Are you aware?
that the statue, like its 22 brothers are scattered around the
world!............................most recently in CUBA!
"THE MOST MYSTERIOUS STATUE IN THE WORLD
NEWS FLASH!
Buried treasure to be unearthed?
Watch this space for more breath taking info soon.........
Is there another "Boy with the leaking boot" statue buried near you in
Grimsby? keep visiting for more info.............Mystery solved! as of September 2003
|
Each year, thousands of visitors to
Hershey's Rose Gardens and Arboretum pause to marvel at the simple beauty of the "Boy
With The Leaking Boot." Yet few admirers are aware that the statue, like its 22
brothers scattered around the world, traces a history that has eluded all attempts to
discover its mysterious origin.
The statue is a chubby nine or ten year old boy gazing intently at a stream of water that
spurts incessantly from the toe of one of his boots. Cap perched jauntily on his head,
pants pulled high on his four-foot figure, one hand jammed into his pocket, the boy holds
the boot before him while his bare foot is planted firmly on the rock.
The boy is known by several names - "The Boy With The Leaking Boot," "The
Boy With The Boot," and "The Immigrant Boy" to name a few. Largely due to
the excessive research of Alex Fleck of Los Angeles, California, 23 replicas of the statue
have been reported in existence, each providing a conflicting clue to its origin.
Fleck's personal quest still left many pieces of the puzzle unsolved, most notably the
intriguing question of the identity of the original sculptor. Of all the notions offered
over the years, the most popular appears to be one that suggests the statue was sculpted
by a Central European residing in Italy. According to two sources, the statue was supposed
to have been erected in honor of a well-liked newsboy who sold his papers on the streets
of a town in old Italy. The boy was drowned while fishing. The story was refuted in two
letters to Fleck, one from Rome, Italy and the other from the Italian Embassy in New York
City, which stated that no records of this statue exist in Italy and that it is not of
Italian design. Despite these statements, support of the theory can be found in Stockholm,
Sweden. A certain Swedish gentleman who traveled in Italy claims he saw the original copy
in Italy, from which he modeled the replica that now stands in Stockholm. The Stockholm statue later served as the model for one in the
seaside resort of Cleethorpes, England.
The Italian version of the "Boy With The Leaking Boot" is a relatively modern
one. Earlier speculators believed the clue to the riddle rested somewhere in the records
of a foundry in Germany, Belgium, or France. All efforts to unearth any tracks to the
sculptor, however, proved unsuccessful.
The American chapter of the "Boy With The Leaking Boot" mystery began over a
century ago when seven of the statues were shipped to the states from Germany. The
backgrounds of those first seven boys are just as baffling as those of their relatives
across the seas. From that group of seven, the number of statues in American cities has
grown to 19. Fleck's research places the oldest one over a century ago in front of the
Porter House, an old hotel facing Lake Erie in Sandusky, Ohio.
There is even one attempt to Americanize the origin of the "Boy With The Leaking
Boot." Two Californians relate a story about a drummer "Boy" in either the
Revolutionary or Civil War, who was in charge of taking care of some fever-stricken
soldiers on a battlefield. As the legend goes, he would pull off his boot and run down to
a creek nearby, holding his thumb in the hole in the front part of his torn boot and bring
drinking water to these dying men.
And so the stories go on. In correspondence with 7 European countries, 6 Canadian cities,
48 American state capitals and numerous art authorities, Fleck was still unable to
discover the secretive sculptor of the "Boy With The Leaking Boot."
Perhaps the answer will turn up someday. Yet, there might be some who wish the mystery is
never solved, but rather prefer to let the boy rest secure with the title he has most
surely earned.
|
There are quite a few websites dealing with
the famous fountain statue which can be found all over the world now with
interesting different stories of how they have been found, named, and used sometimes as a
drinking fountain too.
|
Assiniboine Park, in Winnipeg,
Manitoba, comprises of153 hectares (378 acres) on the Assiniboine River. Winnipeg's only
cricket tournaments are played here. A miniature steam powered railway, zoo, Conservatory,
English Garden, Leo Mol Sculpture Garden, Tudor-style Pavilion, and French Formal Gardens
are only a few of the features found in the park. Picnic areas, cycling trails and walking
trails are popular with visitors. In the winter, cross-country skiing, tobogganing and
skating are activities enjoyed by all ages. Most public areas in the park are wheelchair
accessible. The main entrance to the park is located at 2355 Corydon Avenue. The park may
also be accessed from Portage Avenue via a footbridge over the Assiniboine River.
