Hidden deep in the forests of Hinckley Metropark is a treasure...not silver or gold, but unusual works of art - carvings in a stand of ledges on the face of the rocks.
About a mile south of the nearest public access, a trek takes one to what are known as "Worden's Ledges." The walk and climb are arduous without regular paths. But park officials would like to keep things that way because of the danger of vandalism. Some incidents have already taken place, even without the area publicly popular.
A shorter route, but not much less arduous, is from private property. And, ironically, the owner of that land had the key to the mystery of the carvings.
As Sun photographer Joe Darwal, park maintenance personnel and this reporter proceeded to cross fences and muddy patches through pastures on our way "down" to the area, Jim Kamp, the park official in charge of the Hinckley Metropark, told what he knew of the area.
It had been owned by a Mr. Worden, who began the carvings on the ledges which are just as interesting but not as large an area as the popular Whipps Ledges. Worden, however, appeared to be just one of several "artists" who left their marks on the rock formations which must have taken millions of years to form.
Suddenly the group came upon a long rectangular rock which bore the words "Gate Post Cut, 1852." Much of it was moss covered but recognizable. It gave some notion of the time element involved.
Then a huge "face" peered out from the sheer ledge. The name "T. Cobb" was inscribed beside it. (Was it Ty?). It was a two-dimensional figure, probably five or six feet long and three feet across. Next the group spotted an open Bible with a cross atop it. The words "is all" were carved at either side.
Next was found an intricate clipper ship in full sail. Above some 25 feet was a face. Once small face seemed completely inaccessible. It stood in a clearing about 14 feet above ground and a ladder or other aid would have been required to reach it.
Kamp explained the story. Once on the "trail" of the artifacts it is easy for a person to follow. Kamp said it seems that Worden or a successor carved the path from the rock face, and lined it with stones and crushed sand from the sandstone. It still remains completely free of obstruction, or even weed growth.
The group came across a work by another contributor. "Nettie" was written in script on a rock face. Nettie was the wife of Nobel Stuart, who owned the property to the east of the ledges. Around the corner was the face of a man carved similarly to a ship's figurehead in a piece of stone which juts across the path. The beard of this carving has been cemented in and it leads one to believe perhaps it was defaced of just broken. Stuart was a bricklayer by trade, so it is likely he did the work. He died about a year ago at age 93.
In another rock was found "H. M. Worden, 1851" chiseled out. And then - a Sphinx. A long rock has been used to form the figure with great similarity to its famous counterpart.
The path was retraced, back to the east (which is the correct direction to travel) trying to see some carvings that were missed. Kamp said there are about 17 in all.
Then this reporter talked with 77 year-old Bill Wiese, who finally unlocked the mystery. "Why would anyone want to do this kind of thing?" he was asked.
Wiese is a native Clevelander who only came to Hinckley in 1954. But ironically, he worked for a firm called Simons, Worden, White. The Worden family was the very same one which had owned the property. Worden's manufactured chisels.
And that's what started the whole project - trying out the chisels.
"Back in those days, every chisel had to be guaranteed," said Wiese. "They were used in specialty work such as carving monuments and headstones from marble and granite, so they had to be very sharp and very strong."
It used to be a joke, he said, that Worden would finish work Friday and start out on horse and buggy up York Road, change horses, and proceed out to Hinckley where he would try out his chisels.
Wiese knew a bit about that kind of work, from his own experience and from the fact that his father was a stoneworker and made pieces of marble and granite into beautiful items - all by hand.
Wiese said Stuart married a daughter in the Worden family, which is probably why he also got to add his touch to the works.
A hundred years ago, Wiese said, the front of the 10-plus acres on which he resides was a stone quarry (on Ledge Road) and there are natural springs along the ridgetop.
Wiese retired 11 years ago. He has been widowed three times and has a son, Bill, who lives in Hinckley, and a daughter, Gloria, and two grandchildren residing in North Carolina.
"We had to test out chisels from about an eight to two inches wide," said Wiese. "So that's why I think there are all kinds of different carvings. Some are very finely worked, some are larger. We had pure steel then. It was boiled eight hours a day and only poured once and all the impurities boiled out. In 1916, for instance, cars were made with 16-gauge steel with 40 to 43 parts of carbon. It was tough."
The lively septuagenarian maintains his active life "puttering around" the place, raising a garden, keeping his horses and dogs....and keeping an eye on a wonderful tribute to man's creativity in Worden's Ledges.
