By Lara Fominof @fomsy1 on Twitter

Vauxhall spuds getting spruced up in Lethbridge

Jan 7, 2018 | 7:48 AM

VAUXHALL – After 23 years out in the sun, wind, snow and rain anyone would need a makeover.
 
So Vauxhall’s well-known mascots Sammy and Samantha have temporarily parted ways with their perch alongside Highway 36, and travelled to Lethbridge’s Mosaic Industries for a much needed makeover.
 
Mayor Margaret Plumtree says the two boarded trucks earlier this week for the hour long road trip southwest.
 
“So it’s going to take about a month. Basically it’s cosmetic surgery, right? So sand them down, do the repairs, fill any holes and cracks that there are and then paint them.”
 
Plumtree explains why the two tall taters symbolise the town, dubbed the “Potato Capital of Western Canada.”
 
“Back in the 1950s, that’s when farmers started coming to the Vauxhall region, looking at growing potatoes. In the late 1960s to 70s we got Packwell Producers Ltd that started up… they’re now called Prairie Gold [Produce Ltd.] and we also had Vauxhall Foods Limited.”
 
Prairie Gold itself farms more than nine-thousand acres and produces russets, red and yellow potatoes that are shipped all over the world.
 
Plumtree they’re excited to see Sammy and Samantha’s “reveal.”
 
“A month is going to be a long time without them, but we’ll use that as an opportunity to see how many people notice they’re gone and to build some excitement to see them back.”
 
She adds that the town is also starting to work on some ideas involving their mascots for their centennial, in two years.