The “Boy with the Boot”, also referred to as the “Boy with the Leaking
Boot”, was originally donated to the City of Winnipeg in 1897 by the Young
Peoples’ Christian Endeavour Society and the Trades and Labour Council to commemorate
the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria’s reign.
The statue depicts a boy, with his left hand in his pocket, and holding a leaking boot in
his right hand. The boy watches a stream of water pouring from the toe of his boot. The
boy’s right foot is bare.
The actual origin of the statue is unknown. It was likely one of 10 statues manufactured
in an Italian foundry and donated to cities throughout North America.
A “Boy with the Boot” statue may be seen in Ellenville, New York. A “Boy
with the Boot” statue once stood in Seattle, Washington, however, the statue was
stolen in the early 1960s and never seen again.
There also used to be a “Boy with the Boot” statue in front of the Porter Hotel
in Sandusky, Ohio, which faced Lake Erie. The world’s first porterhouse steak was
reputedly served at the old Porter Hotel. According to Gene Telpner, former journalist
with the Winnipeg Sun, “Boy with the Boot” statues exist in Toronto, Ontario,
London Ontario and a brewery in Michigan. One statue is located in Sweden.
One firm in New York City offered to make copies of the statue for $1,800.00 each. Another
company in California was going to manufacture solid bronze copies of the statue for
$3,500.00 each.
Legend has it that the “Boy with the Boot” was a newsboy who drowned. Another
legend is that the boy was a drummer boy in the American Civil War.The statue initially
stood in front of the old city hall as part of a fountain until 1953, when it was restored
and placed at the English Garden by Order of Rotary International Fellowship.
The garden area leading to the entrance of the English Garden and the placing of the
statue of the “Boy with the Boot” were funded by O.R.I.F. The small garden in
which the “Boy with the Boot” stands is formally called “International
Goodwill Garden”, but is also referred to as “International Garden”. A
plaque on the ground at the front of the garden marks the commemoration date and gives
credit to the Order.
On Monday, June 15, 1953 at 3:00 p.m., formal ceremonies were held, commemorating the
“International Goodwill Garden” in Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Among
those present at the Dedication Service for International Goodwill Garden were Gordon E.
Hunter, founder of O.R.I.F. and originator of the idea of International Goodwill Garden,
Winnipeg Mayor, Garnet Coulter, Reverend Burton Thomas, and Caroll L. Hurd, Mayor of St.
Louis Park, Minnesota. Over the years the “Boy with the Boot” has been stolen
many times, but has always been recovered. In 1985, the statue was stolen two times. In
June 1994, park officials thought the statue had been removed for repairs, only to
discover that the statue had been stolen three months prior as part of a fraternity prank.
The statue was returned in September 1994. The pranksters left the statue in the barn of
local radio talk show host, Peter Warren, with a note stating: “Timmy went on a
journey, Timmy is lonely and wants to go home. Peter, Take care of him”. The note was
signed with the Greek letters Tau Kappa Phi.
The Order continues to make an annual contribution to the Winnipeg Parks Board for upkeep
of this garden, which is identified by a metal plaque.
Stevens Point Fire Department
Boy With The Boot Statue
The Tragic Story
The front page headline in the October 15, 1988
issue of the Stevens Point Journal reads:
"Vandals damage statue;
Integral part of history lost."
His head was broken off, a hole was poked in his chest, and he was knocked off his base,
hairline fractures radiating from toe to hip. In short, he was in rough shape. The patient
in question is "The Boy with the Leaking Boot," a local landmark with a tragic
history.
The Boy stood upon a specially built flagstone pedestal in front of Fire Station No. 1.
All summer long he held his leaking boot aloft, water streaming from a hole in the toe
into the pool below.
