Page 4 | summer times | Wednesday, June 9, 2021
CeleBrating the Fourth oF July Vietnam War veterans wave near the start of the annual Third of July Parade in Albert Lea a previous year. sarah stultz/albert lea tribune
Actress Marion Ross to be in town for unveiling of statue, annual parade By Sarah Stultz
sarah.stultz@albertleatribune.com
This year’s Independence Day festivities in Albert Lea are shaping up to be full of all kinds of activities as in years past. Events kick off on July 2 with the unveiling of a statue in honor of “Happy Days” actress Marion Ross at the corner of Broadway and Marion Ross Street in front of the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center. Ross will be in attendance. Glen Parsons, one of the volunteers on the fundraising committee, said the public is invited to the unveiling at 5:30 p.m. The bronze statue has been created by sculptor Chad Fisher from Dillsburg, Pennsylvania. The statue will feature Ross as her character from the hit TV show seated on a park bench with an outstretched hand inviting visitors to take a seat beside her for a photo op.
The fundraising committee said Ross helped to decide the location of the statue, which will be at an angle looking from the theater corner out across the lake to the beach, where she was a lifeguard. She also thought that her old house on High Street is just over the hill from the beach, so she would be forever looking at important images from her past that would make it the perfect spot. Parsons said after the unveiling, there will be open house at Three Oak Winery, where members of the public can meet Ross and get autographs signed. Ross has invited Henry Winkler, who played “The Fonz” on “Happy Days” to attend the unveiling because she attended his bronze statue unveiling in Milwaukee a few years ago. The committee hopes Winkler’s filming schedule of his show “Barry” will allow him to attend. See Fourth, Page 5
A statue of Marion Ross as Mrs. Cunningham from “Happy Days” will be unveiled at Broadway and Marion Ross Street on July 2. tribune file photo
