Fifty years ago, Marvin Hester stepped into a laminated art class with two semesters left on his G.I. Bill and a desire to try something new. He didn’t know it then, but the sculpture he created in that modest classroom would become a lasting part of National Park College’s (NPC) history.
Hester, a retired electrician and lifelong craftsman, couldn’t have imagined that his sculpture would one day be displayed in the college’s gymnasium lobby, admired by generations of students, faculty and visitors.
In 1975, Hester enrolled in a laminated art class through what was then Garland County Community College. Classes were held in buildings scattered across town, including one on Ouachita Avenue across from the former Firestone location.
At the time, the college didn’t have a centralized campus. “It was a whole different time from what it is now,” Hester said. “They were holding classes in the old Southwest Junior High School and all over town.”
When the course ended, Hester went back to retrieve his sculpture only to find it gone. “Somebody had hauled it out of there,” he said.
Years later, while attending a graduation ceremony for his daughter-in-law at NPC, Hester and his wife walked into the gymnasium lobby and saw the sculpture displayed in the front windows.
“We walked up and were looking at it, and Ron Garner, an employee of the college then, said, ‘It’s an interesting-looking piece, isn’t it? I wonder who made it,’” Hester recalled with a laugh. “My wife looked at him and said, ‘Well, you’re talking to him.’”
Seeing the sculpture again brought Hester a deep sense of pride. “It made me proud to say, ‘Have you ever been out to the old gym? That sculpture of mine is up there.’ And people would say, ‘I saw that and didn’t know who did it.’ It was a good feeling.” Garner later had a plaque made to recognize Hester as the artist.
Hester described the sculpture as “just picture a big goose, a little bigger than a basketball, sitting on a little metal pole,” he said. “I drilled into the top of a four-by-four and set that piece down in the hole, then added a base so it would stand on its own.”
The sculpture took shape through a layered process. “I started with a small piece, cut it out,” Hester explained. “Then I added a slightly larger piece with a different shape and kept stacking and shaping until it tapered back down at the top. Once the form was built, I sanded everything smooth.”
“Garner told me a lot of people had made comments on it,” Hester said. “It’s so unusual. He said they were pleased to have it. That pleased me too.”
After college, Hester continued working with wood, crafting porch swings, plant holders, furniture and other wood items. He sourced materials from a local wood shop and used the facility to continue expressing himself.
Though he never attended classes on the current campus, Hester’s sculpture has remained a fixture for five decades. Now, 50 years later, Hester’s sculpture stands not only as a piece of art, but as a symbol of creativity, resilience and the lasting impact of a single moment of inspiration.
When asked how it feels to know his artwork became part of NPC’s history, Hester smiled and said, “Proud. My chest stuck out. Just glad somebody appreciated something that I did. I take pleasure in knowing I’ve done something that somebody else thinks something of,” he said. “You take care of people, and they’ll take care of you. That’s been my whole outlook on life.”
His advice to current students, “Just be very happy and appreciative if somebody admires something that you did.”
Today, Hester’s sculpture greets visitors from its new home on the third floor of the Gerald Fisher Campus Center. It’s more than wood and craftsmanship; it’s a reminder that creativity leaves a legacy and that acts of expression can become part of a community’s story.