Wawa Goose Monument will be Replaced

 

Everyone is very excited by the announcement yesterday by FEDNOR that the Government of Canada will be supporting the ‘repair’ of our beloved goose with their investment of $100,000. Unfortunately, the Wawa Goose is beyond repair and will be replaced. Research Casting International was selected, and the new goose will be installed in 2017, in time for Canada Day 2017, the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

Research Casting International was part of three companies who took place in the competition to replace the goose. The presentation by Matt Fair was well balanced and offered an exact replacement of the Wawa Goose, in bronze, painted, and perhaps with a different base. Of interest was that Matt Fair, who would be the Project Manager if their bid was successful has an extensive family connection to Wawa. In their proposal, Matt explained that his grandfather worked at the AOD Sinter Plant, his grandmother taught at the Dunn, and his father and sisters were raised in Wawa. He has been travelling to Wawa since he was a child, and his family have a property on Long Beach. This project is a very special project for him.

The funding announcement is great news for the community of Wawa who has taken great pride in their Wawa Goose. Mr. Al Turcott and a group of fellow businessmen were upset that the new highway would bypass the community. They decided to build a tourist attraction that would lure travelers off the highway and into the community of Wawa. Thus, the Wawa Goose was born. Their original ‘tourist trap attraction’ was replaced with a steel goose built from steel from Algoma Steel (ore from the Algoma Ore Division, mined here in Wawa) and designed by Dick Vanderklift of Sault Ste. Marie.

The third incarnation of the Wawa Goose will be made of bronze, and will be painted. She will look identical to the one designed by Vanderklift.