A mule at Stewart's in Saratoga Avenue in Waterford

Back in May, I wrote a post on my blog about missing those Uncle Sam statutes that had been placed around downtown Troy until they were auctioned off in an online bidding process last  December.

I loved driving through the Collar City, checking out those patriotic gentlemen as I navigated the city streets.

Since they've been gone, it seems like I can't go anywhere without running into statues in other communities. Whether it's the squirrels in Olean, the frogs in Erie, Pennsylvania or the horses and ballet slippers in Saratoga Springs, seeing them just makes me miss those Uncle Sam statues even more.

In doing a little research for the blog post, I discovered that this worldwide public art craze for over-sized fiberglass statues start in 1999 with cows in Chicago.

Well, we can add another community to the list: Waterford.

Five life-size statues have been installed throughout the town to honor the animal's contribution to the history of the canal system and the 50th anniversary of the Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center.

According to a story by Record reporter Danielle Sanzone in today's print and online editions, the mules were designed by local artists and will be auctioned off in October to benefit the museum and cultural center.

I think they're kind of cute and colorful -- but I'm still missing my Uncle Sams!

Record Chief Photographer Mike McMahon found this mule statue at the Waterford Harbor Visitors Center.

Rebecca Haizmann

When she started with us as a correspondent for Latham Life, she was Rebecca Eppelmann.

Since that time, she has added a few more titles - both professionally and personally.

Leaving the world of independent contractors behind, she joined The Record staff and became editor of our various weeklies,  took on the responsibilities of copy editor, filled in as city desk editor, was named social media coordinator and audience engagement editor. Finally, she was named city editor while continuing to juggle her role as audience engagement editor.

In between juggling all those professional tasks, Rebecca took a few minutes to get married to her fiance Kirby, change her last name to Haizmann, buy a home in Colonie and walk her dog Bailey.

In June, Rebecca Haizmann joined the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District as communications coordinator, where she is responsible for the organization's traditional and new media communications.

 Frankly, it was time for the woman to go;  we were going broke getting her new business cards.

Despite this, we here at The Record do miss her and wish her well with her new position.

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Andrew Beam shows off his farewell cake

City reporter Andrew Beam, too, has also moved on down the highway.

Specifically, Andrew has moved a few counties south of here, accepting a job with the Middletown Times Herald Record covering Sullivan County.

We referred to him as Team Beam, the name given to him by City Editor Rebecca Haizmann because he seemed to have too much energy to possibly be one person. He definitely was a force in this newsroom with his enthusiasm, his interest in learning, his love of music and his never-ending tales of how he spent his weekends. Knowing we were in for a few good laughs from Team Beam made coming to work so much easier on Mondays.

The Record's loss is definitely the Middletown Times Herald Record's gain. We all wish him continued success with his career.

P.S. Thanks for leaving the hat behind!

Wishing Andrew well on his last day are his fellow members of The Record City Desk: Lauren Halligan, left to right, Danielle Sanzone, Molly Eadie and Andrew.