Geoff Corfield
Geoffrey Corfield has been active in Conservative politics in Canada since 1976, both federally and provincially. But he won’t always write about politics because he has more experience with writing history and humour. He lives in London, Ontario, frequents used book shops, swims lengths, drinks beer, plays croquet, has his own town in north-central Queensland and six books published, and would very much like to find a publisher for this New Zealand book and its companion one for Australia.
Statues Part 1: Fun Statues
There once was a statue quite tall,
That said: "I'm the tallest statue of all.
There's no one taller than me,
From sea unto sea unto sea,
But I just hope I don't have a terribly bad fall".
Canada is not a great country for putting up statues of people. It
tends to go in more for animals and other things. Two of the most
famous statues in Canada are the Wawa, Ontario Giant Canada Goose (28′
tall); and the Vegreville, Alberta Giant Ukranian Easter Egg (26′
long, 31′ high, 18′ wide).
Medicine Hat, Alberta has a 215′ tall teepee; Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
a 32′ tall moose (Riverton, Manitoba also has a moose); Duncan,
British Columbia a 205′ long hockey stick (an ice hockey stick not a
field hockey stick); and Beaverlodge, Alberta a 10′ beaver (Dawson
Creek, British Columbia also has a beaver).
Gimli, Manitoba has a Giant Viking; Shediac, New Brunswick a Giant
Lobster; Komarno, Manitoba a Giant Mosquito; Glover’s Harbour,
Newfoundland a Giant Squid; Sudbury, Ontario a Giant Nickel (5 cent
coin); Echo Bay, Ontario a Giant One Dollar Coin; and Campbellford,
Ontario a Giant Two Dollar Coin.
There’re also statues of a giant sausage, pyrogy, coffee pot, horse’s
ankle bone, tomahawk, pumpkin, pig, rooster, pinto bean, curling
stone, Mountie, turtle and miner. The province of Manitoba alone has
62 town statues, and the prairie provinces of Canada (Manitoba,
Saskatchewan, Alberta) are probably the statue capitals of Canada.
There’s even a 30′ tall Giant Spider in the nation’s capital. Ottawa
also has two missing statues, both of former prime ministers.
According to John Diefenbaker, another former prime minister (1957-62)
whose statue is not missing, the statue of R.B. Bennett (1930-35)
went missing “because it resembled a mummy”, and the statue of Arthur
Meighen (1920-21, 1926) went missing “because it looked like a mix
between Ichabod Crane and Daddy Longlegs”.
Ottawa has an unusual and little known statue too. It’s called “The
Sir Galahad Statue”, and it was erected by William Lyon Mackenzie
King, another former prime minister (1921-30, 1935-48) whose statue is
not missing, as a tribute to his friend Henry Harper.
One day in December 1901 four people went skating on the Ottawa River:
Henry Harper, the Assistant Deputy Minister of Labour; Bessie Blair,
the daughter of the Minister of Railways and Canals; Alex Creelman, a
bank clerk; and Jennie Snowball, friend of Bessie Blair’s.
The bank clerk and the daughter of the Minister of Railways and Canals
fell through the ice. Jennie Snowball skated for help, and the
Assistant Deputy Minister of Labour tried to rescue them. He jumped in
and swam towards the daughter of the Minister of Railways and Canals,
but the current was too strong and they were both carried under the
ice and drowned. The bank clerk survived.
The inscription chosen for the statue was: “Galahad cried, If I lose
myself, I save myself” (Alfred Lord Tennyson). The subject chosen for
the statue was Sir Galahad.
They don’t put up statues like that anymore.
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