WOBURN - Notice anything missing in town these days?

The prominent Civil war monument atop a cement pedestal in the middle of Woburn Center is not there anymore!

However, don't worry, it's in good hands... literally!

Woburn sculptor Bob Shure has worked closely with city of Woburn officials and others on a nationwide basis for the past several decades and has the Civil War statue at a foundry in Rhode Island for rehabilitation.

Shure operates and does his new and rehabilitation work from his 105 Salem St. studios (Skylight Studios) - a studio just opposite the Soldiers Lot at Woodbrook Cemetery.

Shure is an old hand at starting from scratch (no pun intended) or restoring valuable artifacts for historical and other groups. So, the city is blessed to have such a concerned citizens at its beckon call.

The statue - which faces south - was dedicated on October 14,1869.

City officials were aware of the teetering nature of the statue that could easily have toppled in high winds, let alone a hurricane.

The City Council recently set aside an $8,600 appropriation to undertake the much-needed project.

Among Shure's last efforts was to clean-up the Col. Baldwin statue on the green at Elm Street and Main Street in North Woburn.

He designed the clock at Marlowe Park (formerly Citizens Park) in the heart of downtown Woburn with statues atop the clock.

He's been retained to design and implement a plaque for long-time Woburn Redevelopment Authority Chairman John "Jack" Marlowe to accompany formal dedication of Marlowe Park on September 10. Shure is a member of the committee to see that all goes well.

At the Civil War statue, Shure worked again with the Paul King Foundry of Johnston, Rhode Island. The Civil War statue was then taken to Rhode Island for the upgrading. "We work with him all the time," says Shure from his Salem Street studio. "We did the Baldwin statue with him, too."

Shure, a New York City area native, had lived in the Winnmere section of Burlington until a couple of years ago when he and his wife, Kathy (Kathleen), moved just over the Woburn line into Wilmington. Kathy also works at the Skyline Studios.

The scope of the work at Skylight Studios begets its modest front.

At work on any given day are 14 sculptor-restorers, mostly located in a downstairs area, in a complex that encompasses some 16,000-square-feet. "We've never been busier," smiles Shure, an amiable gentleman, who works easily with major museums, schools, studios and the like.

Among his more readily identifiable works in recent years is the Cy Young statue at Northeastern (near the site of the pitchers mound of the old home of the Boston Red Sox), the Irish Famine Memorials on Boston's Freedom Trail and the Ted Williams relief at the Williams Tunnel in Boston.

Shure, who grew up in Brooklyn as a Brooklyn Dodger fan, moved to Long Island as a youngster before settling in this area. And, the question he keeps getting asked is: "Are they relocating your Joltin' Joe DiMaggo statue to the new Yankee Stadium at the end of this season?".

"As far as I know, they are," he smiles. "That's the word I get from the monument people who I'm involved with all the time.!

DiMaggio's statue is in left field of the old Yankee Stadium with Babe Ruth Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and manager Miller Huggins.

The sculptor business, as is evident, is all about history.

The best the historical/public works people could recall was that that the statue was last rehabbed in the early 1970s.

And Shure himself is working in a building that was once a petticoat manufacturer, a medicinal plastics plant (bandages) and a baker - the site of a major 1950s fire with the remnants of some fire damage still evident.

At present, there is no hard-'n-fast deadline to get the statue back up and all are looking to do it well in the new refurbished Woburn Common area.

During the removal process, some veteran city employees and historical people recalled the statue was last cleaned and polished in a major fashion in the 1970s.

However, at this point during the removal process, it was pointed out copper and steel footing deteriorated and has caused some corrosion...so a bit more needs to be done.