DOWAGIAC — When Thelda Mathews found out she would be the Grand Marshal of Dowagiac’s Candlelight Christmas Parade, she was completely surprised.

“The thought had never entered my mind,” Mathews said, sitting in her home in Dowagiac.

On Friday, Mathews, who is known for helping to bring the sculpture trail to Dowagiac, will be escorted by Daniel, her 9-year-old grandson, as she takes on the responsibilities of Grand Marshal. At Dowagiac’s Candlelight Christmas Parade, she will be introduced at 6:30 p.m. during pre-parade entertainment, she will be in the parade procession, scheduled to step off at 7 p.m.

Mathews’ contributions to the city can be seen at many different corners in the form of 15 sculptures. However, it was a teaching job that first brought her to Dowagiac.

In 1952, Mathews moved to Dowagiac to teach sixth grade in the old central building before it was demolished. She then taught at Patrick Hamilton Elementary for two years when it was brand new.

She had two sons and after they attended college, Mathews pursued a degree of her own in marketing and communications from Western Michigan University. The entrance of K&M Machine-Fabricating, Inc. in Cassopolis played a vital role in Mathews’ love for sculptures and the friendships she formed with the artists.

“I got this packet of information from K&M that showed all their huge equipment,” Mathews said. “Just things I knew absolutely nothing about.”

Mathews accepted an invitation for an interview and was hired by Michael McLoughlin.

“I will always be grateful to him,” she said. “Here I was, 50 years old, starting a new job that I knew nothing about, but he was great to work with.”

Mathews’ work with sculptures and sculptors truly began with her career at K&M.

In the late 1970s, company leadership commissioned a sculpture in honor of the people in the metal working industry that helped build their company.

“The corporation realized they had a good time working with the artist,” Mathews said. “They had all the equipment plus an interest in art and decided to offer that service to artists who work in monumental scale.”

Mathews was hired as the company’s sculpture division manager and promoted the sculpture end of the business for the next 28 years. When she began the position, she confessed to a friend she had butterflies.

Through the friend, Mathews found Marcia Wood, a Kalamazoo professor of art, who had won a statewide competition for a sculpture but was struggling to find a fabrication company to actually build the piece.

“We ended up doing about a dozen art door pieces for her,” Mathews said. “We patterned the work after what any sculptor would need in a fabricating company. We became friends, and through her, I met other artists.”

With a knowledge of sculptures and the contacts of numerous artists, Mathews played a vital role in bringing sculptures to the city of Dowagiac.

It all began with Mathews being asked to be on the board of the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival.

“At that time, [Dogwood] was concentrating on very important authors,” she said.

Mathews thought a visual component was necessary for the showcasing of these authors. Therefore, the visual arts committee was born, and Mathews became the chairperson.

The first year in her position, Mathews hosted a show of sculpture maquettes at K&M, where she was working at the time.

A maquette is a scale model that the large form sculpture, Mathews explained. While viewing these maquettes, an idea formed.

A fountain that used to sit in Farr Park had become in disrepair and was capped with cement. Mathews viewed this as a pedestal, waiting for something.

She contacted Tuck Langland, a sculptor out of Granger, to see if the Dogwood visual arts committee could borrow a sculpture and try to raise money. That is how “Dance of Creation” by Langland became a staple in Farr Park in 1995.

“‘Dance of Creation’ was so popular, I thought, ‘Why not try for another one,’” Mathews said. “That’s how it happened. One after another came along.”

All of the sculptures were funded by donors and foundations, forever changing Dowagiac’s cityscape.

For Mathews, who grew up with artist friends in high school, it just so happened that she liked art.

“I was able to do what I needed to do to promote it,” she said surrounded by several sculptures in her home.