Title: Lucky

Creator: unknown

Region: Verona

Date: 1965

Medium: fiberglass, paint

Technique: casting, painting

Dimensions: 12 feet (height) x 6 feet (width) x 20 feet (length), 2000 pounds (weight) (approximately)

Description: The Stampede Steakhouse in Verona was destroyed in a fire in January of 2016, but Lucky the Bull still stands. He has been there since he arrived in the parking lot by accident in 1965. That was just after Joel and Pamela Comfort had opened Joel's Front Yard Steakhouse. A truck broke down there while carrying the fiberglass bull from the manufacturer in Wisconsin to a site in Canada. Joel negotiated to buy the bull on the spot, and the Comforts had a mascot for their business.

After that stroke of luck, they named him after Pamela's Uncle Lucky. He even survived getting blown over in a windstorm in the late 60s, after which he was anchored to the ground. At one point, Lucky could even talk. He had a speaker in his chin connected to a microphone inside the steakhouse, so Joel could talk to kids (and others) who came to visit the bull.

This fiberglass bull has been cast over and over for locations all over the country. It was especially popular as a mascot called "Sir Loin" for a chain called "Sirloin Stockade." Started in Oklahoma City in 1966, this chain went on to have 80 locations in 8 states. Lucky shares the fuzzy red coat and white markings of Sir Loin, modeled after Hereford cattle, but also has horns.

Inscription: Signature of former restaurant owner Pamela Comfort's Uncle Lucky on the bull's chin.

Subject: Public art, Outdoor sculpture, Bulls, Curiosities and wonders

Rights: This work is in the public domain because it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1977 and without a copyright notice.

(No Copyright - United States, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/ NoC-US/1.0/)

Find out more:

 http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/01/iconic_bull_still_stands_after_steakhouse_burns_in_verona.html.

Seltzer, Debra Jane. “Bull Statues.” RoadsideArchitecture.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2016. http://www.roadarch.com/critters/bulls2.html.

Kirby, Doug, Ken Smith, and Mike Wilkins. “Verona, NY - Lucky the Bull.” RoadsideAmerica.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 28 Sept. 2016. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/38139.

“Lucky the Bull More than Just a Lawn Ornament.” OneidaDispatch.com. N.p., 13 Jan. 2016. Web. 28 Sept. 2016. http://www.oneidadispatch.com/article/OD/20160113/NEWS/160119911.

ID#: AO-00137

Location: 5548 State Highway 31, Verona, on the corner of Route 365