By Katie Berglund

Ellis Middle School Principal

The land where Ellis sits today was once Evergreen Farm, owned by Allan V. Ellis and sold to the Austin School Board in 1948. The Burning Bush is a bronze sculpture created by University of Minnesota Sculpture Department Chair and artist John Rood. It was commissioned by Mrs. Gertrude Skinner, daughter of Allen Ellis in memory of the Ellis Family and was presented to the school district when Ellis opened its doors to serve the community of Austin in 1958. The sculpture “Symbolizes education — A flame never extinguished — Represents the acceptance of responsibility.”

Mrs. Skinner was married to John Skinner, former editor of the Austin Daily Herald. Mrs. Skinner graduated from Austin High School in 1883, earned a diploma at Winona Teacher’s College and taught in the Austin Public Schools for three years before traveling to teaching positions in California, Hawaii and Omaha. She returned to Austin at the urging of William Baudler when he fronted her as the Democratic candidate for county school superintendent, a position never held by a woman before. It was a political position at the time, and as Mrs. Skinner recalled in a speech to over 400 at Austin High School in 1957, “Republicans pretty much had their own way of electing county officials, except for the register of deeds, who was so popular that he kept getting elected despite his Democratic affiliation.” Skinner won the election without even being present and returned to Austin to find a cool reception from all but the Democratic registrar and the school janitor who helped her fix up the office. She was the county superintendent of schools for 10 years.

The sculpture originally was situated in the inner-courtyard of Ellis and was seen by students and staff on a daily basis as they moved throughout the building. Following the fire in 1986 and the reconstruction of Ellis, the Burning Bush was moved to the front of the building. After many years of exposure to the weather, all of the original stained glass that was really the focal point of the beauty of the artwork was lost.

More than 44 years after its original dedication and with the help of many individuals including Connie Nelson, Jim Wegner, Mike Ruzek, Ron Prybelski and organizations in the community, the money was raised to secure the legacy of The Burning Bush that Mrs. Skinner intended. During the Ellis expansion in the summer of 2011, the stained glass in the Burning Bush was restored and the structure was placed inside the main entry of Ellis Middle School for students to see in order to “give inspiration to students to aspire to greater heights,” as was reported in the Austin Daily Herald in 1959.