An Essexville teenager has unveiled a renovated J. Paulding Doughboy statue on the centennial anniversary of U.S. entry into World War I.
The Bay City Times reports 15-year-old Madden Brady, state president of the Michigan Children of the American Revolution, led the unveiling of the statue at Sage Branch Library in Pershing Park April 6. The $13,000 project is meant to commemorate the 83 men that Bay County contributed to the war.
After his election in February 2016, Brady began his leadership project by coordinating a 10-month fundraising effort to renovate the 94-year-old statue.
Michigan WWI Commission member Dennis Skupinski thanked Brady's organization for commemorating the centennial. Bay County Library System director Trish Burns congratulated Brady on the organization's partnership with the library system.
