“Morning of Life” is a life-size bronze sculpture of a young girl sitting on a rock with her gaze cast toward the heavens. It was sculpted by Clarence Shaler in memorial of his twin sister Clara who died in 1878 at the age of 18 in the morning of life. It is located at her gravesite in Mackford Union Cemetery, Markesan, WI.
Clarence was a prominent businessman from Waupun who made his fortune with his invention of the vulcanized Hot Patch for repairing tires. When his wife Blanche died in 1921, Clarence commissioned his friend and mentor Lorado Taft from Chicago to sculpt the massive Recording Angel sculpture which now sits at her grave in Waupun’s Forest Mound Cemetery. Notably, Taft sculpted a 10-foot bronze statue of a mysterious hooded figure called “Eternal Silence,” that talking board historians believe is the inspiration for the “blue ghost” illustration on the box of Ouija boards produced from the 1930s into the 1970s.
When Clarence retired, Taft encouraged him to pursue his interest in sculpting. Today, six of his sculptures can be found in and around Waupun. His final work, an ominous piece called “The Citadel,” is on display in a glass case outside the Waupun Heritage Museum.
“Death is more beautiful than life, for the dead are ever young.” – Clarence Shaler
