Naked calendar gets results; Sask. government to pave potholed road
26/03/2008 8:02:00 PM
REGINA - The citizens of southwest Saskatchewan have learned just how influential a middle-aged man with a camera standing naked in a pothole can be.
Tim Cook, THE CANADIAN PRESS
The provincial government announced Wednesday that it will fix Highway 32 - a broken stretch of blacktop between Swift Current and Leader - a year after people in the area doffed their clothes and made a calendar to draw attention to the state of their crumbling road.
"My daughter still won't speak to me, but it was very much worth it," said Gord Stueck, or Mr. January.
Stueck owns a pharmacy in Leader and was the driving force behind the cheeky protest.
Stueck's photo features him standing in a pothole in his birthday suit, a long-lens camera strategically placed to cover his manly parts.
"It's a good thing it was cold that day," Stueck jokes.
Other pictures feature a man in the buff riding in a canoe in a pothole and a nude man planting potatoes. The lone woman in the calendar is seen hiding behind a bright yellow danger sign while another man covers his stripped self behind a broken windshield.
The 2007 calendar became a hot commodity, Stueck said. It was featured in news stories across the country and around the world. The man planting potatoes actually had an admirer call him from northern Alberta, inviting him to come for a visit.
The 3,000 copies were sold for $20 a piece and ended up raising $40,000 for the community of Leader.
"How this took off we're not sure. Other naked calendars have been done. I like to think it's because of the models," Stueck said. "I believe it's because everybody has a road to hate so that's why it took off. Picking on the government. Everybody loves to pick on the government."
That picking will stop for now, Stueck said.
That was welcome news to Highways Minister Wayne Elhard.
"The originator of the naked pothole calendar developed quite a reputation," Elhard said. "I don't want to be the subject of his next public relations campaign."
It will take three years to complete the work on the 50 kilometre stretch of road that is in the worst shape.
26/03/2008 8:02:00 PM
REGINA - The citizens of southwest Saskatchewan have learned just how influential a middle-aged man with a camera standing naked in a pothole can be.
Tim Cook, THE CANADIAN PRESS
The provincial government announced Wednesday that it will fix Highway 32 - a broken stretch of blacktop between Swift Current and Leader - a year after people in the area doffed their clothes and made a calendar to draw attention to the state of their crumbling road.
"My daughter still won't speak to me, but it was very much worth it," said Gord Stueck, or Mr. January.
Stueck owns a pharmacy in Leader and was the driving force behind the cheeky protest.
Stueck's photo features him standing in a pothole in his birthday suit, a long-lens camera strategically placed to cover his manly parts.
"It's a good thing it was cold that day," Stueck jokes.
Other pictures feature a man in the buff riding in a canoe in a pothole and a nude man planting potatoes. The lone woman in the calendar is seen hiding behind a bright yellow danger sign while another man covers his stripped self behind a broken windshield.
The 2007 calendar became a hot commodity, Stueck said. It was featured in news stories across the country and around the world. The man planting potatoes actually had an admirer call him from northern Alberta, inviting him to come for a visit.
The 3,000 copies were sold for $20 a piece and ended up raising $40,000 for the community of Leader.
"How this took off we're not sure. Other naked calendars have been done. I like to think it's because of the models," Stueck said. "I believe it's because everybody has a road to hate so that's why it took off. Picking on the government. Everybody loves to pick on the government."
That picking will stop for now, Stueck said.
That was welcome news to Highways Minister Wayne Elhard.
"The originator of the naked pothole calendar developed quite a reputation," Elhard said. "I don't want to be the subject of his next public relations campaign."
It will take three years to complete the work on the 50 kilometre stretch of road that is in the worst shape.