CARILLON FLASHBACK: Aug. 23, 1995 – Buffalo greets Grunthal visitors

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This article was published 22/07/2021 (1378 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Steinbach has its huge automobile, Selkirk has its giant catfish and La Broquerie boasts a big bovine to welcome tourists. Grunthal, this week, joined the ranks of communities with mascots with the unveiling of a life-sized statue of a buffalo, just down the road from Cottonwood Game farm.

The Grunthal Chamber of Commerce, with assistance from two levels of government and donations from local residents, created the $15,000 monument to recognize the Cottonwood Game Farm’s contribution to tourism in the area.

Grunthal Chamber president George Penner told residents at an official unveiling that while Grunthal is known as a diversified farming community, its best known farm is the Cottonwood Game Farm.

Hanover councillor Peter Froese, who provided a site for the statue, echoed Penner’s comments, adding that the 35,000 visitors to Cottonwood every year is why Grunthal is so well known.

Any controversy about why a buffalo was selected for the statue should now be over, Froese added.

“The statue is here now. It is finished. First it was supposed to be a cow, and then it was a chicken, and then a pig. There are four corners to Grunthal and those who don’t agree with it being a buffalo can put up what they like.”

Before Natural Resources Minister Albert Driedger called for the official unveiling, he said he hoped they were not in for the kind of surprise he got when Prince Andrew unveiled the deer statues at St Malo a few years ago.

“The deer did not look much like deer, and I hope this looks like a buffalo.”

He had no cause for concern, as local taxidermist John Reimer has created an excellent replica of a buffalo out of wire mesh and fibreglass. The project took Reimer better than two months to complete, before the 11-foot long, nine-foot high statue was mounted on a concrete pedestal north of the corner to Cottonwood on Provincial Road 216.

Cottonwood Game Farm owner Nick Janz would have preferred the statue to be closer to the corner, but Manitoba Highways officials feared it would be a traffic hazard right on the curve, Penner said.

While the Chamber was concerned it would have difficulty raising the money needed for the project, they ended up with more than they needed. A $7,500 donation from the province and a $1,500 contribution by the municipality, added to donations from 16 other individuals, businesses and organizations, provided enough funds to pay for a number of community maps as well, Penner said.

The maps, sponsored in part by the Grunthal Business Association, show recreation facilities, businesses, schools, seniors’ housing, restaurants and churches in the community.

Currently there are four up in various locations in Grunthal, but Penner expects more will be added in the near future.

Hanover Reeve Aron Friesen commended Grunthal for starting something “really big” in the municipality.

“Every community has its own thing to be well known for. I can see a big bee at Kleefeld, a big block of cheese at New Bothwell, or a huge turkey at Blumenort in the future.”