Do you know the background of Sara the Camel?
Do you know what Sara the Camel, a turtle named Tommy, and a beautiful white horse all have in common?
If you said they were all animals you wouldn’t be totally wrong, but if you said they were all sculptures and community symbols or town mascots you would be absolutely correct!
Sara the Camel who stands tall welcoming friends from far and wide into Glenboro is a tribute to the Spirit Sands.
We may know that Sara lives in Glenboro, but do we really know anything else about this beauty?
The man who created Sara was Giorgio Barone, affectionately known as George. In his younger years, George was a sculptor at Rome’s School of Arts spending ten years honing his craft. He excelled in marble works, but did not limit himself, using other mediums including wood.
He and his family moved from Italy to Winnipeg in 1951 (although there are some outlets saying it was the late 1940’s).
His first job was at a Winnipeg firm designing plaques and figurines, but his talent soon caught the eye of a CBC exec. He began work as a set designer at CBC, but it didn’t take him long to realize his first love was sculpting.
Starting his own company, this master did many sculptures, figurines and other art pieces and was one day approached to create a larger than life monument. Understanding the need for a new and innovative technique to create sculptures that could withstand the harsh realities of our extremely cold winters and scorching summers, he set to work to devise and develop a technique that was completely new.
There was a fair bit of experimentation, but it didn’t take him long to perfect the idea.
Starting with a steel rod skeleton, the statue was built with air filled foam, fibreglass cloth and coloured resin. This technique proved perfect for our Canadian weather! In the late 1970’s, when the Chamber of Commerce in Glenboro agreed on the idea of a camel as the symbol of Glenboro, George Barone was called upon to complete their vision.
George quickly got to work on Sara who arrived at her new home on October 12, 1978. Getting her to her new home was no small feat!
Seventeen foot tall Sara weighed in at just over 2,000 pounds or 908 kilograms. Due to her size, she was shipped in two pieces, being transported on a flatbed.
Arriving in pristine condition, she was carefully assembled upon the cement pedestal she currently stands.
The cost to have Sara created at that time was $9,000 – in today’s dollars the cost would be equal to approximately $39,000. She is worth so much more than that to us all!
In addition to Sara, George also created the White Horse at St. Francois Xavier, Tommy the Turtle at Boissevain, The Miner in Thompson, Giant Viking in Gimli, Hi Neighbour Sam in Transcona, Alpine Archie at McCreary, and the Sharptail Grouse at Ashern.
Giorgio ‘George’ Barone – Creator of Sara the Camel.
Although George has long since passed away, his creative legacy will live on for many years to come.
PHOTO CAPTION: Sara the Camel has stood on the north side of Glenboro since 1978 with a longing gaze towardsthe sand dunes a few miles away. PHOTO BY SUZANNE PADDOCK
