The Pequot Lakes bobber water tower was sinking into disrepair. Residents rallied to keep it afloat.

PEQUOT LAKES, Minn. — The fishing bobber above the pines here is the answer to “Are we there yet?” for tourists and residents alike. When they see that red and white orb in the sky, they’re home.

But the water tower, empty for decades, has been sinking into disrepair with paint chipping and dulling from years of exposure to harsh Minnesota winters. So to give the bobber some overdue TLC and keep it afloat among the clouds, the Chamber of Commerce here started a campaign in March to raise tens of thousands of dollars.

“When people think of Pequot, they think of the bobber,” said chamber director Nichole Heinen.

So far donations from the community have eclipsed $57,000. If that sounds like a lot for a paint job, know that they need $10,000 more by Aug. 1 — and the fundraising goal was even higher until the chamber recently renegotiated the contract from $90,000 down to $77,000.

An anonymous donor will match up to $10,000. The chamber and city are each donating $10,000, and First National Bank is the top donor contributing $5,000.

But over the Fourth of July, she saw kids dropping a buck in a donation bucket. “All of it adds up,” she said. And she’s not the least bit surprised by the outpouring of support.

“The donations have kind of been coming in from everywhere. I’ve seen stuff from Colorado ... Missouri ... a lot from the Twin Cities area,” she said. “People that just have cabins up here, or they come to the area and they love Pequot Lakes as well.”

In neighboring Nisswa, the gift and retail shop Woodland Meadow teamed up with Minneapolis artist Cindy Lindgren to design bobber stickers. They sold for $4 and all proceeds (more than $800) went toward the fundraiser.

“It’s cool to just see the effects of having conversations with people about it,” said shop co-owner Jess Johnson. “It is something special and I love that it has been shared everywhere.”

Heinen said it wasn’t an option to tear down the water tower, as that would cost about the same. The idea behind the campaign is that a freshly painted water tower will better reflect the community.

“Our town is beautiful when you’re here. So we need it to look beautiful from the sky as well,” she said. “We don’t want it to look run down, because we’re not a rundown city. We’re a flourishing city, and we have to make sure that we’re keeping up with what we have.”

Heinen will announce a fundraising update at the upcoming Bean Hole Days — when massive cast iron kettles of beans are buried July 16, cooked overnight, and served to thousands of people the next day for lunch.

The water tower used to be blue and hold 50,000 gallons before it was replaced with a new one in 2000.

Prior to emptying the water tower, Pequot Lakes wanted to zhuzh it up with a redesign. Perhaps a beanpot paint job? But they opted for a bobber design, and it was painted red and white in 1987.

A Star Tribune article at the time said Pequot Lakes “will turn its water tower into Paul Bunyan’s humongous red-and-white fishing bobber. Supposedly, some of Paul’s favorite fishing spots were nearby.”

To finance the transformation, Bunyan Bobber Buttons were sold for a buck to help raise $9,300.

In 1998, then-Mayor Jack Schmidt proposed painting the water tower a giant golf ball on a tee in homage to 17 area golf courses. That was a swing and a miss for Schmidt because the bobber stayed.

Residents wore “Save our Bobber” pins in protest. One stalwart told the Star Tribune: “Did Paul Bunyan golf? No. He fished!”

Crews last repainted the water tower in 2007 for about $10,000, a fraction of what the work will cost this fall when crews will, once again, hover 125 feet above Bobber Park to preserve the landmark.