Chuck named as one of Canada’s best and biggest roadside attractions
Chuck the Channel Cat has finally gotten the recognition that he deserves. The Globe and Mail put out an article on Aug. 3 naming Canada’s best and biggest roadside attractions, and Chuck was amongst the 16 landmarks.
Selkirk resident Dave Wilkinson nominated Chuck for this honour after he saw that The Globe and Mail was asking Canadians to send in photos of the best local landmarks from their region.
He said that he was pleased when the article came out and he saw that Chuck had hooked the article writer’s interest.
“I thought, why not add Chuck to the mix and see if he would make the cut? And frankly, I was a little surprised that he actually wound up as part of the article,” said Wilkinson.
The nomination process was pretty simple.
“It started out as a piece in The Globe and Mail celebrating attractions, like Chuck across Canada, and there was an invitation to submit a picture. So, I went and took a photo of Chuck and sent it off with a bit of history. And, I guess that got their attention,” said Wilkinson.
Residents in our region know that Chuck is the large catfish attraction on Main St. in Selkirk and will likely have seen him on the City of Selkirk’s merchandise. A little more elusive is the Chuck mascot, who comes out at some of our region’s community events. Something people might not realize, however, is the number of ways that Chuck is incorporated into other elements of our community. For example, events like the Strongmania competition that took place last month even had a special event dedicated to Chuck called the Chuck Walk.
The History of Chuck the Channel Cat is an interesting one. He was named after Chuck Norquay, a legend in our fishing community. Noquay was not just famous as a local fisherman but is the reason that Selkirk has the title of “Catfish Capital of North America”. In the 1980s, Norquay put Selkirk on the map, taking the host ofthe TV show Good Fishing, Babe Winkelman, on the Red and reeling in over 200lbs of catfish in one day. The show tuned the rest of the world on to what Selkirkians always knew, that there’s good fishing in the Red. And so, when the time came to name the large catfish statue that was unveiled in 1986, the name Chuck made sense.
Chuck, the statue, was unique among the 16 attractions as he was the only representative from Manitoba.
Larry Johannson, the mayor of Selkirk, said that he was tickled pink to find out about Chuck’s inclusion on the list.
“It was fantastic (to find out). To be the only Manitoba attraction mentioned, and we’re in great company there also,” he said.
Johannson thinks that Chuck is more than just a symbol for the community because he represents a connection to our history. Selkirk was a fishing village for much of its history, and our waterfront, which now hosts community celebrations, was a fishing port. We can even see the importance of our waterway in the historic ships that used to traverse the Red, which are now preserved at the Marine Museum.
“We’ve always been a fishing community, and to have Chuck the Catfish statue here just really cements that. And to have The Globe and Mail recognize him and recognize Selkirk, I think the citizens, our administration, our council, and everybody in the province should be very proud,” said Johannson.
He hopes that this article gives people from all over Canada the idea that Selkirk might be a great place to visit on their next road trip. In addition to Chuck, people from near and far can have a great day in Selkirk. We have the Marine Museum of Manitoba, the Gwen Fox Gallery, Selkirk Park, annual events like Holiday Alley and the Triple S Fair and Rodeo and many businesses with great food and shopping.
“Come to Manitoba, see what we have to offer. And above all, come to Selkirk. You will not be disappointed coming here, not only to see Chuck the Channel Cat but to see everything that Selkirk has to offer,” said Johannson.
Chuck makes his home at 168 Main St. in Selkirk.
