Boy and the Boot
Wallingford, Vermont
Wallingford takes pride in its Boy and the Boot, one of a handful of similar Boy and the Boot statues around the U.S. and elsewhere.
According to Stephen Haggerty, this particular Boy was sculpted by his father, Warren Dunning Haggerty, a Wallingford resident. The Boy is colorfully painted, with his eyes closed as if eternally sleepwalking through town. His right boot, held aloft, dribbles a stream of water into a circular pool.
A plaque on the pool, which sits on the front lawn of the Wallingford Inn, reads: "Erected to the memory of Arnold Young by his children, April 3, 1898." Mr. Young owned the Wallingford Inn until 1870.
Around 1910 the Boy disappeared from his original spot on the streets of Wallingford (His pool had been used as a trough for thirsty horses). The Boy turned up ten years later in the Wallingford Inn's attic, and in 1927 he was installed on the Inn's lawn. Despite this narrower focus, the Boy remains the civic symbol of the entire town. The online homepage of Wallingford features an animated Boy and the Boot, water merrily arcing from the boot in an endless loop.
Yet all may not be peaceful in Wallingford. Next to the Boy and the Boot we saw anarchist "Fight The Power" symbols sprayed on the town's traffic light and crosswalk signals.
Could the Boy and the Boot be a target for kidnapping or vandalism, as have many of his less-fortunate brethren? We don't think so. He stands next to the front porch of the Wallingford Inn, where old people hang out. They have a clear view of the Boy, and could shout an alarm if some hooligan tries to plug up the boot hole with gum, or stain the water an irreverent blue by pouring Ty-D-Bol into it.