DUNNVILLE—Muddy the Mudcat is getting a makeover, thanks to the Rotary Club of Dunnville.
“We haven’t done anything (substantial) to him for about 10 years. So, it’s time,” said Lynn Spencer, past co-president of the club with John Upshall, who is part of the four-person team spearheading the hands-on work.
The Rotary Club of Dunnville was one of five area clubs (alongside the Dunnville Kinsmen Club, Dunnville Lions Club, the Dunnville Lioness Club, and Dunnville Optimist Club) that were originally involved in the fundraising to see the Muddy sculpture installed in Centennial Park. The idea for Muddy was first brought forward in 2005 by Jack Hooghein, who had been working on the Mudcat Festival at the time; the following year, a committee was formed to work on bringing the project to fruition, and on November 14, 2009, Muddy was unveiled.
At 50 feet long and 27 feet high, Muddy is an eye-catching icon just outside of town. However, a decade of being at the mercy of the elements has left Muddy looking faded and in need of some TLC.
“We just wanted to repair and clean Muddy up. Centennial Park’s an important public place to Dunnville, and Muddy’s kind of a focal point to this park, so if he looks better, it’s more attractive to residents and visitors,” Spencer said.
The club got some quotes for the repairs needed for Muddy’s fibreglass structure, which came in over $10,000.
Next, the club applied to Haldimand County’s Community Beautification grant program and received $4,000.
Katelyn Bowen-Schweyer, Community Partnerships Liaison with Haldimand’s Community Development and Partnerships division, explained that community groups can apply for up to half of the funding they need for such projects, to a maximum of $4,000.
“Their 50% of the contribution could be a monetary contribution, but it could also be volunteer work as well – we monetize their labour for their contribution,” she explained.
“The project will include sanding, buffing, respraying the fibreglass, and then repainting (Muddy), and then they’ll be finishing the gardens after they’re done all of that,” said Bowen-Schweyer. Spencer said the club will be putting in a rock garden under Muddy; Bowen-Schweyer noted the club applied for – and received – a separate beautification grant from the county for that project, in the amount of $1,750.
Bowen-Schweyer said that Community Beautification grants have contributed to several projects across Haldimand, including planters and banners in many of the downtown areas, as well as signage and armour stones in parks, and “lots of holiday decorations, so that’s been expanding as well.… (These projects) really make our downtowns beautiful and enhance the county’s assets without a lot of burden on the taxpayer.”
Community Beautification grants aren’t just limited to downtown projects, but they do need to be happening on County-owned property and there are eligibility requirements for the groups/organizations applying. Further information is available online at:
haldimandcounty.ca/community-partnerships.
The applications for projects for the following year open in early August, and close in the first week of October (this year, on October 9). Bowen-Schweyer said in 2025, the grant cap per project is being increased to $5,000.
In the meantime, the Rotary Club of Dunnville is doing what they can to finish the work on Muddy as soon as possible.
Spencer noted, “It’s weather dependent.… We wanted to start in the spring. That was the plan, but it was so wet, and he was so full of water and bugs and spiders inside that it took a long time to dry him out and get rid of those.”
And while there is some volunteer labour going into the project on top of the County’s grant, “we’re going to be putting in probably quite a bit more than $6,000,” Spencer said, noting that “the project is proving to be a little more expensive than we thought it was going to be. Fibreglass is expensive.”
This project is happening at the same time the club is working to fundraise for a new ECG machine for the Haldimand War Memorial Hospital in Dunnville.
The Rotary Club of Dunnville is a not-for-profit organization, meaning the money it raises goes back into the community. Spencer said the club is hoping at some point to set up an ongoing income stream to make Muddy self-sustaining for future repairs, such as branded hats, shirts, and mugs.
For now, “donations are more than welcome,” she said. Community members wishing to contribute to the club’s efforts can either contact a club member for more information, or they can send an etransfer to dunnvillerotary@gmail.com.
