Lake Erie Winds: Statue of young fisherman graces downtown Port Clinton

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Statue of young fisherman graces downtown Port Clinton

I've been wanting to post a pic of the new statue at the corner of North Madison and Perry streets in Port Clinton depicting a small boy proudly displaying a fish he'd just caught. The boy stands on a two-tier pedestal that bears a plaque reading, "Kiwanis Club of Port Clinton, Est. 1920."

Bravo to the Kiwanis Club for coughing up about $11,000 for the project, which was mostly donated by club members, although some non-members also chipped in. Mayor Debbie Hymore-Tester unveiled the statue earlier this month.

Joan Bryden, the president of the Kiwanis Club, told the Port Clinton News-Herald the idea of a child fishing came to her one day while she sat on her porch and some 12- or 13-year-old boys walked by her, ready to go fishing.

I like it. It reminds me of my own youth and all the fishing I did; all those perch I caught. There's something timeless about it. And it's a lot better than having another walleye in town.

There will be a naming contest for the boy soon. Bryden said the name will be announced at this year's Walleye Drop.

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About Lake Erie

9,940 sq mi (25,745 sq km), 241 mi (388 km) long and from 30 to 57 mi (48-92 km) wide, bordered on the N by S Ont., Canada, on the E by W N.Y., on the S by NW Pa. and N Ohio, and on the W by SE Mich. and NW Ohio.; fourth largest of the Great Lakes. It is 572 ft (174 m) above sea level with a maximum depth of 210 ft (64 m), making it the shallowest of the Great Lakes and the only one with a floor above sea level. It is part of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system and is linked to Lake Huron by the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, and St. Clair River, and with Lake Ontario by the Niagara River (Lake Erie's only natural outlet) and the Welland Canal. The New York State Canal System links the lake with the Hudson River. Several small rivers, including the Maumee, Sandusky, and Cuyahoga, flow into the lake from the south; the Grand River enters from Ontario. Lake Erie is partially icebound in winter and is usually closed to navigation from mid-December to the end of March. Rich agricultural lands border the Canadian shore, where the chief towns are Port Colborne and Port Stanley. The principal U.S. cities on the lake are Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland, and Toledo; all are ports with heavy industry. Untreated industrial and municipal wastes from lakeshore cities-and from Detroit, whose wastes enter the western end of the lake-polluted the waters and rendered surrounding areas foul smelling. A U.S.-Canadian pact (1972) ended the discharge of contaminating materials into the water, and the environmental damage has since abated. Numerous recreation facilities are provided at national (Point Pelee and Fort Malden in Canada), provincial, and state parks located on the lake's islands and shores. The first European to see the lake was French explorer Louis Jolliet in 1669. The British and the French, and later the British and the Americans, fought for its control. The battle of Lake Erie (Sept. 10, 1813), a naval engagement in the War of 1812, led successfully by the U.S. leader Oliver H. Perry against the British, was fought at Put-in Bay. (Courtesy the Columbia Encyclopedia)

News and views, and history and humor, about the lake I love.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Statue of young fisherman graces downtown Port Clinton

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