Spooky: How'd that gargoyle get in river?
By Bill Wundram
September 16, 2006

Holy mackerel! There's more than fish in Rock River when you start
prowling around the bottom, near Milan, Ill.
 
Rick Mason of Moline just pulled out a fierce gargoyle, with teeth
bared, menacing horns and hooves. It was covered with mud and gook, but
when hosed and scrubbed and car-washed, it is  enough to scare the
neighbors dogs. Glaring, intimidating, it is 3-feet tall, cast iron and
weighing at least 100 pounds.

From the looks of this creature, it has been in the water for at least
50 years, maybe a century. Who knows?  It looks to be an exact
duplicate of the gargoyles staring down from the Cathedral of Notre Dame
in Paris.  But then again, don't most gargoyles look alike?

It sounds crazy, and it is.  On this weekend day, it is in the Mason
frontyard on 36th Avenue. Mason's wife, Sue, isn't a bit happy My wife
hates it.  She said it is evil-looking and I should get rid of it. 
But who wants it and where does it belong?  I'd like to find some
answers, Mason says.
Mason and a pal, Todd Tomaseski of Rock Island were fishing on the Rock
River, just off U.S. 67, not far from the Sears powerhouse below the old
railroad bridge at Milan. They decided to clear a pond-like pocket so
they'd have a better spot for walleye. 
We went into the water and pulled out a bike, a troll motor and other
junk that people had thrown into the water when I hooked onto some
strange object.  It was really strange.  It was some kind of statue,
Mason says.

It took a lot of tugging and slushing and mushing, but Mason finally got
a rope attached. He and his chum tied the rope to the back of his pickup
and slowly, agonizingly, pulled the thing to shore. We really didn't
know what it was until we took it to a car wash with a pressure hose to
get off the mud and slime. It wasn't until then that we saw it was a
gargoyle.
  
Gargoyles go back to the Gothic age, from about 1200 to 1500.
Gadzooks.  That doesn't fit in with Milan, which didn't come along
until 1843.

Now, the puzzler:  Mason's step-dad, Don Smith of Rock Island, asks:
How did this gargoyle end up in the river?  When was it thrown
there?  How old is it?  Where did it come from?  Was it once a
decoration on the old Sears power dam? Maybe it came from a church. 
Did it fall off a train from the old railroad bridge?

For its long years of being dunked, its in good shape.  The
ears are gone, but the horns are still pointed forward to scare the
be-Jesus out of those who are easily frightened.  After the car wash
and more scrubbing, the gargoyle has traces of a green patina. 

Bottom line, says Smith, can anyone solve the puzzle?  There has to be
an answer.  Rick is not looking for a reward or anything. If anyone
has any clues, they can call me at 788-2478. All of us want to get to
the bottom of this gargoyle mystery.
Sue Mason would like to get to the bottom of it, too.
The thing gives me the creeps.  I'd like to get it out of my
frontyard.

Bill Wundram can be contacted at (563) 383-2249 or bwundram@qctimes.com.