New Willie Walleye Statue Coming Soon
As many of you know Willie Walleye is getting a face lift this summer. The concrete Willie is getting replaced with a low maintenance fiberglass model. The fiberglass model will look just like the Willie of the past but with better eye popping colors that are typical of a Lake of the Woods Walleye.
As for the time being it looks like the old statue will be removed on the 6th of July in order to have the new base and pad ready for when the new statue arrives shorty after.
When it comes to icons that signify an area, few fit their area as well as Willie Walleye, the 40 foot, 2.5 ton statue located right in the heart of Baudette, MN. Marking it’s territory as The Walleye Capital of the World, Willie overlooks it’s namesake park called “Willie Walleye Park” as well as Baudette Bay and the Rainy River.
Check out the history on Willie Walleye. Willie Walleye originated as Arnold F. Lund’s idea, an idea which he recommended to the Baudette Civic and Commerce Association. With Mr. Lund doing much of the organizing for the project, the Civic and Commerce group took the job of building the fish statue.
By April of 1958, Al Anderson had translated Lund’s idea into a blueprint, using as a model a 32-inch long, mounted walleye which was on display at Joe Farrell’s Hardware Store. Within a month the concrete footings had been poured and work started on the frame. Walter C. Olson, assisted by his son, David Olson, and Luverne Larson, had the difficult task of forming a frame of steel and wire mesh to the shape of a walleye.
While Mr. Olson and his assistants were busy welding, cutting and welding some more, 
the Civic and Commerce Association was trying to decide on a name for the fish. The first suggestions were Mr. Walleye and King Walleye. It was decided to choose the name democratically and a ballot with five names on it was printed in the Baudette Region. Wally, Walter and Willie were the additional names on the ballot. After several weeks of voting, the name Willie won.
At about the same time, George Ayotte and his helper, Russell Halvorson, finished plastering the skin. Dick Wilson had contracted to paint the statue, and the paint was applied the next spring. The statue was dedicated during Walleye Days, June 19 and 20, 1959.
The new Willie will be returned to glory very soon, so get out those cameras for an updated Willie Walleye Picture.
