A chainsaw sculpture that stood at the entrance of Sandycove Acres has been saved from the landfill and restored as a tribute to the artist who made it.
Anne Dwyer lived next to Bob Jenkins, a chainsaw sculpture artist in the Innisfil retirement community. She knew his work, especially the owl sculpture.
“There was a tree on the other side of the road from our house, and this owl was on the top,” she said.
Jenkins passed away in 2018, but his sculptures continued to stand as a reminder of the nice, outgoing man who made them.
One day, workers were about to tear the owl down and send it to the landfill due to its deterioration, but Dwyer saved it.
“He was in very bad shape,” she said. “Bob carved the tree and I thought it would be a nice memento to him if the owl was saved.”
With the help of neighbours Mavis Byrne and Ed Keeley, the owl was restored back to its original condition.
“We restored it because it is a part of Sandycove," Byrne said. "Everybody was so sad to see that it was just going to be thrown away.”
What started as a nice gesture to an old friend was much more impactful to Jenkins’s daughter, Shannon Tobin. She was completely unaware the restoration was happening.
“I drove by there one day and the tree was gone, and I was actually quite sad,” she said. “I had no idea that anybody was restoring it until another member in the park who used to live across the street from my dad reached out to me.”
The effort brought her to tears.
“It made my heart very warm just to know my dad’s work was definitely appreciated down there,” Tobin said. “I think it is beautiful. They did a great job.”
Tobin said she heard the owl has a new name: Bob.
Shane MacDonald, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Barrie Advance
