The bear is still there.
As current and former Jasperites wait on tenterhooks for more accurate information about the extent of wildfire damage to the community, one user of X, former Twitter, gave them proof Thursday that its iconic Jasper the Bear statue had survived.
And it could just be the glow of the streetlights, but is that a glint of defiance in his eye?
Jasper the Bear is the town’s de facto mascot. The Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce owns his trademark, and a full-sized mascot suit, which they roll out all over town – and beyond.
As the suit, he sees off and greets trains at the Via Rail station and flights on the tramway to the peak of Whistlers Mountain, he rides in motorcycle side cars and on horses, he mills through crowds giving high-fives and hugs, he skates with Santa Claus. He even hung out with Hunter at Rogers Place during a promotion with the Edmonton Oilers.
As a statue, he’s an Instagram darling.
“That statue, all day long if you care to watch, has people hanging off it taking photos,” Pattie Pavlov, executive director of the Chamber, said Friday.
She’s lived in Jasper for more than 30 years, too.
“Old folks, young folks, it doesn’t matter," she said. "He is a part of Jasper’s fabric. He provides Jasper with a pulse.”
Responses to the X post included expressions of relief that the statue remained, and memories visitors have forged alongside it. One photo depicted a bride and groom making Jasper part of the wedding party.
Parks Canada has been providing updates on the status of the wildfire response day and night, but have been deliberately vague in describing the damage.
“Structural fire protection units are still fighting fires within the town and continue to fight fires moving from one building to another,” read a Thursday post to the Jasper National Park Facebook page, thanking residents for their continued patience.
Parks Canada reports that date, the worst damage is in the town’s primarily residential west end. Tragically, this includes St. Mary and St. George Parish, otherwise known as the Jasper Anglican Church, at the intersection of Geikie Street and Miette Avenue. Its legacy reaches back more than a century: Anglican worship in Jasper began with a donated rail car in 1913 and moved to a tent and school building in 1914, before a log structure was erected.
The building that burned down in the wildfire was donated to the church in 1928 by a woman whose son was killed in Palestine during the First World War. It was built with local materials and designed by noted Edmonton architect Alfred Merigold Calderon. The structure’s profile and unmistakable turret evoked the design of a 14th century English Gothic church.
It was the last such building of his design with a connection to the Christian faith still standing, according to the church’s website. Calderon also designed the Jasper Park Information Centre, itself a national historical asset.
“It was the Queen’s hangout,” Pavlov said of the church. “It’s where she went to attend service on Sunday when she was here in 2005 (for Alberta’s centennial).
“My son was just married there in October.”
Nearby historial Robson House, built between 1924 and 1930, still stands. It was moved from Geikie Street to Patricia Street in 2001 and currently houses the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce. It is also a national heritage resource, and was designed by, you guessed it: Mr. Calderon.
Normally, Pavlov is based in Robson House, and also runs the historical society that cares for the building.
“That was a heart-stopper for me,” she said of learning the Chamber’s home was still there. “That would be another unimaginable loss.”
On Friday Great West Media asked Parks Canada for updates on other iconic structures, but has yet to receive a response. These include the information centre and new Jasper Indigenous Exhibit featuring a statue of a bronze eagle atop a large sphere on its grounds in the centre of town, and the nearby Two Brothers Totem Pole, erected in 2011 to replace the Raven Totem Pole, which stood in JNP for more than a century before being repatriated to Haida Gwaii.
The same Thursday update from JNP indicated that a number of bridges in the park would have to be assessed for structural damage, including the Old Fort Point Bridge and the historic H. J. Moberly Bridge over the Athabasca River, which grants Highway 16 users access to the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and Maligne Valley, and lakes Edith and Annette. Named for a fur trader, the Parker through truss bridge was constructed in 1940 and had repairs to its deck just last month, in late June.
Pavlov hopes to be able to return to Jasper by early August, and that the bear will still be there when she does. Looking for the silver lining as so many Jasper residents are this week, she noted that the statue was already due for some attention.
“I don’t have any information as to how damaged he is,” Pavlov said. “Is he scorched, does he need a good power-washing? He was due for a paint job, so this could be the catalyst.
“It’s no small thing, literally or figuratively, to restore him.”
