BONITA (KGTV) — They’re blue and yellow — a literal bright spot on the side of Bonita Road in Bonita.
They’re glarfs.
“I’m just kind of a glarf lover,” said Max Branscomb, a self-proclaimed glarf enthusiast.
The “drawf dinosaurs” — as Branscomb calls them — may look a little out of place, but because of the story behind the artwork, he said they fit right in.
The glarfs, named Rumbi and Rangui, have a history in Bonita going back decades.
“A 15-year old boy genius named Jerry Gauss built them in 1959 as a birthday present for his mother. He needed a unique name so he called them glarfs,” Branscomb said.
It’s a made-up name that stuck.
Gauss was in the process of building more glarfs when he died in a car crash at the age of 19.
His art lived on, although it disappeared for some time.
“In 1969, his parents moved away from Bonita and took the glarfs with him but didn’t really tell anybody,” Branscomb explained.
Thirty years later, with the help his Jerry’s sister and former Chula Vista Police Officer Tom Everett, they were brought back to Bonita.
Rangui suffered a fall during the trip back to town and then a few years later, time caught up with Rumbi. “There was a crack in the neck. Water got in,” Branscomb said.
Local artist Kelly Tracy fixed him back up and rebuilt Rangui. Now, the pair is back in their permanent spot on Bonita Road between Old Orhard Laneand Allen School Road.
“During rites of passage, [people] come here for birthdays. My daughter was Ms. Bonita [and she] wanted her first picture taken of the glarf,” Branscomb said.
“They really have a special place in my heart,” said 19-year old Sofia Petroulias, chairwoman of the Glarf Celebration on April 12.
She hopes these unique figures live on for a long time to come. “I think it’s a testament the impact arts can have on a community.
A Glarf Celebration will take place Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Bonita Museum, next to the Bonita-Sunnyside Library (4375 Bonita Rd.).
