Cold War Horse

About 20 miles from my home, just west of the intersection of Indiana & Co State route 72, is a spookily unique memorial.

Cold War Horse, a steel, fiberglass and resin sculpture of a horse wearing a hazmat suit and a gas mask.

The sculpture was created by Jeff Gipe, and the reason for the sculpture is engraved on a slab of stone erected just to the right of it.

The slab tells a very abbreviated history of Rocky Flats, a munitions plant that exited in the area for forty years. It is where plutonium triggers for nuclear warheads were manufactured during the period of history known as the Cold War.

Nasty stuff, that plutonium. It's radioactive, accumulates in bones. Dangerous to handle.

The sculpture is both a memorial to the workers at the plant and their families, as well as residents of the surrounding area, who may have been exposed to radioactive fallout due to a couple of mishaps at the plant, and numerous violations of safety protocols by the operators.

It also serves as an ominous warning of sorts about the dangers that may well still be lurking in the soil and water, despite the area being a superfund clean-up site. 

There are also two plaques affixed to the fence that surrounds the sculpture. One is in memory of Dru Nelson, a young man who passed away in July of 2015 who was a passionate about the environment and justice, and the other is in appreciation to Bruce & Janice Roberts for their assistance in getting the Cold War Horse displayed.