Tim Bear's Gangrene

Nov. 17, 2019

Hard to see in this photo, but the moss on Tim Bear is growing so thick it makes the poor thing look like it has a severe case of gangrene.

Bears Inside City Hall

Feb. 8, 2018

Wooden relief sculpture by Elma residents Richard and Mike Roberts.

He's beautiful, even with the flaws

Oct. 2, 2011

The bear on top of City Hall was created out of a chunk of cedar by a chainsaw carver from Westport, I believe, in the early 1960s. The sculpture was dubbed "Tim Bear" or "Timbear" and has served as something of an official symbol of the City ever since.

An up close examination of the sculpture reveals enormous cracks in the wood and it is often covered with a thin patina of algae. I'm sure the piece requires frequent maintenance to keep it together, which does indeed reflect the normal state of running a municipality. We all have to work as partners to make our city work, in spite of the cracks our differences create. As for the algae metaphor, well, that's why we oldtimers are known as "Mossbacks."   

So the flawed, mossy bear is ever vigilant, surveying his domain.