The beheaded “Wendy Rose” sculpture was given a temporary, futuristic replacement Wednesday afternoon by high school students.
Students in David Richards’ welding class at Fort Vancouver High School created a solid metal head resembling Bender, a robot character from the animated television series “Futurama,” and secured it at the top of the sculpture. The solid metal head is not permanently attached, said Kris Sork, spokeswoman for Vancouver Public Schools.
The sculpture’s head went missing May 11. On Monday, Vancouver business owner John Rudi offered a reward for the return of the sculpture’s rightful head, a scarf of red-and-white polka dot glass welded between metal. It topped the 10-foot-high, 1,000-pound statue.
Rudi’s grandmother was a “Wendy Welder,” a group of women who worked at the Kaiser Shipyard during World War II, which the sculpture honors. Rudi also owns Thompson Metal Fab Inc., a metal fabrication company on the original Vancouver Kaiser Shipyard site.