Many people dream of creating something great, but only a few accomplish it, and even fewer do it more than once. Waldine Amanda Tauch not only became the first native Texan to sculpt large-scale public works, she created many of them in her lifetime, including the first American monument to World War I by a woman and numerous other sculptures. Born in Schulenburg in 1892, she became a student under Pompeo Coppini after graduating from high school in Brady. She completed her first public statue in 1914, her World War I monument in 1924, and three works for the Texas Centennial. She remained Coppini’s partner in many projects, but her most productive period as a solo sculptor came after he died in 1957. She explained her motivation to a reporter, “When one attains the ranks of the monumental sculptor, you feel a certain grandeur has come into your life, into your possession of creation.” She added, “You feel you’re in touch with the bigness of God and he is guiding.”