Probably Indiana’s most famous sculpture by Edith Barretto Parsons is Frog Baby at Ball State University.  A cast of Frog Baby was presented by Frank Ball and placed in David Owsley Museum of Art on Ball State’s campus in 1937.  Since then, it has been the center of tradition at Ball State. Similar to rubbing Eli Lilly’s head in the Lilly Library at Wabash College, students used to rub the little girl’s nose for good luck for upcoming exams. See a video here showing the tradition at Wabash College.

The nose eventually wore away, and the statue was restored in 1993. Frog Baby found a new home on the mall fountain where students now have a new tradition. Instead of rubbing her nose, the students now dress her up according to the weather (e.g. scarves and sweater for winter) or help prepare her for campus events (e.g. jersey and helmet for football games). No matter the situation the joyous Frog Baby remains smiling in the in the fountain, uplifting the students spirits.

E.B. Parsons’ Frog Baby at Ball State, ready for Spring Break. Photo credit: By Momoneymoproblemz via Wikimedia Commons

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