Mac the Moose
20/01/19 05:19
I’m not sure how it got started, but there are several towns in North Dakota where there are some big sculptures. I’m not sure when it all started, but the big buffalo at Jamestown has been around since 1959. It is 26 feet tall and 46 fat long and is made out of 60 tons of concrete. That probably explains why it stands with its hindquarters towards the Interstate highway. He faces the old highway, but they put the Interstate behind him and, well, he is just too big to move, so there he stands. When you live out on the prairie in North Dakota, you have time to think about things and one of the things they were thinking about in Jamestown was how to get tourists to stop and spend some time and some money in their town. The world’s largest buffalo seemed like a good idea. There are plenty of opportunities to see real life-sized buffalo in North Dakota, but even those who don’t stop remember the big buffalo in Jamestown.
Not to be outdone, the good folks of new Salem, North Dakota raised $40,000 in 1974 to have a fiberglass statue of a Holstein cow made and mounted on a foundation on top of a hill overlooking the town. Sue faces the Interstate and towers over the town up there on the hill.
Garrison, North Dakota isn’t on the Interstate, so when they decided to get into the giant sculpture contest they went with the thing their town is known for - walleye fishing. Wally Walleye is in the city park and has a sign underneath proclaiming Garrison as the walleye capital fo the world. Wally is 26 feet long. The problem with Wally is that Garrison North Dakota isn’t the only Garrison in the world that has claims to great fishing, so Garrison, Minnesota also erected a statue of a walleye. The North Dakota town still has claims to the biggest walleye. their statue is 11 feet longer than the one in Garrison, Minnesota. That should have settled it, but Rush City, Minnesota has a walleye made out of concrete where as the two Garrisons have fiberglass fish. Rush City claims that the 2,000 pound fish was hooked by Paul Bunyan, who was using a 35 pound Tiger Muskie as bait.
I guess the big sculptures are just a part of the culture of the plains. There are some notables all across the prairies.
Moose Jaw is in Saskatchewan, a little west of Regina. You sort of have to go there on purpose, although it is on the way from Minot, North Dakota to Calgary Alberta. I just don’t know how many people drive from Minot to Calgary. That part of Saskatchewan is big wheat country. You drive through miles and miles of wheat fields all green in the spring and golden in the late summer. The big combines hit the fields at the end of summer and they haul away the grain in semi trailers. There are a couple of different explanations for the name of the town. Most agree that the area already had the name of moose jaw when European settlers arrived. Some say that it is because the wandering of the local creek which has the same name resembles the outline of a moose’s jawbone. Others say that the Cree word for “warm breezes” sounds like moose jaw and the name come from English speakers trying to pronounce the Cree name. Whichever theory is correct, the name has stuck.
Moose Jaw has long winters, which gives folks who live there a lot of time indoors to think about things. It’s below zero up there this morning, even on the Fahrenheit scale, and it won’t make it above zero on the Celsius scale all week. And the good people of Moose Jaw have a lot to think about this winter. Here’s the story:
Mac the Moose is a steel and concrete sculpture of a moose that stands right next to the Trans-Canada Highway. Not far away there is a red and white airplane mounted on a pedestal to give a bit of scale to the giant moose. Since 1984, Mac has been one of Moose Jaw’s claims to fame. When you’ve got the world’s biggest moose, you’ve got bragging rights. After all, Mac is 32 feet tall.
However, in 2015 some people in Norway erected Storeigen or “Big Moose,” a sculpture that stands between Oslo and Trondheim. According to the Norwegians, their moose is taller by 30 cm or about one foot.
Now the people of Canada are know for being mannerly and respectful, but there are certain places where they will draw the line. According to Fraser Tolme, mayor of Moose Jaw, “You don’t mess with Mac the Moose.” To make matters worse YouTubers Justin and Greg posted a video urging the city to add 31cm to Mac or to rename their city simply “Jaw.”
The residents of Moose Jaw have come up with a lot of suggestions. One person thought that dressing the giant moose in stiletto heels would do the trick. Consensus among Moose Jaw residents, however, is that it is time for Mac the Moose to get a bigger rack of antlers.
In an online pole, Mac is still the world’s most popular moose, beating out the Norwegian animal by 20,000 votes.
The cost of glory won’t come inexpensively. It has been estimated that the good people of Moose Jaw will have to raise $50,000 for the taller antlers. Just to taunt them, the Norwegians have threatened to make a new moose twice as big as the current one. No one has mentioned what that might cost.
The battle is reminiscent of the people of Shediac New Brunswick who have a concrete sculpture of a lobster that they claimed was the world’s largest, only to be overtaken by Rosetown, Australia.
