Children's television performer JP Patches and his longtime co-star Gertrude were honored with the unveiling of a statue in their likeness on Sunday August 17th at Solstice Plaza in Fremont. A committee was formed 2 and half years ago to collect money to create the statue of the performers. 2008 marks the 50th anniversary year of the debut of the J.P. Patches Show.

A panel of dignitaries including, King County Executive Ron Sims, Congressman James McDermott, King County Councilman Dow Constantine, Lieutentant Governer Brad Owen, and Governor Christine Gregoire attended, many of them speaking about the enormous affection this region has for the performers and asking the crowd of more than two thousand people to show their feelings through cheers. The donations got an early major boost when a check for $78,000 was presented to Children's hospital. It was collected from thousands of "Patches Pals", largely people who grew up watching the J.P. Patches Show. That show appeared on KIRO TV in Seattle in 1958 and was produced until 1981. The donation was coordinated by the local chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Urban Sparks.

During the fund raising process, Stan McNaughton, the chief executive officer of PEMCO Insurance, issued this challenge: for each dollar that people donated to the statue fund, the Patches Pals would match it up to $50,000.

The chairman of the statue committee, Bryan Johnston, described how the project came about. "The fellow who came up the the idea for the statue, Carl Lufgren came to NATAS and said, 'You guys work with television, would you help me create a statue of J.P. Patches?'. They knew that I'd written a book about J.P. "J.P. Patches: Northwest Icon," (Peanut Butter Publishing, 119 pages, $18.95) and asked me to head up the project. So I said 'Sure' and two and a half years later, and a lot of sleepless nights, you'll soon see what it looks like."

When the J.P. Patches Show was on the air millions of children in Western Washington came to know and love J.P., played by actor Chris Wedes, and his faithful sidekick, Gertrude, played by Bob Newman. The show is believed to be the longest-running, locally produced children's television program in history.

The statue, conceived by local sculptor (and lifelong Patches Pal) Kevin Pettelle, depicts J.P. and Gertrude in a characteristically frenetic dance, titled "Late for the Interurban." Also depicted in the sculpture is the ICU2-TV, from which J.P. issued personalized birthday greetings to his delighted but puzzled young fans. Like famed Rachel the Pig in the Pike Place Market, the ICU2-TV serves an additional purpose; it has a slot to accept direct donations, all of which go directly to Children's Hospital. Wedes, as J.P., has been a passionate supporter and frequent visitor to Children's Hospital from the show's earliest days. Before the event was over on Sunday the donation collection box was completely full.