National Guard bomb squad shuts down Dr. Evermor's art park over WWII-era ordnance worries
Photo contributed by the Sauk County Sheriff's Department
A bomb squad was called to Dr. Evermor's art park June 13 to collect what was reportedly a live explosive. This World War II era shell was found, which was a type of shell that was fired from a stationary gun at long range.
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By Tim Damos, Capital Newspapers
Tom Every has a sculpture in his scrap metal art park south of Baraboo titled "Overkill," which shows a bomb shooting down a smokestack to kill two mosquitoes.
The world famous artist, known as Dr. Evermor, says the piece is a commentary on what he feels is an overpowered and over-responsive United States military.
Dr. Evermor got a firsthand look at that responsiveness June 13 when a National Guard bomb squad was called to his property to remove what appeared to be a live explosive.
"If we can't laugh at these things, what can we do?" Dr. Evermor said in a phone interview Wednesday.
Evermor's park features bizarre and beautiful creatures built from the junk no one else wants. But some of that junk was suddenly viewed in a different light earlier this month.
Two members of the National Guard who visited the park June 13 noticed a World War II era shell on the property — the type that was fired from a stationary gun at long range to destroy an object, said Maj. Jackie Guthrie, spokeswoman for the Wisconsin National Guard.
The two men notified Dr. Evermor's wife, Eleanor Every, that the shell appeared to be intact, and Every quickly phoned the Sauk County Sheriff's Department.
That same day a Wisconsin National Guard Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team arrived, closing the park and carefully collecting the shell.
That's when National Guard troops discovered Civil War era cannonballs on the property, Guthrie said. Dr. Evermor's park remained closed until four days later, when the team came back to remove the 22 cannonballs.
Guthrie said all the explosives were detonated at Hardwood Range near Volk Field in Camp Douglas and Fort McCoy near Tomah.
"The public was not in any danger at any time," Guthrie said. "It was a precautionary measure to remove any potential danger."
Dr. Evermor said he can't recall exactly where he got the explosives, but thinks some of them may have been given to him by a friend who was in the U.S. Navy.
He wonders if the explosives were truly intact, and thinks law enforcement's response to the incident may have been "overkill."
"I would like to have a scientific analysis showing whether these things were live, but I doubt I'll ever get that and I really don't give a damn anymore," Dr. Evermor said.
Evermor's art park is located on U.S. Highway 12 north of Sauk Prairie, just across from the decommissioned Badger Army Ammunition Plant.
It was unclear if there is any investigation into the origins of the explosive devices. Sheriff's department spokesmen did not return phone calls or e-mails seeking comment.