The first Mr. PG that Mrs. Doreen Denicola remembers is the one that was created out of wood slabs that once stood outside the Simon Fraser Hotel in 1960.
“And he stood outside that hotel because that’s where the lumber magnates met for coffee every morning,” Mrs. Denicola recalled.
Mrs. Denicola, 95, has a great fondness for Mr. PG that goes right back to his origin.
In 1990 Mrs. Denicola took over the creation of Mr. PG when nobody else would. She made 243 dozen little wooden statues, that’s 2,916 Mr. PGs she made with her own two hands.
“I wasn’t about to let him disappear,” Mrs. Denicola said. “The City of Prince George was once known as the White Spruce Capital of the world and Mr. PG represents the forest industry upon which this city was built.”
Another way Mrs. Denicola kept Mr. PG top of mind in the past was showcasing him in a display at Northern Hardware that saw her put out the call on the front page of The Citizen on July 11,1990, for Mr. PG memorabilia.
“I did a big display and I had canvassed the whole area – even out of the city – for anybody that had a replica of Mr. PG,” Mrs. Denicola said. “I had to record everything and there were pages and pages of information. I had both those windows chock full – everything people had lent me. It was fun.”
Mrs. Denicola recalls one Mr. PG made of metal.
“He was used by the Rotary Club whenever they held a convention,” Mrs. Denicola said. “The people that came from furthest away were allowed to keep him and return him during the next convention but they lost him for years and years.”
A couple from Prince George, Bess and Dave Pullman, were visiting a pub in Scotland and discovered him being used as a beer dispenser and leaving his kilt and sporran intact, promptly brought him back home. He is now part of the Mr. PG collection at The Exploration Place.
Mrs. Denicola has many versions of Mr. PG on the top shelves that grace the walls of her kitchen.
With family all over BC, throughout the years they have gifted the family’s matriarch with different versions of Mr. PG.
They come in all shapes and sizes and there’s even salt and pepper shaker versions that depict a Mr. and Mrs.PG.
But there’s one Mr. PG that Mrs. Denicola is not familiar with.
Steve Sintich longtime resident of Prince George and former school district trustee, has a unique version of Mr. PG that was kept at the SD 57 office for a time. In 1976, when it was not wanted any longer Sintich took him home for safe keeping and has had wooden mascot ever since.
Sintich loaned his Mr. PG to Citizen photographer, Chuck Nisbett, to be introduced to Mrs. Denicola.
“I have never seen this one before,” Mrs. Denicola said when she first laid eyes on the wooden Mr. PG with the blue metal hat.
“He is quite something. He really is neat. It’s just beautiful to see something I haven’t seen before.”
Mr. PG was chosen in October as the winner of the inaugural Great Canadian Landmark Contest out of 76 entries from across Canada and had been placed on a stamp on July 6, 2009 as part of the Roadside Attractions series presented by Canada Post.
Mrs. Denicola is so very fond of the Prince George icon.
“I so enjoyed doing my part in keeping Mr. PG alive,” Mrs. Denicola smiled.
