Mine's Bigger Than Yours

     Everyone loves to claim they have the largest this or that. It is good for attracting visitors to see it. Throughout our travels, we have seen a few large attractions such as the Largest Spud in Prince Edward Island, Glooscap for the Mi'kmaq in Truro and the fiddle in Sydney, Nova Scotia and the Guinness World Record Squid in Newfoundland. I believe that New Brunswick tops them all with the number of large things.

Giant Squid in Glovers Harbour.  We did not actually see this
but we heard about it.

       

In Nova Scotia, we saw the large fiddle at the Sydney Harbour

and Glooscap in Truro, 

In O'Leary, Prince Edward Island
we saw the largest potato at the
Potato Museum.

So, on our first multi-day trip in New Brunswick, we saw some of the big things:

1. Large Fiddle in Harvey

     In Harvey, this fiddle sculpture stands at 15 feet tall. It was built in honour of Don Messer who was the famous Canadian fiddler who was born in Harvey. A local craftsman, Rollie MacLean built the fiddle in his workshop during his spare time. The fiddle is accompanied with a plaque inscribed with the words: "A tribute to internationally renowned fiddler Don Messer, 1909-1973".

     Don began playing the fiddle at the age of five. Two years later, he was performing at barn frolics and weddings. Later in life, Don Messer and his Islanders, a group of all-Maritime performers, made 23 cross-Canada tours, performing in small towns and cities. At the height of his career, he and his Don Messer's Jubilee cast entertained millions and were one of Canada's favourite television programs throughout the 1960's. (I remember watching this show with my parents).   Click here to hear Red River Waltz played by Don Messer.

2. World's Largest FiddleHeads in Plaster Rock

The sign says it all.

This photo and the one below show the 24-foot
tall wood sculpture of this vegetable delicacy.
The sculpture was built in 1995.

3. World's Largest Axe in Nackawic

The axe stands 49 feet tall and weighs over 55 tons. The axe-head is 23 feet wide.
The concrete stump is 33 feet in diameter. It was built in 1991 and has a time
capsule embedded in the head of the axe.

Here I am standing beside the axe-head.

4. The World's Longest Covered Bridge in Hartland

This bridge crosses the St. John River and is 1,282 feet long and has a long history.
This bridge, like all the bridges in New Brunswick is considered a "kissing bridge".
Kissing bridges date back to the years of horse and wagon traffic, when young men
"trained"  their horses to stop about half way across the bridge, wait while the couple
shared a couple of kisses, and then continue to the other side of the bridge.

Although you might think that the purpose of covering bridges is to protect them from a snow load that may cause it to collapse, the main reason is to protect it from the weather generally.  An uncovered wooden bridge might have an expected lifespan of about 20 years, but covering it can extend its life to up to 100 years! The Hartland bridge is a great example of that.

This is the other side of the bridge. The bridge only allows one
lane of traffic to cross at a time.

     These are only a few of the "large" attractions we saw during our two-night trip. I know that there are more to see. The search continues....