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Armstrong artwork returned |
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Friday, 09 January 2009 |
By MATT NICHOLS
Staff Writer
More than a week after three portraits depicting Neil Armstrong were stolen from the Wapakoneta Post Office, the trio of artistic pieces have found their way back home.
Employees noticed the prints of pencil drawings created by the late Richard Chadwick, a Wapakoneta native, missing from the walls by employees on Monday.
After recovering the drawings, Wapakoneta Police Chief Dave Webb returned the artwork to the post office on Wednesday.
“We’re just glad to have them back,” Postmaster Jennifer Shoupp said. “They certainly meant a lot to the people who would come in and look at them. We’re glad they’ve been returned.”
Also returned to the post office was the child-sized white rocking chair that was also stolen from the post office lobby.
Webb said he could not divulge much information into the burglary or recovery, only saying there is an out-of-town man in custody with charges not related to the post office theft.
A search warrant was issued by the Auglaize County Prosecutor’s Office at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday for the theft case, the chief said.
Shortly before 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, the warrant was executed at 1308 Willipie St., the city’s impound lot, according to the Wapakoneta Police Office call log.
At 10:25 a.m. the pictures were collected and at 11:40 a.m. a representative of the post office arrived at the Wapakoneta Police Department to pick them up.
One of the returned drawings is a 24- by 36-inch portrait of Armstrong in his Apollo 11 space suit. The other two drawings are 8- by 10-inch sketches of Armstrong and his family and Armstrong during a NASA mission prior to his moon landing.
Richard Chadwick’s wife, Cindy, said her husband began working on the large portrait as Armstrong departed for the moon in July 1969. She said he had the artwork finished in time for Armstrong’s splash-down.
Chadwick said she was thrilled to know her late husband’s work is back for all the community to see.
“I’m happy of course, and it shows that Wapak still thinks a lot of Neil Armstrong,” Chadwick said. “It’s also is great to know my husband will be remembered as a great artist. He had art hanging all over the world, and it makes me feel wonderful to know his work is here for everyone to see.”
Assistant Managing Editor Karen Campbell contributed to this story.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 09 January 2009 )
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