Rockwood's giant man statue has a new suit

ROCKWOOD – Some know him as the Quarry Man and others call him Max. Whatever name you have for the tall landmark statue at Rockwood’s busiest corner, he’s back with a new suit.

The eight-foot, three-inch statue of a man that sits at the corner of Highway 7 and Main Street in Rockwood got a refreshed look after years of wear and tear and some vandalism. 

The statue, belonging to the RE/MAX office he stands next to, has shed the light blue jacket and black pants and now sports a red coat and blue pants thanks to Everton artist Susan Strachan Johnson. 

“He had no eyes, so I had to make his eyes. Gave him some silver buttons and a silver tie,” she said. 

Strachan Johnson knows Michele and Gord Dawe who run the RE/MAX real estate agency in Rockwood and thought the statue could be doing a better job of promoting them and got the go ahead to make her suggested changes. 

“I used the colours that RE/MAX uses, that is the red and the blue and I just sort of took it from there,” she said. “I thought that he should look a bit more upscale, so I abandoned the braces and I thought he should actually have a sign on him that suggested what the business was.”

Strachan Johnson first noticed the statue when it used to be at the end of a farm lane near the Hidden Quarry gravel pit just outside of Rockwood.

“It was at the end of someone’s driveway beside a sign that said ‘no to Hidden Quarry,’” she said, explaining the origin of him being known as the Quarry Man.

The Hidden Quarry went on to be approved by the Ontario Land Tribunal in February 2020. 

His history goes back further than a fight against a gravel pit although that history isn't totally clear. 

Michele said her team bought the statue more than 15 years ago off a client who had him in their garage and didn’t want to take him with them to their next house. Gord said he bought it off the man for $50 and believed it was made by the man's son.

“We purchased him, not knowing of course what we were going to do with him but thinking he needed something,” Michele said. 

He has had a few different purposes including fighting the quarry, advertising at community events and the like but has mostly stayed put at his corner as he’s difficult to move due to weighing half a ton. 

Michele isn’t sure where he came from and has tried to do a history search on him. 

“I think he came from a carnival, might have originally been the jailer,” Michele said. “He had sort of chains, he was very tough looking. We’ve lightened his mood somewhat.”

Being gone for a short period, getting some touch ups to his structure and a new paint job from Strachan Johnson, the artist said his absence was noticed by some including a teller at a nearby bank. 

“A couple of people commented on it but particularly someone in the Royal Bank there really missed him,” Strachan Johnson said. “He is a bit of a landmark.”

“I think he belongs in this village, he belongs in Rockwood and I think he deserves to be seen,” Michele said. “I know Guelph/Eramosa is trying to beautify the township and Max just got a new suit.”