Emily the dragon welcomes you

Emily the Miller Lake Dragon is once again enjoying the comforts of her summer home in Miller Lake. Emily was returned to the lake by “her” creator, Councillor Krista Snow. Snow is responsible for the third Miller Lake Dragon to call the lake home.

The first “dragon” came to life in the lake when the highway that borders it was built. Residents of the area reportedly noticed a mysterious figure peeking just above the waters surface. The figure turned out to be the stump of a tree protruding from the lake, but it strongly resembled the head of a dragon.

When painted, it truly did resemble a dragon, thus the first name “Miller Lake Dragon”.

But after a few years, vandals sabotaged the dragon, cutting her “head” off and taking it away. Many commuters, who travelled the highway beside the dragons’ home in the lake, as well as residents, were both angered and saddened by the selfish act. The dragon had become a very familiar site to many.

Snow and her own family were among those affected, and they decided to do something about it. They created a model of the original dragon, made of mesh wire and painted green. The head fit over the remainder of the original dragon’s stump.

“My sister Patti made the second dragon,” said Snow. “It was named Mortimer in a school contest.”

But Mortimer too met an untimely demise when vandals once again struck and made off with his head. “That was maybe nine years or so ago,” said Snow. “Miller Lake remained “dragon-less” for a couple of years, and then I made mine. I made her out of chicken wire, papier-mâché and fibreglass.”

Snow was helped in her endeavour to release Emily into the water for the summer, by members of the Boy Scouts, who took her out to secure “Emily” in place. The Councillor shivered as she “freed” the bright green dragon into Miller Lake, where she will watch over drivers who travel by and supply them something to talk about on their way to their various destinations. “The lake was big-time COLD,” she said with a chuckle.

When asked to name her favourite thing about Emily - Miller Lake Dragon, III – Snow responded with enthusiasm. “Even when I know she is out of the lake at my place for the winter, when I drive by I look – it’s too funny,” she said. “I love everything about her; it wouldn’t be the same without the green girl.”