Immortalized In Bronze | Statue Of Winant (1908) A Tribute To Engaged Citizenship
Rector Mike Hirschfeld '85 spoke at the June 30 Winant Plaza dedication on the steps of the N.H. State Library.
Michael Matros | He was undistinguished as a scholar at both St. Paul’s and Princeton, but John G. Winant of the Form of 1908 became New Hampshire’s youngest governor, first administrator of the Social Security office, and Franklin Roosevelt’s World War II ambassador to Britain, where he remains a hero for his humility, courage, and compassion during the Nazi Blitz. On June 30, hundreds gathered before the N.H. State Library in Concord for the dedication of a small plaza honoring Winant and the unveiling of a statue by sculptor Brett Grill, in which the governor extends his hand toward the bench beside him, recalling his hospitality to homeless men during the Great Depression.
In an effort led by N.H. Representative Steve Shurtleff, the memorial was funded entirely by private donations, the largest of which came from Matthew Barzun ’88, U.S. ambassador to Britain in the last three years of President Obama’s administration, and his wife Brooke Brown Barzun. Additional significant gifts came from others in the St. Paul’s community, including the School itself through Rector Michael Hirschfeld ’85 and the School's Winant Society. Funds exceeding the cost of the memorial and its maintenance will establish a Winant Scholarship for the Advanced Studies Program.
Among the morning’s speakers were N.H. Governor Chris Sununu; Harriet Cross, British consul general to New England; and Hirschfeld, who said that Winant, rather than tributes and a statue, “would want us to understand his life as a call to action today, a call to serve others as engaged citizens.”