Whirligigs – The Comic Weathervanes

We have all seen them at some point in our travels, with their appendages moving at super human speed, whirling and twirling as if on a mad quest to get somewhere.

No, it’s not a crazed shopper who has heard of a blow out sale at the mall. Their sustaining life force is wind driven, and like their creators, they have a whimsical story to tell. They have been around for centuries and love the attention. Meet the whirligig, or comic weathervane.

Earlier designed whirligigs were brought to America by European immigrant crafters who eventually adopted an American theme to their creations such as farming, fishing or forestry. Each design had a distinctive character and charisma, most often holding a shovel, pitchfork, fishing rod or axe.

They eventually spread northward along the East Coast into New England with earliest European records dating back to the 18th century. So basically, the whirligig is an East Coast phenomenon in North America. Those from Main, New Hampshire, Vermont and Nova Scotia are familiar with whirligigs.

They were a familiar sight, as they were often built by an individual’s grandfather or great-grandfather. Fishermen often had a lot of time on their hands when they weren’t fishing, and that’s when they created whirligigs, in those leisurely hours.

Wind direction was important to a fisherman, as it foretold of approaching storms and high seas; conditions that often dictated the fisherman’s day. Wind direction could be observed from a window, without the need to step outside.

As the English language evolved through the centuries, they were initially known as whyrlegyse, whirlgigy and workegyg, a combination of two Norse words, whirl (rotating) and gig (to turn). Their mechanical principle was simple. They turned, twisted and danced with the wind on both horizontal and vertical planes, while still maintaining their simplicity.

The whirligig’s oldest ancestor is the wind vane. With time, propellers or small windmills and pin wheels were incorporated, leading to the creation of the working or playing whirligig.?Pinwheels may have originated in China as a primitive form of windmill, arriving in 12th century Europe, before finding their way to North America.

Whirligigs are either non-mechanical or mechanical.?The mechanical whirligig incorporates more moving parts that can gyrate, and the whole design reacts to wind forces.

During the Great Depression of the 1930’s, the whirligig’s revival emerged?through the nimble fingers of unemployed individuals, who sold them for one dollar each on their front yards as a means of income. During this grim time, the whirligig sold well, lifting heavy spirits, epitomizing a sense of humour.?Whirligigs have evolved since then as a means of depicting their designer’s social life; the way they lived, and how they viewed the world.

Many of the traditionally designed whirligigs remain, such as birds, a man chopping wood, or cars. Now there appears to be a resurgent interest for whirligigs for nostalgic reasons. They dropped out of popularity about four decades ago. Baby boomers recall their grandfather of great-grandfather designing them, and they want one of their own, except now they request whirligigs that are more intricately designed and personalized. They want a creation to place on their deck or elsewhere on their land that is a unique depiction of what is important in their life.

Today, whirligigs are designed around any theme, any aspect of one’s life that is cherished and memorable. For example, one that I viewed and really enjoyed was a young girl playing the fiddle, while her pet dog watched. Everything was detailed to likeness, achieved from photos, such as her favourite coloured clothing to the breed, colour and markings of her dog.

Building a simple whirligig, although not overly difficult, does require some patience. However, designing more elaborately detailed depictions requires some knowledge of physics and math.?Such designs require a cam, the projection part of a wheel that strikes a lever at one or more points on a circular path, which needs to be accurate in order to generate the needed force to turn the cam at reduced wind speed.

Propeller size and positioning are important in even the most rudimentary designs. Most of the time, creating an elaborate ‘gig’ is simply through trial and error.?Designing a whirligig helps build confidence and is truly an art form.

Shelburne, Nova Scotia, hosts Canada’s only whirligig and weathervane festival, offering 10 prize categories.

Nuts and bolts, propellers and wire. Not much when viewed in isolation, but when incorporated into a memorable, personalized, whimsical whirligig – it is priceless.