International Fiberglass did not use a specific name for this statue.  Therefore, I have nicknamed this particular model the “Waving Giant.”  It is described in International Fiberglass’ product listings as 22 feet tall, with a long sleeve shirt, necktie, dress slacks and shoes.  It mentions that the statue is lifelike and is also available with a suit coat.  These statues weigh 325 pounds and were sold for $3,000 in 1964 which equals $22,600 in today’s economy. It is not known if these Waving Giants were produced for a particular company or for a type of business.

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Just when you think you have figured out a pattern for Muffler Men, one will turn up that breaks the rules. International Fiberglass’ Muffler Men were often customized for the customer. Some people believe that the Frankenstein statue at Haunted Trails near Chicago was one of these made-to-order statues.  However, I don’t believe that this statue was produced by International Fiberglass.

The Frankenstein at Haunted Trails Family Amusement Park in Burbank, IL  bears a strong resemblance to Muffler Men.  His general stance and the wrinkles of his pants are a dead match. His hands are also positioned with the  right palm up, left palm down like the classic Muffler Man.  However, that’s where the similarities end. The Frankenstein head , shoulder pads, tie, and bloody axe are unique. The statue also has an iron bar stuck through his neck.

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The Plantation Inn Man may be witnessing some of his last sunsets at the hotel located in Chicopee, MA. I was recently alerted by one of my blog followers that the statue was going up for auction. Thankfully, I had the chance to see him in July 2012.  I got some great shots of him then and got some information about his history. The statue was built by International Fiberglass in Venice, CA as a Pizza Man. The statue was installed in the mid to late 1960s at a pizza shop in Framingham, MA.

In 1970, Mario Cantalini bought the statue from the pizza shop for $2,000 and moved it to his Mutual Ford dealership in Springfield, MA..  The dealership used the slogan of “Buy American” so the statue was transformed into an Uncle Sam character and the statue’s chef’s hat was replaced with a top hat. The statue stood on the lot until 1988 when the dealership closed. The property was leased to a used car dealership and the statue was put in storage. The owner was not interested in keeping the statue since the “Buy American” slogan didn’t fit well with all the foreign cars they were selling. The statue was taken down and put into storage.

Cantalini was involved in many businesses over the years.  He ventured into the hotel industry in the early 1990s at the age of 74.  One of the hotels that he owned was known as the Chicopee Motor Inn when it was built in 1958.  The hotel was designed by the highly acclaimed architect, Morris Lapidus.  It went by several names over the years before Cantalini bought it and renamed it the Plantation Inn.

The hotel’s heyday was in the 1960s when it was known as the Schine Inn.  It was a very popular place with celebrities like Muhammad Ali and Judy Garland.. In 1999, the hotel’s most famous guest arrived.  The Uncle Sam statue was taken out of storage and transformed into a Southern gentleman.  The statue’s suit and top hat were painted white.  It was installed in front of the hotel facing a busy interstate exit.

After 14 years at this location, the giant statue will be moving again. It was sold at an auction on Friday, November 15th.  According to an article in The Republican “Plantation Man” sold at auction on Friday to Charlie Arment Jr. of Charlie Arment Trucking in Springfield. The auction generated allot of interest and over 100 people were present to witness the event. Charlie won the bid at $11,500 outbidding others as far away as KY. He was sketchy when giving future details but plans to keep the giant in the local area. According to the auction’s advertising, the statue was sculpted by Sacha Schnittman.  While Schnittman did sculpt the Texaco Big Friend, I have not heard or read anywhere that he created the Waving Giant statues like this one.  However, it is possible.

I have yet to find a photograph of this statue in its early days as a Pizza Man in Framingham.  International Fiberglass started selling this particular model in the mid-1960s.  A few of them still exist in Chicago, IL and Oakwood Village, OH. There are also a few in Texas with non-standard heads and hands. I recently spoke with former International Fiberglass painter, Terry Nelson.  He showed me photographs of statues being assembled  in Venice, CA.  One of the heads (see photo at left)  wore a chef’s hat and could have been a Pizza Man.  This may have been the same style hat that the Plantation Inn statue wore originally.  I have not been able to find anything about “Too-Fy” or “Stoo-fy” which is printed on this hat.   If anyone knows the correct name of the business and where this statue was located, I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks to the Plantation Inn for providing information about the statue during my 2012 visit.  Also to The Republican newspaper (see article here) for the information and reference to my blog. Debra Jane Seltzer (RoadsideArchitecture.com) for her input and editing help. Additional thanks to Hell’s Acres blog for letting me use their picture of Plantation Inn Man when he stood at Mutual Ford.

The Muffler Man in Evergreen Park, IL is part of what I call the Chicago Cluster.  This Paul Bunyan model is one of two in the Chicago area.  It was first documented by RoadsideAmerica.com in 1997. The statue has been updated a few times over the years. A call to his owners shed only a little light on this Muffler Man’s history. The statue stands on the roof of Guardian Auto Rebuilders.  It is held in place by supports inside his legs.  Some cables are also attached to the eye bolts on top of his shoulders. The current owners bought the business in 1975.  The statue was already on the roof at that time. The owners don’t know how long the statue has been there.  When the company moved in, the statue held a giant hammer. That accessory disappeared a few times during the 1980s. The guys at Guardian got tired of making new hammers for the statue and finally hung the last one up in the shop.  In 1998, a tornado knocked the statue over.  The statue was removed at that point and repainted with DuPont ChromaBase auto paint.  A giant G was also painted on his shirt before he was returned to the roof.

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The Eye Care Indian is a must on any Muffler Man excursion in the Chicago area. The statue has been there since the 1970s or possibly the 1960s. We visited him while shooting for Episodes #5-7 in the Chicago area for American Giants. Bo stayed in the car the entire time while Neto and I ran around shooting photos and video. Since it was the weekend and the business was closed, we didn’t have a chance to talk with anyone about the statue’s history.

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Mixed in with the many other International Fiberglass muffler men versions was one that is rare and fairly uncommon. However in my continuous search for muffler men I have run across enough of them to realize that they are a version all of their own although it seems less then 10 were made. We call them today by the name that was often printed on their shirt “Mr Bendo”. I have spent more time then I had planned scouring the internet for clues and information about this Mr Bendo. It seems he was popular with auto repair businesses but a chain by that name doesn’t seem to have existed. Adding to the mystery is the fact that these giants are not concentrated in one state or area but strewn about the US from Texas to Indiana with one even in Sioux Falls.

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It’s always nice to tie in a missing muffler man with a current one and that is the case with the Crystal Lake Bunyan. He has been standing outside of Lumberjacks Firewood and Mulch business since 2009 when he showed up out of the blue. There was actually some confusion among muffler man spotters as to exactly which muffler man was being seen in Crystal Lake. In 2007 two other muffler men arrived in Crystal Lake not far away at a greenhouse and at first it seemed the bunyan version had been moved to Lumberjacks. The other two muffler men had arrived from Ozzies Waterpark and they were footless and neither of them was a bunyan version so I ruled that out quickly. Our A.G. crew arrived in the May of 2012 and found the giant holding two big bags of mulch. We were new to the game and it was one of the first giants we started shooting extensively with the go pro camera.

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