal. It’s practical. It’s a metaphor for who we are.

In a time when small towns are redefining themselves, this project reminds us:

You don’t need a big budget to make a big impact—you need big imagination and local pride.

Let’s turn steel into spirit. Let’s make the McKenzie Community Track not only a place to run, but a place to reflect, reconnect, and rejoice in where we’ve been—and where we’re going.

Want to help bend some cable?

Join us! Reach out at mckenziecommunitytrack@gmail.com or visit www.mckenzierivertrack.org

#SteelStories #McKenzieTrack #LoggingToLegacy #InnovationFromTheGroundUp