Story By Morgan Johnson
Local News Published 11/05/2021 6:09PM, Last Updated 11/05/2021 9:10PM
Rhinelander - Off of Highway 8 in Monico, a unique monster sits behind a fence. And if it weren't for a few friends, the Rhinelapus might have been gone forever.
The origin story of this green monster dates back to the 1940s, when local man Guy Dailey saw a huge twisted white pine. He thought the oddity could draw more people to his Monico business, the Lake Venus Tavern. The name "Rhinelapus" eventually stuck because people disagreed on whether it resembled a rhinoceros, elephant, or octopus.
"Well, the origin was at a tavern, Lake Venus Tavern, that used to be there, and Guy Dailey had brought this out of the woods, brought it over to his establishment there, and he had set it up under a roof, and it became an icon here," said Monico Town Chairman Robert Briggs.
This iconic monster sat at the Lake Venus Tavern for decades through different owners. But in the early 2000s, the owner contacted Bob Walkowski, a Monico resident, saying if he didn't take the Rhinelapus into his own hands, it could be gone forever.
"The thing had to be moved or they were going to cut it up," said Briggs.
Walkowski contacted Briggs, and they worked together to move the statue.
"When I called Robert, he was there almost in a heartbeat with his excavator and dump truck, and we just basically plucked it out of where it was sitting, put it in his truck, and he took it out to his property there," said Walkowski.
The friends decided the Monico Town Park would be a perfect place for the Rhinelapus to be admired. They say since the Rhinelapus preys on hodags, they needed to tame it and protect it. A fence and shelter were built, all from community donations.
Now everybody can enjoy looking at it and learning about it.
"Who knows what would have happened to it? And it's just a piece of Monico history that would have been totally lost, had we not saved it," said Walkowski.
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Locals save green monster statue to preserve Monico history - WJFW-TV
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