My final stop this morning, while re-visiting the storied history of my hometown of Alton, IL is the bronze statue dedicated to the Robert P. Wadlow, known as the Gentle Giant. Wadlow was born in Alton in 1918 and quickly began growing . . . and growing . . . and growing. He eventually reached a height 8'11.1", making him the tallest man in recorded history. He died at the young age of 22 due to infection from complications with a leg brace he had to wear, but is remembered as a kind and gentle soul.
My grandmother once told me that she encountered him, as a young girl, on the streets of Alton with his shoe laces untied. Seeing what struggle it would have been for him to bend over to tie it himself, she retied the shoe laces for him. He was very grateful and the two went on their respective ways.
The bronze statue here was constructed to be life size and erected on the former site of Shurtleff College, which Wadlow attended. I've visited this place a few times in the past, including very shortly after it was built in 1985. Standing next to the statue, any human being would feel dwarfed by the size of the gentle giant.
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