OKC Teen Restores Enid's Little Sister Statue Of Liberty

For more than 60 years, Enid’s little sister Statue of Liberty stood in front of the Enid courthouse as a symbol of pride until a hailstorm came through in in 2014.

The storm damaged the statue and knocked it to the ground. 

The Garfield County Clerk’s Office sought out feasible repair solutions, but the only bid they received to repair the national symbol was for $30,000. 

So, the decision was made to store it in the basement of the courthouse, where it sat until Jaden Jenkins, 17, of Oklahoma City, presented an offer. 

At the urging of his grandfather and Enid resident, Bobby Schultz, Jenkins took on the task of restoring the statue and returning it back in front of the courthouse. 

“So, my grandfather is the scout executive for the Cimarron Council in Enid, and so he decided that it would be a great project just because others have tried to take the challenge on and they failed to do it,” Jenkins said. 

But he had a determination and a motive; this would be his project to achieve a lifelong dream of getting his Eagle Scout badge. 

“It’s a big goal. That’s what I’ve been working for all my life to get. I mean, this is a bookmark point for me right now,” Jenkins said. 

After meeting with the council, he convinced them that he could handle the job and was granted the approval he needed.  

With the help of his grandfather and other professionals, Jenkins went to work and soon realized the pole and the wood base that supported the statue had deteriorated.  

The project took about a year to complete, and Jenkins made the one hour 40 minute drive to Enid almost every weekend.  

Jenkins did complete the statue before his 18th birthday and earned the coveted Eagle Scout badge. The statue is now restored and in its rightful place in front of the county courthouse, making both Jenkins and the City of Enid winners.  

Jenkins was also one of 13 scouts chosen from across the nation to deliver the 2020 BSA Report to the Nation in Washington D.C. He met Speaker Nancy Pelosi, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and then-President Donald Trump.