Jumbo statue to be officially unveiled today

Tufts’ new statue of its mascot, Jumbo, will be unveiled in an official dedication ceremony today, April 17, beginning at 4:00 pm.

According to Michael Skeldon of Tufts Facilities Services, the ceremony will feature speakers who will provide an overview of the history of Jumbo and will recognize the statue’s donors: Dick Reynolds (LA '67), Dick Asher (LA '53) and Sheila S. Asher.

Reynolds donated the statue and the Ashers donated the garden around the base of statue, known as Jumbo’s Garden. After the speaking program concludes, a reception will be held in a tent on the Academic Quad, Skeldon said.

According to Skeldon, the process of transporting the statue from Richmond, Calif. to the Tufts campus was complicated by the statue's extremely large size. “Because Jumbo is so tall (about 11'6"), a special type of trailer called a 'double drop trailer' was required to safely pass under bridges along the way,” Skeldon told the Daily in an email.

An overhead crane was needed to place Jumbo on the trailer, Skeldon noted.

Jumbo’s size also meant that it was impossible to place him into a crate, as it would have been too tall to travel, Skeldon added. “So the sculptor Steven Whyte and the Artworks Foundry manager, both of whom have much experience in transporting oversized bronze sculptures, actually wrapped Jumbo in many cloth blankets, then shrink wrapped him with many, many feet of industrial plastic wrap to secure the blankets in place,” he said.

Overall, the journey from California to Tufts took six days -- from April 2 to April 8 -- covered 3,100 miles and encountered no significant problems, Skeldon noted.

Once the statue reached the Tufts vicinity, it was brought onto campus in the early morning to avoid interrupting any campus activities and to make the move as seamless as possible.

“With unpredictable weather and traffic in the Boston area, we wanted to make sure Jumbo was safely on campus well before the actual rigging crew and crane arrived, rather than attempt to have him arrive in the morning 'just in time' with everyone waiting,” Skeldon said.

Once the statue has been unveiled, it will be lit by LED lighting every night, Skeldon noted

According to Sgt. Duane Weiss of the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD), Jumbo will be given extensive protection against vandalism by the university police.

“In addition to our community partnerships, we provide frequent, sometimes random -- sometimes directed -- patrols of the university’s campuses, where police officers and campus security officers patrol on foot and in motor vehicles,” Weiss told the Daily in an email. "The Jumbo statue will be added to this patrol plan in an effort to prevent vandalism and to further provide for a safe and secure atmosphere on the Academic Quad in general.”

Weiss added that Tufts’ Department of Public and Environmental Safety’s use of video security will provide further protection for Jumbo.