Ray ‘Bubba’ Sorensen II – artist and creator of the Freedom Rock Project – is shown, above, with Faribault County’s Freedom Rock, which was still a work in progress at the time the picture was taken. The front of the rock depicts Vietnam War veterans.

Ostensibly, the right artist can convert just about anything into their canvas.

Artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II, for example, sees the craggy surface of a boulder as a blank slate bursting with opportunity.

After watching the movie ‘Saving Private Ryan’ some years ago, Sorensen was inspired to pay tribute to veterans. All that was left was to find his medium and his canvas.

Both eventually arrived in the form of paint – lots of it – and a 60-ton boulder in Greenfield, Iowa.

Sorensen’s first creation, Greenfield’s Freedom Rock, was initially painted in 1999.

The original Freedom Rock is still a revolving work in progress, however. Every year since 1999, Sorensen has returned to Greenfield on Memorial Day to coat the boulder’s face with a fresh and unique tribute to veterans.

Soon, Sorensen received offers to craft similar memorials in other Iowa counties.

Though Sorensen initially kept the Freedom Rock Project within the borders of Iowa, its popularity has caused him to expand his work to counties in other states.

Most recently, to Faribault County.

Sorensen has been stationed in a tent near Winnebago’s Municipal Center for the past week, working his magic upon the surface of a Freedom Rock which has sat, barefaced, in Whiting Park for the past year.

This will be the sixth Freedom Rock which Sorensen has completed in Minnesota. It will join 100 official Freedom Rocks which are located throughout the state of Iowa, and many more which are scattered throughout the nation.

Despite the growing number of Freedom Rocks in the United States, Sorensen strives to make each one original.

“Inevitably, all rocks are unique,” Sorensen says. “I try to make them unique to the area.” 

Faribault County’s Freedom Rock, for example, is a tribute to individual veterans in the area. Its three-dimensional canvas provides ample surface area to tell their stories.

The front-facing side of Faribault County’s Freedom Rock depicts Vietnam War veterans, all Faribault County natives.

Meanwhile, the other side of the boulder recognizes an area native who joined the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. Sorensen believes she was a personal secretary to Dwight D. Eisenhower.

To her right is a depiction of a Faribault County resident who served as a tuba player in the 34th Infantry Division Band.

“Playing music is a mental health break,” Sorensen considers as he examines the man’s portrait.

Sorensen hoped to have the Faribault County Freedom Rock completed by the weekend’s end at the time he was interviewed.

However, he notes, “It’s artwork.”

It takes time to paint a large boulder, and even more time to do it well.

The Freedom Rock located in Winnebago has been a project over a year in the making.

Colette Meidinger, a Winnebago resident and chairperson of the Faribault County Freedom Rock Committee, spent months organizing fundraising for the rock’s installation.

The committee raised funds throughout the summer of 2021 by hosting a shoe drive via Funds2Orgs. They collected shoes from area residents, which were then sent to Funds2Orgs. The organization reimbursed the committee for the shoes they collected with funds for their chosen cause.

Meidinger explained last summer, “It is a win-win. We are paid per pound for the shoes, then the shoes go toward Third World countries and people who open microbusinesses.” 

Meidinger appreciates the Freedom Rock’s role as a tribute to Faribault County veterans, but she also hopes it will attract visitors to Winnebago and Faribault County.

Sorensen has witnessed other Freedom Rocks serve as buoys to area tourism – particularly in Iowa’s 99 counties, all of which have their own, unique Freedom Rocks.

Beyond promoting rural tourism, however, Sorensen likes to feel the Freedom Rocks pay tribute to individual veterans who have resided in each county.

“I didn’t serve in the military, so for me, this is my way to give back to people who served,” he says. “There are so many stories that are forgotten. It’s important to me to honor these guys and gals.” 

More information about the Freedom Rock Project can be found by visiting the website: thefreedomrock.com.