Hey Deb: Max the Moose!

[Patchoulia]

This is Max. Here's a little story about him from www.bigthings.ca/ontario (Big Things In Ontario!)

Designer: Elwin Palmer, a Past President of the Dryden District Chamber of Commerce is credited as being creator..

When Built: July 19, 1962

Dimensions:

Height: 18 Feet (5.5 Metres)

Weight: 4000 pounds

Antler span: 11 feet (3.4 Metres)

Construction Materials:

Steel and Concrete

Reason for Building:

Dryden has had a moose as a symbol for 50 years. It was decided that a 'Moosecot' would be a fitting symbol for the community.

Additional Information:

Maximillion was at one time anatomically correct, but vandalism was too great, so he is now "politically correct".

There is apparently a Friend to Max quiz, stories and poems about this statue.

I love the part about how he used to be anatomically correct but they changed that due to persistent vandalism..yes, yes, it was likely my friends who caused that...they once cut his boy-bits off as a souvenir. Another time, they spray painted the cock and balls red and wrote "HUNG" on both sides of Max.

Ah, small town shenanigans. And people wonder why I didn't move back there after graduation.

[Patchoulia]

Other "big things" in Ontario (insert _____'s penis joke here):

The Big Nickel (Sudbury)

The Mutant Hickhiker (or Big Foot)

This was located in a town very near where I grew up. I loved that guy when I was kid. I have several pictures of myself between the ages of 4-7 with this guy. I always thought his loincloth was just super!

The Big Goose (Wawa)

Why is this thing so famous?

[Esau]

Chimo the Polar Bear

Cochrane, Ontario

[Patchoulia]

My dog that I had when I was growing up was named Chimo--because I saw a show about Eskimos and they called their dogs "chimo" so I insisted that my dog be named Chimo also.

Chimo means friend.

Can you tell I have no compunctions whatsoever about accomplishing nothing at work today?

[Esau]

World's Largest Snowman

Beardmore, Ontario

Twoonie(2)

Campbellford, Ontario

The Big Apple

Coburg, Ontario

Max the Moose

Dryden, Ontario

Two-Man Crosscut Saw

Hearst, Ontario

http://www.roadsideattractions.ca/ontario.htm

Edited August 24, 2005 by Guest

[Del]

You're from Dryden Stoned Phillips? I went to Lakehead University, and my dorm first year was Dryden House... (Each dorm is named for a N. Ontario city)

I know this post is pointless, but it's not often I even hear the name Dryden anymore...

[Patchoulia]

Yep, I grew up there. I also spent a summer at Lakehead (I was in Nipigon house).

The big apple is in Coburg, not Colburne--that's an error.

[Del]

Right on, Lakehead is a cool school to attend...

Don't forget Husky The Muskie in Kenora, ON

[Esau]

The big apple is in Coburg, not Colburne--that's an error.

Thanks,I noticed also that after I posted it.

[Patchoulia]

I was at Lakehead for a summer program before Grade 13--I went to Queen's for university (primarily to get the hell away from Northern Ontario..the "good education" part was secondary...)

[Del]

I only did two years at Lakehead, then I left for BC... Those were two fun, fucked up, drunk and crazy years... I blame my stint at LU for my love of Phish and this scene... I even remotely knew Cully there, as well as wasting many hours with BNB (bot at shows and at their place)

[Calamity Jane]

thx, Julia -- I now have a resounding rendition of "Max the Moose" on perma-loop in my head!!!

love the shots, though, of the "Big Things"

Next time I'm at my folks' place, I'll have to comb through the family-trip slides to see if there's one of me and Max. I clearly remember Husky and the Wawa Goose, but not Max...?

hope your day is DONE! see you Friday!

[TheGoodRev]

Hey, how about St. Thomas, Ontario's statue of Jumbo the Elephant? My mom grew up in St. Thomas and we used to pass this monstrosity many a time on visits to the grandparents.

When P.T. Barnum wanted big, he knew where to go: London Zoo, in England, where a 20-year-old elephant named Jumbo had been on display for all his life. Captured from Central Africa as a baby, he'd grown up to a hefty 7 tons and 11.5 feet high. Barnum approached the London Zoological Society and offered to buy the animal from them for his circus.

Controversy happened, to Barnum's delight, as the residents of London begged for him not to be sold and shipped off, and declared a national treasure. The Society, on the other hand, was more than happy to get Jumbo out of the way, and the $10,000 price probably helped convince them as well. Jumbo was shipped to America, along with his lifelong caretaker and trainer, Matthew Scott. He truly became Barnum's Prize Elephant, the focal point of the Barnum Circus, and was seen by millions.

Three years after joining the circus, tragedy struck. Well, actually, train struck; while crossing a track in St. Thomas, Ontario, Jumbo took it in the shorts by an oncoming locomotive and was killed instantly. It took 150 men to haul his carcass out of the way.

Under other circumstances, that would be the end of the story, but this is P.T. Barnum we're talking about; he had Jumbo stuffed and put on display with the circus for the next few years, along with the skeleton. Matthew Scott, heartbroken, stayed on as a caretaker for other animals at the circus, until his death a couple decades later.

Jumbo's legacy lives on, of course. Disney's "Dumbo" was a play off the original name, as Jumbo had come to symbolize the name for all elephants, and it wasn't until that massive Elephant came across the stage that "Jumbo" became synonymous with "Big" in America. Let us raise a Jumbo cup to his memory.

Timeline

1861

A three-year-old elephant later named Jumbo is captured by traders in modern-day Sudan. Eventually he makes his way to Paris.

1865

Meets and befriends the dashing Matthew Scott, who will remain his lifelong trainer and caretaker. Scott arranges with the London Zoo for Jumbo to be traded for a rhinoceros.

1882

P.T. Barnum purchases Jumbo from the London Zoo for $10,000 to the great dismay of the British people.

9 Apr 1882

Jumbo makes his debut in New York City at Madison Square Garden, bringing in $30,000 for his first performance.

15 Sep 1885

While crossing a track in St. Thomas, Ontario, Jumbo is struck and killed by a train. As he lies dying, he offers the distraught Matthew Scott a final embrace with his trunk.

17 Sep 1885

After having his skin and bones preserved, Jumbo's body is cremated. Over 3,000 attend. Study of his teeth and bones show that at the time of death Jumbo was still growing.

1889

Jumbo's stuffed hide is donated to Tufts University in Medford, MA, where he becomes their loyal mascot; his bones are donated to the Smithsonian Institute. Barnum's original $10,000 investment is peanuts: the pachyderm alone had brought in over $1,000,000 dollars profit.

16 Apr 1975

A fire breaks out in the Barnum Museum at Tufts, destroying both the building and Jumbo's remains. His ashes are preserved in a peanut butter jar in an athletics department safe for good luck.