BIG STATUES
American Giants Museum
Around 1965, large oil companies such as Phillips 66, Sinclair, Exxon and Texaco started working with International Fiberglass (located in Venice, CA) to produce giant statues... the Sinclair green dinosaur, the Phillips 66 Cowboy (Muffler Man), the Texaco Big Friend and the Esso Tiger.
Joel Baker is the founder of American Giants, a company that documents and restores giant statues. Restoration can take anywhere from three to nine months, depending on the statue's condition. Construction on the American Giants Museum building in Atltanta (Illinois) began in October 2022. It is meant to resemble a vintage Texaco service station. It officially opened in the spring of 2024 and is filled with information and pieces of assorted large statues.
Texaco Big Friend
The first Big Friend (or Friendly Service Man) was made in 1966 for a Texaco advertising campaign. The company ordered 300 of them (with an option to order 2,700 more) and placed them in gas stations all around the country. Unfortunately due to an assortment complains (distracting to drivers, difficult to move, dangers from toppling over, unsightly, etc), the campaign was short-lived. Not only were the statues taken down, they were ordered to all be destroyed. Only six are known to have survived... smuggled away and hidden for decades.
Big Friend in Atlanta, Illinois - This 24-foot-tall Big Friend was sent to Las Vegas in 1966 to Las Vegas. In 1981, the owner of Sun Valley Homes in Parhump (Nevada) purchased the Texaco Big Friend and modified him with a different hat and colors. He served as an advertisement for pre-fabricated homes. When the company closed in 2013, he was bought as scrap metal by the disposal yard. During his transportation, he sustained a caved-in chest and amputation of an arm and a hand. His metal was removed and the remaining pieces found a home on the ground outside a museum. In 2016, he was brought to Illinois for restoration. Since early 2024, he has his original appearance and stands at the American Giants Museum. So far, he's the only Texaco Big Friend that has been fully restored to his vintage look.
Mortimer Snerd
Mortimer Snerd was the name of a ventriloquist dummy from the 1930s used by Edgar John Bergen. Sometimes also called Happy Halfwits, the statues were produced in the 1960s by the International Fiberglass company, which also made the Muffler Men. They, however, were meant more for fun places such as amusement parks or miniature golf courses. They sold for $1,860 and could be as tall as 21 feet.
Mortimer Snerd in Atlanta, Illinois - This one stood until 2012 outside the Wagon Wheel bar in Madison (Ohio) until 2012. It was restored and brought here in 2023.
Paul Bunyan (& Babe the Blue Ox)
Paul Bunyan is a fictitious lumberjack of gigantic size and incredible strength. It's believed he began as stories told by loggers in the North American forests. These stories were written down and made popular in 1916 by author William B. Laughead. The original folklore listed Bunyan as a very large, but still human, being. But Laughead turned him into a giant so large that he towered above the trees and his footprints are what created the lakes in Minnesota. He also gave the blue ox that accompanied him the name of Babe.
Paul & Babe in Oscoda, Michigan - Paul stands over 13 feet tall and was originally made of papier-mâché in 1971 for a Detroit parade. Afterwards, it was purchased by Oscoda for $50. It was restored in 1983 with fiberglass and repainted. In 2023, Babe was added.
Paul & Babe in Ossineke, Michigan - Paul was built of of concrete in the 1940s. He is 25.5 feet tall and weighs 11.5 tons. Babe was built in 1938 and was originally painted white. She was painted blue in 1950 and paired up with Paul in 1953. They were moved to this location in 2006 and repainted in 2007. If you look closely, Bunyan has a loudspeaker in his shirt pocket, possibly with a recorded message or connected to a tavern across the street.
Paul & Babe in St. Ignace, Michigan - The duo sit at the base of the steep staircase up to Castle Rock, a nearly 200-foot-high column of limestone. Unlike most Bunyans which stand, this one is seated. Postcards from the 1950s show a different version made of concrete and chickenwire.
Paul in Bangor, Maine - Constructon on the statue began in 1958 as part of the city's 125 anniversary celebration the following year, to commemorate their history as The Lumber Capital of the World. As such, Paul holds an axe as well as a piece of logging equipment called a peavey. The 31-foot-tall, steel-framed fiberglass statue weighs 3,700 pounds and can withstand winds up to 140 miles per hour. In its base is a time capsule, to be opened in 2084.
