Buffalo Stampede: LeClaire gets unique feature with buffalo statues

LECLAIRE, Iowa – Visitors and shoppers to this community now have some small friends to greet them. Those friends have names like Tyson the Bison, Buffaroni, Harry, and Buffalo Bob Ross. Those friends are 17 decorated concrete buffalo statues placed in front of businesses and various locations around LeClaire. Most of them are located in […]

LECLAIRE, Iowa – Visitors and shoppers to this community now have some small friends to greet them. Those friends have names like Tyson the Bison, Buffaroni, Harry, and Buffalo Bob Ross. Those friends are 17 decorated concrete buffalo statues placed in front of businesses and various locations around LeClaire. Most of them are located in front of shops on Cody Road.

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The statues, which have been in place since this summer, are now the centerpieces for a new shopping promotion event called the LeClaire Buffalo Stampede Sweepstakes. The sweepstakes got its official kickoff Saturday morning, Oct. 19, with a LeClaire Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Buffalo Bill Museum, 199 Front St. The sweepstakes event is helping promote shopping in LeClaire by giving away a prize package worth more than $1,000. Visitors can enter the contest by taking a selfie picture with at least one of the buffalo statues on display; share the photo on social media; and fill out a form with the uploaded selfie photo. (Go here for more information on the contest, the prize package and the buffalo statues.) But the real stars of the event are those 17 buffalo statues positioned around the community. “People have been asking what we were going to do with the buffaloes. … We decided this event would be good,” said Cindy Bruhn, LeClaire tourism manager. She added the buffalo statues are a unique, fun way to attract attention and bring visitors to LeClaire. She hopes they can help local businesses attract more customers during a typically slow shopping period in October as well as put customers in a good mood to begin their early holiday shopping. “I hope this will get people to come here, have fun and do some shopping,” Ms. Bruhn said. On Saturday, many people were busy visiting many downtown stores, shopping and taking selfies with the buffalo statues. The statues – which are about two feet tall and weigh about 600 pounds each –  have their own look. They each have been painted different colors, been given unique names and have their own back stories that have been created by participating store owners. Some of the names and colors include:

• The concrete buffalo standing in front of the Buffalo Bill Museum is painted white with white fur. It is named “Waka Gli,” which means “sacred return” in Lakota. “Only one buffalo out of a million will be born ‘white’ – with black hooves and black eyes. Lakota Indians believe a white buffalo is the most sacred of all creatures, and its birth symbolizes the coming together of humanity in a oneness of heart, mind and spirit,” according to a sign posed next to the statue.
• “Billy the Patriot” stands guard in front of Cody Road Coffee /Cody Road Trading Post at 114 N. Cody Road. The statue has an American flag painted on it and symbolizes the “American Dream.”
• “Buffaroni” is the buffalo in front of Happy Joe’s Pizza and Ice Cream at 119 Cody Road. The buffalo has a pepperoni pizza painted on it.
• Not far from Happy Joe’s is Aunt Hattie’s Fanciful Emporium gift shop at 102 S. Cody Road, where the buffalo is named “Buffalo Bob Ross” – named after the late painter and TV personality. (In fact, there is a cutout photo of Mr. Ross next to the buffalo statue.) The statue is decorated with a scenic view with “happy clouds and happy trees,” according to a sign next to the buffalo. The sign adds: “Buffalo Bob Ross learned early in life that you can choose to be happy. That is the choice he made and he became the inspirational leader of his herd, focusing on the joy of grazing, whether it be in open meadows, in the brush or the wooded areas they roamed … If the herd ever found itself in an unfamiliar territory, Buffalo Bob Ross would remind all that no one had made a mistake; it was only a ‘happy accident.’”

Aunt Hattie’s, owned by the husband and wife team of Wayne and Donna Walley, said they are big fans of Mr. Ross and his work and wanted to showcase the artist. They are also pleased the buffalo statues are attracting visitors and helping pull customers into their store. “People all over town have embraced these buffalo statues. …  People have been so creative with the statues,” said Mr. Walley, who added that each business paid about $350 to have the statues placed by their stores. In fact, the statues are so popular that more businesses are looking to have buffalo statues placed by their stores in the near future. The buffalo statue idea was the brainchild of Rob Danielson, a local businessman and LeClaire Chamber member. His inspiration came from recent discussions over a possible Bison Bridge. That plan, proposed by Quad Cities environmentalist Chad Pregracke, the president and founder of the Bison Bridge Foundation, called for converting the existing I-80 bridge near LeClaire into a multi-use path and nature conservatory featuring a herd of bison when a new Interstate 80 Mississippi River Bridge is eventually built.  However, last fall that Bison Bridge plan was ended when transportation officials announced the nearly 60-year-old existing bridge will have to be demolished to clear the way for two new spans on the heavily trafficked river crossing between LeClaire and Rapids City, Illinois.  Even though the Bison Bridge plan will probably not become a reality, “People still love buffaloes … and I wanted to do something with that,” said Mr. Danielson. The area man then came up with the plan to have buffalo statues placed around the community. He first considered getting statues that looked much like the massive buffalo statue currently in front of the Buffalo Bill Museum. But, he thought those statues would likely be too big and expensive for area businesses. Mr. Danielson then came across a business called The Concrete Lady, Inc., in Otisco, Indiana. That business claims to manufacture the largest variety of concrete statuary in the United States, according to the business website. Mr. Danielson discovered that buffalo statues were part of the company inventory. He made a deal to buy 17 statues and made two trips – each trip a 14-hour round trek – to bring them to LeClaire. “I think most people are excited to see them. … I hope they help drive business to LeClaire,” he added. Even though the LeClaire Buffalo Stampede Sweepstakes shopping promotion will end in a few weeks, the buffalo statues will remain in place. Ms. Bruhn said the statues have become a popular part of the community and there are no plans to remove them.