GIANT STATUES

Muffler Men & Miss Uniroyals (aka Uniroyal Gals)

I first accidentally came across one in Idaho in 2021. Then it took me two years to realize there were more and to actively start 'collecting' them.

In 1958, a cowboy by the name of Bob Prewitt designed a horse trailer and built a fiberglass horse to stand in it as a promotional feature. But more people wanted to buy the horse than the trailer!

In 1962, he got a request to build a giant lumberjack for the Paul Bunyan Cafe in Flagstaff AZ. He did so (with help), but it wasn't his thing. So in 1963, he sold the business (and mold) to Steve Dashew, owner of International Fiberglass. He expanded the idea from lumberjacks to anything anybody needed.

The Muffler Men were created as promotional attractions and placed in front of such locations as Phillips 66, Sinclair and Texaco. His hands were made to hold a giant muffler.

A bit later, Miss Uniroyal was made as a companion idea, being moved around to different Uniroyal Tire & Rubber Company stores and gas stations for various events. She originally held a Uniroyal Tire sign in her raised left hand and wore a watch on her right wrist. Originally they all were clad in only a bikini, but complaints that the statues were too racy caused many of them to be sent back to receive skirts and blouses. But Miss Uniroyal never became quite as popular as her Muffler Man counterpart.

Over the years, as stores closed, the statues were moved around, repainted and adapted to different businesses.

In 2018, fiberglass artist Mark Cline (at Enchanted Castle Studios in Natural Bridge, Virginia) gathered up some fragments and made a new mold of the body. New Muffler Men could now be born!

-- ARIZONA --


Lumberjack in Flagstaff - This is possibly the very first one created by Bob Prewitt in 1962 for the cafe. He's been standing by the Skydome since the 1970s.


Big Wes in Yuma - He was decapitated in Dodge City in 1975 by a windstorm and moved here in 1982. He has a motor inside his replacement head which was meant to make it swivel on his neck, although it was never used. He wears a star on his vest that reads "Deputy".

-- CALIFORNIA --


Joor Man in Escondido - He was in the middle of getting a new paint job. He's stood here since the 1960s. He sometimes gets to wear holiday outfits.


Big Josh in Joshua Tree - He used to stand in Mecca, CA. He got a new head in 2014 and arrived here in 2018.

-- COLORADO --


Muffler Man head in Boulder - He hangs upside-down from the rafters inside the Dark Horse Bar and Grill. His history is unclear, but it's suggested he was used in a movie and repainted for that purpose.

-- KANSAS --


Big Charlie Jay in Hutchinson - The 1950s-style "greaser" stands on top of a 1948 Dodge farm truck near Hutch Vintage Market. He was made by Mark Cline in 2022.


Muffler Man in Wichita - He stands outside of Brown's Tire and Custom Wheel Center.

-- MISSOURI --


Chief Wappalese at Chaonia Landing Resort and Marina - He stands overlooking the shores of Lake Wappapello, as a proud symbol of the Chaonia people. The large chief was previously named Chief Sagamore when he stood outside the War Drum restaurant in Sikeston. He later stood over the entrance to the Southeast Missouri State University football stadium.


Carl the Chef in Springfield - He was made by Mark Cline in 2020 and stands along old Route 66 (his belt buckle reads "Route 66") in front of a fairly new food truck park.


Mega Mayor in Uranus - Mark Cline built this one in 2021 in the image of self-elected mayor Louie Keen of the tourist town of Uranus. He stands outside the Putt Pirates mini golf course. Apparently he was beheaded by a severe wind storm on April 2, 2024... just one week before I visited him. Fortunately it's said that Mark Cline will make a new head.


A photo of the damaged head from the Uranus Fudge Factory and General Store Facebook page

-- OKLAHOMA --


Buck Atom Space Cowboy in Tulsa - He began life in the 1960s in Calgary, Alberta, but ended up getting shattered in a Canadian jukyard. His fragments were brought to Virginia in 2018 and used by Mark Cline to make a mold of the body. The character of space cowboy Buck was merged with the Muffler Man body and arrived here in 2019.

-- PENNSYLVANIA --


Big Chip in Coopersburg - He was also built by Mark Cline using his mold and arrived here in 2018.

-- MISS UNIROYAL --


Martha's Cafe in Blackfoot, Idaho - The statue used to stand in front of the White Eagle Drive-Thru gas station a few blocks down. She was moved to the cafe in 1990. Originally she was blonde and held a plate with fries and a cheeseburger. In 2011, she underwent a make-over and returned with different make-up, hair color, outfit ... and a giant diamond ring on her finger!


Miss Uniroyal in Mount Vernon, Illinois - In 1970, she stood in front of Stan the Tire Man's store in Salem IL. In 2007, she was moved to Stan's Mount Vernon location. When that business closed in 2015, she was purchased by Bruce Kennedy, who made a fiberglass mold of her in order to produce future statues. She was fixed up and returned to her old spot in 2022. Under her material dress, she is wearing her original pink polka-dot bikini.

Other random big folks

Forever Marilyn in Palm Springs, California - A 26-foot tall statue created by Seward Johnson out of stainless steel and aluminum in 2011

Unconditional Surrender in San Diego, California - Based on the famous photo taken in 1945 moments after Japan's surrender to the US in WWII. The 25-foot, 7-ton bronze statue stands next to the USS Midway.

The Golden Driller in Tulsa, Oklahoma - The 75-foot-tall, 43,500-pound oil worker has been located in front of the Tulsa Expo Center since 1966)

Athena in Nashville, Tennsesse - She can be found inside a replica of the Greek Parthenon, which was built as part of the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition. The 42-foot statue, however, wasn't completed until 2002.


Big Lonnie Johnny in Hutchinson, Missouri - Using an original 1966 mold of a Big John (statues from molds at the General Sign Company of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, for Big John grocery stores), Mark Cline made this statue in 2022.