The Town of Langenburg is developing a new rest stop area for travellers to enjoy as they pass through town along the Yellowhead Highway.
The town approved the new rest stop vision at the end of 2020 and it will be implemented by 2024.
Goliath, the World’s Largest Swing, is not included in the plans for the new rest stop area.
The first completed stage for the rest area involved bringing infrastructure in and building a new public washroom. The second stage will involve building a gazebo, flower garden, and paths (expected 2022 – 2023). Finally, the town will place the rest of the elements (playground, informational boards, photo place, etc.) by 2024.
The town engaged in multiple ways to gather community feedback in 2020. Still, there are some residents who say they are unhappy that Goliath will not remain. The topic was displayed on social media with many voicing their displeasure.
Ken Mack, creator of Goliath, said, “I’ve had a lot of calls about it, but the problem is what’s required to move it is too much, so the conversation with new owners goes blank. The town can work with the people interested in it, and hopefully they can find a new home for it. I will help them find somebody but they can make the arrangements.”
Langenburg Mayor Jeremy Stasiuk clarified, “Just to add some clarity to the fate of Goliath. Contrary to prior misconceptions, the Town of Langenburg does not want to ‘chop it up for scrap iron’. This has been an ongoing topic of discussion for a long period of time. A difficult decision had to be made for various reasons. The swing is not functional and cannot be made functional at its current location due to liability legalities. The cost to repair the swing to engineered standards is not feasible. The cost to move the swing at the expense of rate payers is also not feasible. The Town of Langenburg hopes that an individual or individuals will come forward and relocate the swing to private property at their own expense. The reason for the deadline is that development on the rest stop must continue due to time constraints on our recently awarded icip grant. It is also our goal to incorporate the history of Goliath into the new rest stop and walking trail network by such means as a commemorative plaque, scale model or a host of other suggestions. To those who disagree with our decision, I do respect your opinion and I can assure you that it is my goal and that of the rest of council to make decisions that represent the best interests of the community as a whole.”
The Town of Langenburg provided the following information about the swing on their website:
Kenneth Mack originally built 3 swings. The first one was constructed on his dairy farm 9 miles N.E. of Langenburg in 1984. The swing was constructed from pieces of farm implements and weighed 4000 lbs. It required a boom crane from Yorkton to set it up.
The second swing was constructed at Uncle Herb’s Amusement Park west of Maple Creek in 1986. This is identical to the construction of the first swing.
In the spring of 1990, his friend Bob Schmidt hired Mack to construct a third glider swing, taller and stronger than the two previous ones. So, he [built] a 33 feet and 1 inch tall and 22 feet wide swing.
Over two tonnes of steel went into the construction of Goliath. The swing pivots are 2 Chevy car differentials, the seats are from old horse drawn farm equipment and like the two previous swings, sand fills the counterweight arms at the top, making the movement of the swing easy to accomplish. Goliath can rise to 25 feet high. In the spring of 2004, Bob Schmidt donated the swing to the town and Goliath was moved to the Langenburg Rest Area on Hwy 16. It is the only one of the swings left.
While the wheels are in motion to continue the development of the new rest stop area, there is concern about Goliath’s future. Ken Mack and many others are working hard to find a new resting place for the World’s Largest Swing.