‘Save Conny’ Movement Gathering Steam in West Hartford

The Sperm Whale was designated as the Official Animal of the State of Connecticut in 1975. The next year in 1976, a group of volunteers built a life-sized replica of a 60 foot male sperm whale out of iron and cement in West Hartford. Its name is Conny, and Conny is in serious trouble, but you can help.

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I first saw Conny by accident, I was pulling out of the Whole Foods in West Hartford's gorgeous Blue Back Square onto Trout Brook Drive when I noticed a massive whale tail towering over the snow banks on the side of the road. Conny has welcomed and entertained countless children & adults as they've entered The Children's Museum parking lot. Conny isn't just a block of iron and cement, there's a ramp to its body, and you can go inside. It's a powerful and rare experience to see how massive these beautiful creatures are. The labor and love that went into creating Conny is something that should be enjoyed for generations to come, right?

The big picture, though, is that Conny's home has been sold, the Children's Museum has moved to a new location, and a life-sized sperm whale is not easy or cheap to move. The Children's Museum has set up saveconny.org, a gofundme has been set up, and now a large guy who was delighted by a brief tail sighting is paying attention to Conny's plight.

If the gofundme goal of $250,000 is met, the plan is to move Conny directly across Trout Brook Drive onto the Trout Brook Greenway. There's a long way to go, as of me writing this, but I'm helping out. That brief moment of delight from seeing his tail is well worth a donation. Good luck Conny.