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Date: 10/30/2019
CHICOPEE – Bernard “Bunny” Murray might be one of Chicopee’s most well known and beloved residents. The 75-year-old man is most known for his spunky personality and his wave.
Now, city-wide effort in Chicopee led by resident David Mason is hoping to immortalize Bunny’s wave in bronze and have a life-sized statue made of him.
Mason described Murray as a “very awesome individual” who has the ability to light up any room. “Everyone lights up when they see him. He’s outgoing, funny,” he told Reminder Publishing. “He is a real nice guy, fun to be around, and a true example of what we all should be.”
“He is somebody if you met once you’d never forget,” Mason said. He told Reminder Publishing, “There’s stories dating back to the late 70s early 80s with my grandfather” who also knew Bunny.
This isn’t the first time the idea to create a life-sized statue of Bunny has been brought up. Mason said, “A couple years ago they tried to get a statue, but I guess no one really saw it through.”
“He does have mentally disabilities, but that doesn’t mean anything. Once you know him, he’s a teddy bear, so they tried for a push but no one saw it through,” he said. “Now’s a good as time as ever. He’s 75-years-old, we need to start celebrating the real heroes.”
Mason, who creates his own designs and prints them onto apparel, first broached the idea of the statue again after he made Murray his very own logo and shirt for his birthday.
“I came out with a design on the shirt, and surprised even myself,” he said. On Oct. 18, he gave Murray the t-shirt with his very own logo on it. The shirt was blue Mason said, because when asked Murray said blue was his favorite color.
After giving Murray his shirt, Mason posted a photo of him online. “It has gone insane from that moment forward. I didn’t think it’d go too crazy.”
Since then, Mason said he’d sold more than $1,000 worth of Bunny apparel. From the money made, Mason said he’s donating two-thirds of all profits to the Bunny statue fund. “If it’s a $3 profit, I’m donating $2.”
It isn’t just people in Chicopee ordering Bunny apparel though, Mason said city residents who have moved out of state are also ordering shirts to support the statue fund. “An order went down to North Carolina, there was a florida order. People that have migrated from Chicopee, once they saw it on the forum wanted one.”
Mason said the Lucky Strike Restaurant, where Bunny spends a lot of his time, is also collecting money for the statue fund. “We have a jar at Lucky Strike for the Bunny statue fund, we’ve already emptied it three times.” All donations are being kept in an account at the Aldenville Credit Union.
And while they’ve collected more than $1,000 towards the statue fund, they still have a long way to go before they will have enough to build the statue. “I’ve been in contact with a few companies, and we’re looking at about $40,000 for a six-foot tall statue,” he said. That amount of money “is an awful lot” Mason said.