The Boy design may have originated in Italy (or Germany,France, or Belgium) in the middle
to late 1800's-no one seems certain where, or when. Any knowledge of his creator is lost
to history as well. But it is agreed that fifteen of the original castings still stand
throughout the world, ten of those in the United States. (Nine others in the U.S. are no
longer displayed due to damage or theft.
He and his brothers are essentially the same: He stands about four feet tall, with pants
held by a single strap which crosses his chest; the left hand rests in the front pocket of
his pants. His hips are thrust forward, his capped head held back as he stares out past
his own right boot held high in his right hand.
He first appeared in Stevens Point in about 1895, when he was purchased as part of an
improvement project for the market square. There, he was integrated with a watering trough
used by horses, the fire engines of that time.
Perhaps about 1910, an errant horse-drawn wagon struck the trough. The impact sliced the
Boy at the knees and broke off the leaky boot. In this irreparable state he was carted off
to a local slough, which happened to be next to the old No. 1 fire station.It seems
that within a year, the Boy was rescued by a couple of fire fighters who had been
displeased by his fate. They hauled him from his murky grave and gave him a fresh coat of
paint. Unable(or unwilling) to find a pewtersmith to fully restore him, they stood him up
on his knees in a dirt filled concrete sewer pipe in the center of a flower bed outside
the station. They gave him an iron snake to hold aloft.
The snake was stolen in about 1930, and in 1941 another fire fighter must have felt the
Boy looked pretty barren. He gave him a nice new paint job and whimsically set him up as a
young angler: A fishing creel and landing net around his neck, fishing rod under his left
arm, and a wooden trout dangling from a leader for him to hold in his right hand.(
Appropriately, this fire fighters name was Fisher.)
Most of Fisher's adornments disappeared in short order, but that wooden trout remained
until 1967, when the statue was moved to the newly built No. 1 fire station. The plans for
this station did not include a spot for the Boy, so he was relegated to the basement with
the intent to display him again someday.
Attempts were made to restore him, including lending him to the University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point for refurbishment by students and faculty of the Art Department.
These efforts failed, and the Boy was actually lost for about two years.
Finally, in 1975, our Boy was readied for display. A local high school student refinished
him with fresh paint. Pewtersmiths still rare, another local man formed lower legs of
concrete. Fire fighters built a pedestal and pool with materials donated by local
businesses. In July of that year he stood once again on his own two feet, holding aloft a
leaking vinyl boot. Thus he stood for fourteen years, dismantled each autumn for an annual
touch-up by fire fighters.
On October 15, 1988 two young men wreaked havoc on the boy by pushing him off of his
pedestal. The Boy was decapitated and had a three inch wide hole poked into his breast.
If it weren't for our community's concern about an object of history, the Boy might once
again been carted off to a nearby slough. A fund was started which raised about $1300, but
the initial estimate for complete restoration was a heart-stopping $40,000.
Offers came in from local craftspersons, body shops, and jewelers to fix the statue by
welding it or using wood, tin, fiberglass, or epoxy. Pewtersmiths, it seemed, were still a
rare commodity. Enter John Becker, of Becker Industry, a machine shop in Milladore. This
craftsman volunteered his time and that of four of his employees to repair the Boy. Eight
months of nights, weekends, and free time between work orders, about 400 hours in all,
went into Becker's painstaking restoration. The old paint was carefully removed. A
metallurgist helped him determine that sand, pewter, white-based metal, and old welding
rods were among the materials originally used in the statue. Using photographs of similar
statues, Becker attempted to recreate every stitch and wrinkle that had been obliterated
by nearly a century of history. He even went so far as to recast the Boy's lower legs and
leaking boot.
Once again the Boy was given a fresh coat of paint and on June 30,1989, he was rededicated
on the fountain at the No. 1 fire station in front of about one hundred of his grateful
fans. He stood again where he belonged until 1998 when another chapter began in the Boy's
tragic history.
Once again he was vandalized and again he was decapitated. We are unable to write this
chapter because we are yet unsure what will happen to the Boy. There is still pending
litigation.
But the Stevens Point Fire Fighters can assure you one thing, that the Boy will again
someday stand in front of the No. 1 fire station for all of the community and visitors to
enjoy.
|
A much smaller Limited Edition version of