Last month, the last survivor carver of Mount Rushmore celebrated his 98th birthday in Keystone, South Dakota.
Nick Clifford is the last surviving person who helped carve the legendary landmark, a project that was carried out between 1927 and 1941. Nick was one of four hundred men and women who worked under the supervision of Gutzon Borglum to carve the images of US Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln into the mountain.
The last living Mount Rushmore carver celebrates his 98th birthday https://t.co/34SMR7khon pic.twitter.com/FNZyw9t0Fk
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 11, 2019
“They’re all gone now. I’m the last one so I’m happy that my health is good, and I plan on living to quite a while yet,” Nick said as he celebrated his birthday with friends and family.
“I’ve been in love with Mt. Rushmore since I came here when I was six so the idea that I got to meet someone who created this mountain to me was just like I met a rockstar,” said Murita Marty, a friend of Nick’s.
Mount Rushmore’s last living carver turns 98: https://t.co/kJbIzidaTV pic.twitter.com/kwo5S8dmSC
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) July 10, 2019
Nick has been married to his wife Carolyn for 45 years, and she was all too happy to praise him.
“He’s been a wonderful man. He’s very kind and generous, and somewhat shy,” she said.
Carolyn added that someone else was going to write a book about Nick and came to interview him, but afterwards, the couple decided to just publish the book themselves. They now enjoy signing copies of the book for people visiting Mount Rushmore.
“Somebody else was going to write a book about Nick and I just decided since I have the questions and Nick wrote out the answer, we just publish our own,” Carolyn explained.
EASY TO TEASE: It took 400 carvers 14 years to complete Mt. Rushmore. Today, only one carver is still alive. He celebrated his 98th birthday Monday and reflected on his work on the national monument.
MW-018TU pic.twitter.com/RxRgF5L0gK— CNN Newsource (@CNNNewsource) July 9, 2019
“It makes me feel really good that all those people come and I get to talk to them and tell them the story about Mt. Rushmore,” Nick said.
On July 5th the last living carver of Mount Rushmore, Nick Clifford, will turn 98. Nick, who was hired by Gutzon Borglum, was brought on more for his baseball skills than as a carver. He penned a book and is often found at the gift shop autographing his work. #XanterraTravel pic.twitter.com/Xnt7Vr0yIV
— Mount Rushmore (@MountRushmoreNM) July 4, 2019
We would like to with Nick a very happy birthday, and many more to come!
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