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Akron flooring company seeks help in recovering limb taken off woodcarving
By Kathy Antoniotti
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Monday, Aug 18, 2008
For the second time since it was carved in 2005, a statue in front of Williams Hardwood Flooring on West North Street has been ''disarmed.''
Early July 8, thieves made off with the forearm and hammer from one of the men depicted in the wood carving.
Company owner and President Jim Leslie is offering a $500 reward for the conviction of those who vandalized the landmark.
The display, valued at $12,000, is of two men, one operating an automatic nailer and the other running a floor sander. It represents all of the people who have worked for the company through the years, Leslie said.
The statue, carved in the likeness of senior installer Joe Paparone, should be holding a hammer as it bends over the automatic nailer. The sander is carved in the likeness of senior employee Dave Leadbetter. It was not damaged.
The forearm of the missing limb is now swathed in bandages. Although Leslie and his son, Jack, 21, covered the stump to draw attention to the damage, they were also having a bit of fun in the process.
Surveillance Video
''It wasn't easy. It took eight hours in the surgery room,'' Jack Leslie quipped.
Jokes aside, Leslie, owner for the past 30 years, is serious about getting back the missing appendage. The first time the arm was stolen, the repair cost $1,500. He said he will pay to have it replaced again, if necessary.
''I'd prefer to replace it with the arm that was stolen,'' Leslie said.
Master woodcarver Michael Blaine of New Hampshire carved the statue to commemorate the company's 50th anniversary. Blaine
came back to repair the statue after vandals broke the arm off in 2006.
Blaine carved the statue that quickly became a neighborhood landmark out of a 200-year-old tree that was dying in front of the Akron Woman's City Club on West Exchange Street.
''A lot of people think I was crazy when I put that out there, but I don't regret it,'' Leslie said. ''People stop and get their photos taken with it. . . . children and senior citizens, they love it.''
Employees believe the theft might be the result of a ''college-kid prank,'' Leslie said, and the arm and hammer it is holding may be ''a trophy on a fraternity house mantel right now.''
Leslie said the thieves came prepared to amputate the arm when they attacked the statue. He could see it in a surveillance camera video, which Leslie has turned over to the police.
''One carried a saw and the other was holding a bag to put it in,'' Leslie said.
Paula Jones, vice president of the company, said she is checking fraternity Web sites, just in case it shows up.
''If they just bring the arm back, we aren't going to ask if they did it,'' Jones said. ''We don't care. We just want it back.''
Kathy Antoniotti can be reached at 330-996-3565 or kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.
For the second time since it was carved in 2005, a statue in front of Williams Hardwood Flooring on West North Street has been ''disarmed.''
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