Flinty hits 50

FLIN FLON -- He may lack the elegance of Winnipeg's Golden Boy, the poise of Gimli's Viking and the point-and-smile charm of Boissevain's Tommy the Turtle.

But don't tell northern Manitobans that Flin Flon's Josiah Flintabattey Flonatin statue is any less a provincial landmark.

For five decades, Flinty, as he is affectionately known, has stood as a greeter of visitors and an enduring symbol of a town with unique roots.

"Flinty is a huge part of our community and our identity," says Tim Babcock, a city councillor who grew up here. "He is famous throughout northern Manitoba and beyond. He tells the story of our community in a fun, imaginative way."

Constructed of fibreglass, Flinty stands 7.3 metres high atop a rock-lined concrete perch at the entrance to Flin Flon.

His appearance is as unique as his name. Wide, childlike eyes gaze through red-rimmed spectacles. A light grey fedora crowns a round, oversized head. A thin mouth forms a modest smile beneath a rotund nose.

His right hand shields his line of vision from the sun; his left clenches a shovel. Black, clunky boots cover impossibly large feet and a dark green jacket blankets a pudgy torso.

Flinty is the first visual depiction of Josiah Flintabattey Flonatin, the protagonist of The Sunless City, the dime-store novel from which the City of Flin Flon got its name.

In the book, published in 1905, the character steers a submarine through a bottomless lake and discovers a gold-lined hole leading to a bizarre heretofore unknown world.

Legend has it that prospector Tom Creighton found a copy of the book in the woods. When he struck gold north of the 53rd parallel, he borrowed the Flin Flon character's name.

And when it came time to christen the community, the name was again used.

By the 1950s, with the once-shaky mining town finally confident in its long-term future, Flin Flon was ready for a mascot.

A federal tourism official visited town and, intrigued by the connection to The Sunless City, suggested a statue of none other than Josiah Flintabbattey Flonatin.

The idea lingered for a few years until 1961 when a local businessman, Norm Tyson, finally got the ball rolling on Flinty.

But what would the statue look like? Tyson, what we would today call an outside-the-box thinker, approached one of the world's biggest cartoonists.

Amazingly, American Al Capp, the genius behind the Li'l Abner comic strip, agreed to lend his artistic talents -- at no charge.

Capp's playful interpretation of Flinty was sent to Winnipeg-based Reimer Displays, which used it as a guide in constructing the distinct statue.

On June 29, 1962, as part of the opening ceremonies of Flin Flon's revered Trout Festival, Flinty was unveiled to the masses.

The reviews were positive, but the consensus was that Flinty is certainly more cute than handsome.

For Dennis Ballard, the colourful former mayor of Flin Flon, the statue conveys just the right message about the community.

"I think it may be said that we're an easygoing people, that we're not all caught up in ourselves," he says. "People take themselves too damn seriously all the time and I think it says, '

Flin Flonners, we've got a little lightness in our hearts.' "

Capp's sketch spawned more than just the statue. It is now the definitive Flinty, with the mascot appearing on T-shirts, collectable coins and even as a spokesman for a local brand of fried chicken.

The statue underwent a major refurbishment in the late 1980s and was subsequently relocated a couple of blocks away, near the Flin Flon Station Museum.

Flinty could again use some work, as evidenced by the rust on his glasses and the missing segments of paint on his face.

In the coming years, someone will undoubtedly take up the cause of again restoring Flinty to his former glory.

As Babcock puts it: "Flin Flon just wouldn't be Flin Flon without Flinty."

Jonathon Naylor is editor of The Reminder newspaper in Flin Flon.

jonathon_naylor@hotmail.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 13, 2012 A11