Giant Mudcat has found a home

[Spiel]

Giant Mudcat has found a home

 

 

June 18, 2008 / dunnvillechronicle.com

TO THE EDITOR:

 

We have a home for our project. Terms of a land use agreement have been agreed to by Haldimand County and the Rotary Club of Dunnville, which is the lead organization for us in connection with The Ontario Trillium Foundation, as well as with the county.

 

Additionally an agreement has been signed by each of the 5 Dunville service clubs, agreeing to share equally the costs of maintenance, repairs, insurance, etc. This is in addition to cash contributions made, so that this is truly a project of all the 5 Dunnville clubs. A first, we understand.

 

Our next step will be to make application to the Ontario Trillium Foundation, for some of the funding, and if successful, construction can start towards the end of the year, with an April or May 2009 completion date

 

Those who have followed this saga will know that Centennial Park was not our first choice of location, nor was it second or third. Incidentally, 106 Main Street, the present location of the Braund House is not our first or second choice of location either, notwithstanding the fact that the Chronicle continually links the Big Mudcat project with the saving of the Braund house from demolition. We were offered this location at one time, and accepted it, but were not able to follow through at the time. We have gotten over the fact that we will not be building at this address, and find the continual linking of the two to be unnecessary, disconcerting and potentially divisive.

 

Incidentally, all committee members, representing the 5 service clubs, were unanimous in wanting a waterfront location for the statue and the closer to the downtown the better. So too were our sponsors. Additionally, 90% of the attendees at a public meeting held last May voted for a Wingfield Park location, while only 5 per cent voted for Centennial Park.

 

In any event, now that we have agreed upon a location, it is up to us, as a group, to make the Centennial Park location work. Please be aware that we have agreed to this location on the understanding that county will substantially improve this park, including placing portable washrooms there, cleaning and refurbishing the fountain (this fountain is actually quite beautiful), moving some trees, doing some reseeding, maintaining the grounds better than has been the case, and so on.

 

We are proud of the fact that because of our previous interests in various locations, improvements to these locations have been made. To wit, the large clock has been refurbished, Centennial Park will be greatly improved as a result of our efforts and of course a committee has been established to save the old Braund house from destruction. We wish this committee well and hopefully they reciprocate the feeling. We all need to work together, for the good of the whole.

 

As mentioned our original plan, of course, was to have it placed near the water, and near the downtown, so as to encourage visitors to walk to the downtown and spend a dollar or two there. The Centennial Park location will make it not quite as easy for visitors to make it to the down town, as they will have to get back in the car, find parking etc. However, if the downtown is attractive, clean and welcoming, we feel this will happen. There is a downtown revitalization committee and hopefully this group, together with the downtown merchants, and the B. I. A, etc are working diligently to make the foregoing happen.

 

It was reported a couple of weeks ago that we would also be building a parade float, again with The Big Mudcat theme. A design has been completed and it was to be built at a cost of over $5,000. The theme of the float was to be "Come to Dunnville, to see the Worlds' Biggest Mudcat" and "Come and shop in Dunnville". We had offered this float to the Chamber of Commerce, at no cost to them, with only some easily managed provisos. Regrettably, they showed no interest in this and it will not therefore likely be built. Unless, another organization steps forward and agrees to take ownership of this in the very near future.

 

While, the Mudcat will not be placed close to the downtown, we feel it will be very good for Dunnville, wherever it might be placed, provided it is properly promoted and we intend to do this. After all, how many towns have the biggest of anything in the WORLD, a record we hope to establish. Furthermore, both the Wawa Goose and the Sudbury Nickel are located on the outskirts of their respective towns, and who has not heard of these two icons? Incidentally, we wrote the Town of Wawa and asked for advice on how they went about establishing the goose. Interestingly, we were advised, among other things that "The idea was originally LAUGHED at by locals, but has since become the most successful icon in our community". Who would know of Wawa, had it not been for their goose statue? We feel the Mudcat as an icon is already well established in our community, by way of the yearly festival, just finished again, the former hockey club, a former baseball club and of course the fact that people come from miles around just for the chance to catch one of these ugly critters.

 

We realize that there are some in the community who are less than enthused with the idea of the town being identified with a lowly catfish. One letter writer called it an "ill conceived idea", but who nowadays is really enamoured with the Canada goose? What about the beaver, a national symbol, with the beaver nowadays being mainly a nuisance and of course he is just a rodent. What about the Nickel? What can you do with a nickel?

 

We realize that we are not going to convince everyone of the potential benefits the statue will have on the community, but we do ask that they be patient and reserve judgment until the project is completed and has been given some time to prove itself.

 

Thanks to the Kinsmen Club, the Rotary Club, the Lion and Lioness clubs and the Optimist Club for spearheading the project, and of course to the many other sponsors for their very generous support.

 

Jack Hooghiem The Big Mudcat Committee Dunnville