The Lawrence County Historical Society recently hosted Dr. Rusty Reid, a pediatric dentist and artist, as its guest speaker. A Monticello-area native, Reid designed three bronze sculptures now on display at the Mississippi State University Polk-Dement Stadium and Dudy Noble Field.

Born and raised in Lawrence County, Reid graduated from Monticello High School. He then attended Mississippi State University and the UMMC School of Dentistry. He completed his dental specialty at Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, and the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

Reid practiced pediatric dentistry in Brookhaven until 2020. After retirement, he has focused on pursuing his hobby of bronze sculpting and oil painting, while splitting his time between Jayess in Lawrence County, and Starkville in Oktibbeha County.

When Mississippi State University opened the new Dudy Noble Field for baseball in February 2019, Reid was a part of the ceremony. He worked on and provided at his own expense, two 8-foot-tall bronze sculptures of famous players at MSU during the 1980s. These baseball players went on to the Major Leagues, and were Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro, also known as ‘Thunder and Lightning.” As a token of appreciation, MSU placed a “home plate” between the statues in the plaza, which read, “Statues Sculpted and Generously Donated by Dr. Rusty Reid, February 15, 2019.” The two prominent statues are placed at the main entrance to the stadium. Besides Clark and Palmeiro in attendance, was their coach, Ron Polk, of whom Reid sculpted another bronze statue in 2022 that is in the plaza at the right-field entrance.