I’m rooting for Mac and the people of Moose Jaw. They had the idea first and theirs is a striking sculpture as it is. And, a few years ago, when the jaw fell off of the moose, they rallied and raised $30,000 to repair it. I’m sure they’ve got a new set of antlers in them.
After all it is cold up there and folks have to spend a lot of time indoors and that gives them time to think.
Not to be outdone, the good folks of new Salem, North Dakota raised $40,000 in 1974 to have a fiberglass statue of a Holstein cow made and mounted on a foundation on top of a hill overlooking the town. Sue faces the Interstate and towers over the town up there on the hill.
Garrison, North Dakota isn’t on the Interstate, so when they decided to get into the giant sculpture contest they went with the thing their town is known for - walleye fishing. Wally Walleye is in the city park and has a sign underneath proclaiming Garrison as the walleye capital fo the world. Wally is 26 feet long. The problem with Wally is that Garrison North Dakota isn’t the only Garrison in the world that has claims to great fishing, so Garrison, Minnesota also erected a statue of a walleye. The North Dakota town still has claims to the biggest walleye. their statue is 11 feet longer than the one in Garrison, Minnesota. That should have settled it, but Rush City, Minnesota has a walleye made out of concrete where as the two Garrisons have fiberglass fish. Rush City claims that the 2,000 pound fish was hooked by Paul Bunyan, who was using a 35 pound Tiger Muskie as bait.
I guess the big sculptures are just a part of the culture of the plains. There are some notables all across the prairies.
Moose Jaw is in Saskatchewan, a little west of Regina. You sort of have to go there on purpose, although it is on the way from Minot, North Dakota to Calgary Alberta. I just don’t know how many people drive from Minot to Calgary. That part of Saskatchewan is big wheat country. You drive through miles and miles of wheat fields all green in the spring and golden in the late summer. The big combines hit the fields at the end of summer and they haul away the grain in semi trailers. There are a couple of different explanations for the name of the town. Most agree that the area already had the name of moose jaw when European settlers arrived. Some say that it is because the wandering of the local creek which has the same name resembles the outline of a moose’s jawbone. Others say that the Cree word for “warm breezes” sounds like moose jaw and the name come from English speakers trying to pronounce the Cree name. Whichever theory is correct, the name has stuck.
Moose Jaw has long winters, which gives folks who live there a lot of time indoors to think about things. It’s below zero up there this morning, even on the Fahrenheit scale, and it won’t make it above zero on the Celsius scale all week. And the good people of Moose Jaw have a lot to think about this winter. Here’s the story:
Mac the Moose is a steel and concrete sculpture of a moose that stands right next to the Trans-Canada Highway. Not far away there is a red and white airplane mounted on a pedestal to give a bit of scale to the giant moose. Since 1984, Mac has been one of Moose Jaw’s claims to fame. When you’ve got the world’s biggest moose, you’ve got bragging rights. After all, Mac is 32 feet tall.
However, in 2015 some people in Norway erected Storeigen or “Big Moose,” a sculpture that stands between Oslo and Trondheim. According to the Norwegians, their moose is taller by 30 cm or about one foot.
Now the people of Canada are know for being mannerly and respectful, but there are certain places where they will draw the line. According to Fraser Tolme, mayor of Moose Jaw, “You don’t mess with Mac the Moose.” To make matters worse YouTubers Justin and Greg posted a video urging the city to add 31cm to Mac or to rename their city simply “Jaw.”
The residents of Moose Jaw have come up with a lot of suggestions. One person thought that dressing the giant moose in stiletto heels would do the trick. Consensus among Moose Jaw residents, however, is that it is time for Mac the Moose to get a bigger rack of antlers.
In an online pole, Mac is still the world’s most popular moose, beating out the Norwegian animal by 20,000 votes.
The cost of glory won’t come inexpensively. It has been estimated that the good people of Moose Jaw will have to raise $50,000 for the taller antlers. Just to taunt them, the Norwegians have threatened to make a new moose twice as big as the current one. No one has mentioned what that might cost.
The battle is reminiscent of the people of Shediac New Brunswick who have a concrete sculpture of a lobster that they claimed was the world’s largest, only to be overtaken by Rosetown, Australia.
I’m rooting for Mac and the people of Moose Jaw. They had the idea first and theirs is a striking sculpture as it is. And, a few years ago, when the jaw fell off of the moose, they rallied and raised $30,000 to repair it. I’m sure they’ve got a new set of antlers in them.
After all it is cold up there and folks have to spend a lot of time indoors and that gives them time to think.