JH: Does Dr. Evermor have any heroes? Are there any historical or contemporary figures that you particularly admire?

DE: Yes, I do. I happen to like Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford. I like Ford for standing up to those people who were going to put him into bankruptcy and take his company, and he stood there and said, "I'll cut all the steel out of my River Rouge plant before I’ll yield to you son-of-a-bitchin’ bankers!” or something like that. He was a strong person and realistic too, like when he had parts made he had them shipped in a certain kind of packing crate which then could be used in the floor boards of his Model T's. That showed a recycling image that Mr. Ford was involved with. And I like Thomas Edison, although Nicholas Tesla was smarter by far, and would never stand on the same podium with Edison. Edison was more interested in the practicality of his inventions, and he worked on using a lot of young people to come up with innovative ideas. Those are the kind of people I admire as far as Americana and history

JH: What is the general public’s reaction to the Forevertron? Do you feel that they understand its purpose and meaning, or do most visitors simply see it as a curiosity or just a big, cool-looking machine?

DE: I don’t pay much attention to that, although I've had some very smart people here who have watched the visitors, and most people who come back to the site have never seen many of these forms or shapes. They're always smiling and joyful, and we have several thousand notes from people with their reactions to the Forevertron. All of them are very joyful and wonder what kind of cat could create something like the Forevertron. So that’s the only barometer that I have to go by.

JH: Do you think they respond to it a little more deeply than if it were just a novelty or a sideshow?

DE: Oh, absolutely! It’s much more than a novelty or anything predetermined as entertainment like Disney. They tend to get themselves involved in looking in-depth more, and they like to go up and touch things, and with the little pieces you have to wonder: what did the Dr. make this thing out of? So, whereas you are an art historian and you look at all those oil paintings, this is a different kind of thing. They come over, and they get right into it to look at what it is, and they wonder and they can assume that the shape looks like a bird - - well, it isn't any more a bird than the man-in-the-moon compared to the great creative carvers you’ve witnessed. These are all whimsical things, you see.

JH: Why have you gone to so much trouble to create a park-like setting For the Forevertron? What is the nature or role of the Bird Band, for example?

DE: As I said, the Bird Band will be the orchestra at the time that the Dr. goes back into the heavens. Now, why have I created a park-like atmosphere? I like the outdoors, and in doing the other project south of here (House on the Rock), we built the box and we filled the box and I didn't like that, I like the open air atmosphere, and I was always looking for a site to put the Forevertron on but I never got it, so I thought that I might as well spruce things up around here. That way, in case I checked out, at least there would be an image of what it should have been whether it's seen here or on the five hundred acres across the road which, as you know, I'm working on...

JH: So, the environment here is part of the Forevertron and serves to enhance people's experience of it. You have a great variety of satellite pieces such as the historic vehicles and the gazebos that seem to relate to the Forevertron in one way or another. You mentioned the Epicurean for example...

DE: Yes, everything relates to the day that the Dr. goes back to the heavens in the Forevertron and yet the gazebos also make a statement about tranquillity that I think is important. We have quite a few of them completed, and I have seven more units back there that I am going to make. Those are bug-shaped gazebos so you’ll feel like you're sitting beneath a bug! You'll be able to pull your food off of the exotic Epicurean, pick up a popcorn, and also get peanuts from that oddball peanut roaster. It’s kind of a festive set-up.

JH: I've always had the feeling that this is your world. It’s your vision of maybe the way the world ought to be. This is your home, this is an environment, and it’s very different from the world beyond its borders.

DE: That’s correct. That's a very good observation and it’s certainly true. We do have probably a thousand tons of metal around here, and I have always hoped that some young people would come by and become enthusiastic and get involved, but with the advent of the computer they are more interested in that than in using their hands. In fact, I did plan a maze that I called the “Sultan of Salvage Maze" for which I have enough blue boxes to go one solid mile. We’re going to throw these little blue boxes up which should be a draw for artists who can set up in the little teahouse/gazebos. So there’s a little broader scope to the Forevertron than you might think. always knew that I was going to give everything away anyway, and I hoped the Forevertron would be a catalyst for enough income to sustain a few people who would not only maintain it but perpetuate and build more things.

JH: Then you’re really not a control freak–you would love to have other people come in and collaborate with you on this project. You’re open to working jointly with others...

DE: Yes. I don't believe in imposing one’s will on another person’s spirit force, and as far the possibility of others taking my ideas–well, wouldn’t it that be wonderful! You have to have people in order to make some of these thought patterns work. I’ve been back here welding an inhuman amount of stuff together for quite a few years, but now my bones are aching a bit. So you recognize that you’ve got to have a little help.

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