Stanley Park's Ozzie the duck immortalized in bronze

The park's resident Muscovy duck was killed by a teenage boy on Nov. 11, 2011, an incident that caused public outcry and prompted the Pennies for Ozzie campaign that encouraged children to collect pennies and bring them to the park to be used for a memorial.

WESTFIELD – Dozens of children gathered under the Stanley Park Beverage Pavilion Friday and helped park officials pay tribute to Ozzie the duck with the unveiling of a bronze statue in the likeness of the fowl who was killed two years ago.

The young participants in the park’s Friday Morning with Children program had the opportunity to share in the celebration of the goal they helped achieve with their pennies, said Stanley Park Director Robert C. McKean.

The park’s resident Muscovy duck was killed by a teenage boy on Nov. 11, 2011, an incident that caused public outcry and prompted the Pennies for Ozzie campaign that encouraged children to collect pennies and bring them to the park to be used for a memorial.

“Pennies for Ozzie collected funds that were used to create a statue of Ozzie for all to enjoy,” McKean said. “The statue will be displayed on the center island in the water wheel pond where Ozzie will keep a watchful eye on his fellow ducks.”

The memorial was unveiled Friday to the delighted cries of about 50 children, many of whom had invested in the bronze sculpture and all of whom were invited to touch the eternal Ozzie.

Moments before the bronze Ozzie’s arrival, McKean described the original duck to the children, telling them of its brownish-black color with iridescent green and purple dorsal plumage and white wing patches. He made special note of the male duck’s caruncles, pinkish-red fleshy outgrowths that extend from the back of the eye to the bill.

With their interest piqued, the children’s small hands went straight for the caruncles the moment the statue was revealed.

“The kids are thrilled, and they feel empowered,” McKean said. “Knowing their pennies helped make this happen gives them a sense of ownership.”

The penny donations did their part in giving children a sense of community, but the bulk of the funding for the bronzing was donated by Stanley Park Board of Directors member Frederick W. Stecher, also a member of the Beveridge family. The park was established by Frank Stanley Beveridge in 1949.

The children, McKean added, are the future generation of Stanley Park caretakers and officials, and “it’s important for them to know that every breathing creature needs to be respected.”

While Ozzie is buried on the side of the park’s office, complete with a granite marker bearing his name, the bronze likeness will be displayed on the center island in the water wheel pond “where he will keep a watchful eye on his fellow ducks,” McKean said.

Ozzie and the friendship he provided for three years to park visitors touched many lives, McKean said, so much so that an anonymous donor established a scholarship with the Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation that provides educational funding to students with humanitarian career goals or those studying child psychology.

The first such scholarship was awarded this past spring.