SYCAMORE – A $6,000 donation has kick-started fundraising efforts to erect a life-sized memorial to “Mr. Pumpkin,” Wally Thurow.

Thurow, credited as the founder of the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival, died in February. The concept for the memorial was developed in the spring, said Denis Jagodzinski, treasurer of the fundraising committee.

The current plan is for a life-sized bronze statue of Thurow on his trademark penny-farthing bicycle, although Jagodzinski stressed the design has not been finalized. The committee estimates the statue will cost about $75,000, and it plans to make a fundraising push around this year’s festival in October.