Having roamed away from its decades-long perch on the city’s east end, efforts are underway to find a suitable place for a concrete rooster many Guelphites may recognize as a city landmark
For more than 40 years the 4,500 lbs. statue stood in front of Bernardi Precast on Elizabeth Street, near Victoria Road. It currently watches over the garden at a rural Puslinch home.
“It’s huge and it’s outrageous, it’s different,” said owner Jeff Wilson, who holds doctorates in veterinary medicine, pathology and epidemiology. “I’ve been seeing it for so many years and I always thought it was interesting, off-the-wall, quirky and I really like chickens”
How did the 13.5-foot tall statue end up in Wilson’s garden? It was a series of “odd coincidences” and serendipity.
Wilson said he first became familiar with the statue while attending the University of Guelph in the late 1970s. It’s something he drove by often and enjoyed seeing. When his children were young, now ages 32 and 27, Wilson would go out of his way to stop by Elizabeth Street so they could see it.
“Someday, children, this rooster shall be mine,” he recalls saying at the time. “I have a quirky sense of humour and like silly things.”
He continued to drive past the rooster statue for years and looked forward to seeing it.
Then, in the summer of 2022, he decided his garden needed benches so people could sit down and he decided to see what Bernardi had to offer. While there, he asked if they’d ever part ways with the statue and learned it was destined for the garbage dump.
Instead, Wilson offered to take it off their hands and it was delivered, free of charge, to his Puslinch garden where it’s been ever since. But that’s not meant to be its final resting place.
Wilson has had casual conversations with people about where it should end up and plans to launch a social media campaign to find it a suitable home within Guelph city limits, where he believes it belongs.
“It should be somewhere in Guelph, like a park or something,” Wilson said, noting the city is known for its agricultural connections, including through the U of G. “This is a Guelph landmark.”
So far, the most common suggestions are St. George’s Square in the heart of downtown, in front of Guelph Farmers’ Market and Royal City Park or nearby.
However, before that’s settled, the statue needs a name, which will be the social media campaign’s first objective.
Wilson hopes to use the statue to bring the community together.
“Let’s get the public involved and kind of make it a fun thing,” he said. “Structurally, I think it’s fine but it should be re-painted.”
Anyone with suggestions regarding the statue’s name and/or a more permanent location can reach Wilson via email at [email protected].
