British Columbia does not—according to some—lack for monsters, what with Ogopogo supposedly lurking in the depths of Okanagan Lake, Caddie haunting Cadboro Bay, and Sasquatch hiding in the province’s forests. They are all elusive creatures, unlike a monster that was once commonly spotted—and even welcomed—by travellers all over B.C.
If you are of a certain age, and spent any amount of time traversing the province’s highways, you will remember this particular monster. Alas, its numbers have dwindled steadily, and now only a handful of its kind remain, although recently they have been joined by new members of the family.
I’m speaking, of course, of the Garbage Gobbler, an original example of which sits beside Ashcroft Manor on Highway 1. Next time you’re driving past the Manor, glance to the east of the highway, and you’ll see him, standing quietly in the shade of a tree. He’s the green and yellow chap with the big teeth and cheerful smile, and he has been standing on guard there for more than 50 years. He has an official job—gobbling garbage—and an unofficial one, which is to delight children of all ages as they flash past him on their travels.
The Garbage Gobblers were the brainchild of Len Shaw, who designed and created the Gobblers for the BC Parks Branch. The post-WW II boom years saw a massive increase in automobile ownership, and with more people on the province’s highways than ever before, it soon became apparent that something needed to be done to stop the spread of litter across the pristine landscape of beautiful B.C. Thus the Garbage Gobbler was born, debuting in 1957 and fully rolled out in time for the province’s centenary in 1958.
They were originally made from concrete (later versions were constructed out of fibreglass), and were designed to fit in front of a large open garbage can, with garbage deposited through the hinged mouth of the Gobbler. They were installed in provincial parks and at information sites and highway rest stops: places where they would be easily accessible to motorists.
No one seems to know how and why the Gobbler’s distinctive look—it has been described as a frog monster—was decided on, but it was an inspired choice, for the design was an immediate hit with the travelling public, especially children. Adrian Barnes wrote that “Garbage Gobblers, to a six-year-old, were massive, Easter Island-like totems. Wherever we drove, my sister and I would keep our eyes peeled, hoarding candy wrappers and chewed-up straws, until we caught sight of a rest stop that sported a Gobbler, at which point we’d beg our parents to pull over and let us feed the beast.”
Barnes isn’t alone in having fond memories of the Garbage Gobblers. Find any site online which mentions them and there will be comments from people who vividly remember the friendly monsters from their childhood. A charming home video, shot in 1957 by Les Walters of Saskatoon, shows his family traveling through British Columbia. In one shot his daughter, Bonney, is shown beside a Garbage Gobbler in its natural habitat, complete with a sign reading “The Garbage Gobbler says Feed Me!” (young Bonney seems delighted to comply). The video can be viewed at http://bit.ly/2R2CaCg; the Gobbler makes his appearance at around the 50-second mark.
Travellers were further encouraged to look out for the creatures and put them to use via “The Junior Gobbler”. These were paper bags which featured a Garbage Gobbler saying “Feed Me!” and wearing a bib reading “Hang Me In Your Car”. They were provided free of charge to motorists, with the idea that they would be hung on the window handle and filled with garbage, ready to be deposited in a handy Gobbler en route. They also exhorted people to “Keep BC Green and Clean”, and asked that motorists “Help Prevent Forest Fires”. They marked the beginning of a new era of ecological responsibility and awareness; proof that caring for our environment is a concept that’s been around for some time.
The Garbage Gobblers continued to be manufactured after the late 1950s, but their design—fully open at the back, leaving the garbage cans exposed—meant that they were vulnerable to bears, who were attracted by the rubbish. Roadside garbage cans needed to be made bear-proof, and thus the death knell of the Gobblers was sounded. They were eventually replaced with much more practical—but far less interesting—sealed garbage cans, and the roadsides of B.C. became less colourful as a result.
The Garbage Gobblers were constructed in the BC Parks workshop in Langford on Vancouver Island. Today a restored Gobbler—complete with commemorative plaque—stands in Langford’s Veterans’ Memorial Park, which occupies the spot where the workshop once stood. Another Gobbler lives in the Public Works yard in Revelstoke, and there is one behind a chain link fence at the highway maintenance yard west of McLeese Lake, visible from Highway 97.
Add the Gobbler residing at Ashcroft Manor, and it means that fewer than half-a-dozen of these once mighty beasts are known to remain in the province. In 2015, however, a new breed of Garbage Gobbler began appearing along the highways of B.C., with bear-proof garbage cans sporting a colourful and jaunty design evoking the original Gobblers, and paying tribute to them via an information panel, complete with a photo of a vintage Gobbler.
READ MORE: Some old favourites coming back to B.C. highways
“Some longer-term employees at the ministry were ecstatic when I asked ‘What would it take to bring back the Garbage Gobblers?’” then-Transportation Minister Todd Stone told The Journal in 2016. “The new ones look a little bit different, and we’ve made them bear-proof and added some other modifications.”
The original Garbage Gobblers live on in the memory of those who recall them from their childhood. And the next time you’re driving along Highway 1 past Ashcroft Manor, or Highway 97 near McLeese Lake, slow down and give a wave to one of the last of the original Gobblers. If you have time, you might want to stop for a moment at the Manor, and give the resident Gobbler a little snack. After all, half-a-century is a long time, and he’s sure to be rather hungry.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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