NORTH EAST — Believe the legend or not, Chessie is back in the Northeast River.
Ted Dawson says this replacement for the original Chessie — which disappeared from its location over the winter after four years — is bigger.
“The first one was just a head,” Dawson said of the mythical creature cut from plywood and painted green. “I didn’t think it would last at all.”
Dawson and his wife, JoAnn, discovered a large log in the river near the shoreline, out of navigational waters.
“It’s been out there a long time. It’s at least 30 feet long,” he said.
The log sticks above the waterline in several places.
“I pictured in my mind that it had a natural tail sticking up and a neck,” he said.
And the first Chessie was born.
After creating the head, he went back to the log, power tools in hand.
“I took a chain saw out and put a notch in it and drilled holes for carriage bolts,” Dawson explained. “I guess that’s how it lasted so long.”
People in kayaks and canoes would get up close for pictures of Chessie. The Chesapeake Bay version of the Loch Ness monster became a waterfront celebrity of sorts, notably because no one knew how and why it got there until recently. The Dawsons were at a North East town meeting when the subject came up of the missing creation. Ted Dawson said he was planning on making its replacement, to the surprise of Mayor Kelly Benson.
“That was you?” JoAnn said of Benson’s reaction.
Benson said he first heard of Chessie when folks renting his Bay Venture Outfitters canoes and kayaks would come back from a trip and made comments such as “that Chessie monster is really funny.”
He described it as “basically someone took a dragon head and attached it to a log.”
With the secret out, Ted Dawson had help with the larger replacement, which includes a hump and a tail. It was built in the barn at the couple’s Fairwinds Farm in North East. He spent about $350 on the 3/4 inch sheets of plywood, plus two coats of green exterior house paint and paint for details such as the eyes.
“The kids at the barn helped,” JoAnn said, referring to the horseback riding students at the farm. “I painted the final eyeball. And this one has spikes on its head.”
Ted got help in the water from Jim Woolman in erecting the new Chessie on the same water sodden log. JoAnn handed tools from the boat.
Those with no access to water craft can view Chessie Jr. from land at North East Town Park.
Benson said Chessie is a fun addition to the town’s waterfront.
“We drew it onto one of our paddle maps,” he said. “It’s like local lore now.”