Rock near Walmart parking lot becomes Cambridge staple
Cambridge community rallies to save rock
What makes your hometown different than the rest? In Cambridge, many residents will tell you a rock near the parking lot of the city’s Walmart is a landmark and something that sets the city apart.
CAMBRIDGE, Minn. (FOX 9) - What makes your hometown different than the rest? In Cambridge, many residents will tell you a rock near the parking lot of the city’s Walmart is a landmark and something that sets the city apart.
Walmart rock in Cambridge
What we know:
Move over Target, your red ball could have some rigid competition.
A large rock sits in the grass next to the curb near the parking lot of Walmart in Cambridge. Known as "The Walmart Rock", it has been a familiar sight for employees and shoppers who frequent the store.
"Everybody knows the Walmart rock," Isanti County resident Jill Arnoldy said. "It's kind of like the icon of Cambridge."
The man. The myth. The legend.
"I think we should name it rocky," 9-year-old David Leonhard said. "Rocky Jones."
County residents don’t take their rockstar, Rocky Jones, for granite.
"Imagine this is Wisconsin coming out," Arnoldy said as she moved her hands around The Rock, pointing to all the veins. "This is the state of Minnesota with the upper region here going towards North Dakota."
Over the years, many people have taken pictures with The Rock and have even celebrated with it on holidays like the Fourth of July and Easter. Many residents share their photos on its Facebook page: Walmart Rock of Cambridge.
That’s where you’ll find any updates about The Rock. More than four thousand Facebook users follow the big rock on the platform. Just recently, Grant, a Walmart manager, was seen hugging The Rock surrounded by orange construction cones.
The Rock was moved to a parking space in the back of the parking lot after a Walmart semi-truck hit it. A photo was captured of the semi on top of it.
A hard rock life
Dig deeper:
The Walmart semi was just the latest vehicle to collide with The Rock. Over the years, there have been a handful of drivers that have hit The Rock. This has led to many rumors about a potential move.
"I would not be happy if it were to be moved," Walmart shopper Adrian Musceus said.
Residents are used to seeing a landmark that has been in the same location for nearly 10 years. And if it had to be moved, people would try to change that.
"That would be like taking down a statue in town," Arnoldy said.
A petition called "Protect the Walmart Rock of Cambridge!" was created by another county resident. It has over 200 signatures.
Just across the intersection near Walmart sits the Isanti County Historical Society. Sam Klocksien is the executive director of the non-profit. The building houses the county’s history.
"We're the county's attic in a sense," Klocksien joked. "We get a lot of things but if it's relative to the county's history, and it tells a story, we're all about it."
Klocksien’s 13-year-old self would’ve pinched himself had he known he was going to be emersed in history as the executive director at the Isanti County Historical Society. But what might’ve shocked him more is the rock he would be offering to make space for to add to the county’s collection.
"I just thought, you know, why not here?"
Klocksien offered to take The Rock as the newest addition to the Isanti County Historical Society. Although it might not seem historic now, he said you have to think of what could possibly become historic decades from now.
"People might think-- Oh it's just a rock, who cares? Move on with life," Klocksien said. "Then you get this group that's like-- it's neat, and it's kind of like a symbol maybe of perseverance or maybe it's a metaphor for the area. It’s like a bull in a rodeo that's kind of done its time, and now it's time to put it out to pasture and let it just live out its life in peace."
Meaning behind The Rock
Local perspective:
Have these pebbles lost their marbles?
Maybe.
"It’s funny and crazy," 9-year-old David Leonhard said. "It's a little weird if you think about it."
Maybe not.
Residents will tell you it’s not just a rock.
"It’s like THE ROCK in capital letters," Arnoldy said.
"It’s kind of like a landmark at this rate. It's like Cambridge's face," shopper Musceus said.
Musceus stopped by Walmart with his friend Jade Remackel. The two heard the rock was going to be moved back to its original spot, so they had to make sure they were there to see it.
"I was like, yeah they're putting the rock back!" Remackel said.
Remackel and Musceus have had conversations about The Rock for a very long time. The two have kept up with any updates on it.
Rock moved back and the crowd goes wild
What they're saying:
"I was cheering on. I was like heck yeah! The Rock is getting its dedication it deserves," Musceus said moments after watching The Rock being moved by DW Companies, an excavation business in town.
No job is too big, no job is too small. DW Companies had the hefty task of moving The Rock just a stone’s throw away to its original spot.
"It’s gained a lot of publicity when people run their vehicles up on it or a semi," Nathan Bostrom, with DW Companies, said.
Bostrom and a few other DW Companies employees dropped cones around parts of the parking lot as they prepared to move The Rock.
"People are yelling, driving by," he said.
A few people watched as DW worked.
David Leonard was one of them. He learned about The Rock from his mom.
"She just showed me a bunch of pictures over the years," the 9 year old said. "It’s a rock it's just, wow. A rock became famous. Just wow."
As Leonard watched DW, he really started to think about how so many drivers hit The Rock.
"The rock is on the grass so how did they hit the rock? That's my question here."
Join the club, David. So many people have questioned how this happens.
"Maybe they're on their phones while they’re looking. I don't know."
Despite the run-ins, many people in the community want The Rock to stay where it’s been for nearly 10 years because they say its what makes this community different.