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plan was to have Snerd and the Texaco Big Friend each “hold” a
section of the ribbon. Since Texaco Big Friend was still in route at
the time of the ribbon cut, the ribbon was hung between Snerd and
the Texaco sign on the west side of the Giants Museum and Baker
climbed a ladder to snip the ribbon. The audience cheered when the
ribbon was cut.
Around 12:30 p.m. over at Atlanta’s Xenia Park just
across the street from the museum, Baker shared some background on
how the idea for the American Giants Museum came about.
Bill Thomas of the Atlanta Betterment Fund introduced Baker and
asked him to tell the background story.
The American Giants Museum was designed and developed as a
partnership between American Giants founder, Joel Baker, and the
Atlanta Betterment Fund organization.
For Baker, the fascination with giants began in 2011 when he was on
a road crew looking up the history of a headless dinosaur in
Brookstone, Florida. He had always wondered where the rest of the
dinosaur was.
Soon, Baker found Roadside America, which many people use to plan
trips. Baker began to learn about the Muffler Men all around the
country. He became fascinated by them and wanted to dig into their
history and find more of the story than Roadside American shared.
In 2012, Baker began a YouTube channel and started traveling with
friends and coworkers. That year, Baker was using a GoPro camera to
film a segment on Atlanta’s Paul Bunyan statue [aka Hot Dog Guy].
Thomas came over to where the crew was filming and told Baker how
many people from all over the world came to town to see the statue.
A few years ago, Baker approached the Atlanta Betterment Fund
organization with the idea of creating an American Giants Museum.
The organization helped fund the building, which went up in the
spring of 2023.
There have been several who are instrumental in getting the museum
going. Baker thanked Thomas and the Atlanta Betterment Fund for
allowing it to happen. He also thanked the guys he worked with in
Southern Illinois who have become the restoration crew called
ReGiant [formerly American Giants Restoration]. In 2015, this crew
saw the need for restoration. Baker gave a shout out to Michael
Younkin and Bill York for all the hours they had spent restoring the
giants.
Next, Baker thanked the many people on social media
platforms who have helped him learn about the history of the Muffler
Men, taking and sharing photos of them. He was glad to meet some of
the people passionate about the giants and was glad to meet some who
were at the grand opening.
For years, Baker has been collecting giants and his collection of
giants, sales materials, files, photos, and other documents from
International Fiberglass are the basis for the museum’s indoor
exhibits. Outside is a Texaco sign and a Muffler Man named Snerd,
who was installed in June 2023.
Eventually, Baker said they hope to have six giants, which will be
the largest single collection of giants along Route 66.
As Baker has started to get his collection of giants, he said it is
a dream come true for others to be able to enjoy the giants. He has
never wanted the giants to just sit in his backyard.
There was then a Question and Answer session with Baker. Many people
had questions about various muffler men.
The first question was directed to Bill Thomas with someone asking
how Thomas and the Atlanta Betterment Fund group helped build
excitement about both the Paul Bunyan giant just down the block from
the museum and the American Giants Museum.
The Paul Bunyan/Hot Dog guy has been in Atlanta for 20 years and
Thomas said they just signed a new extension of the loan agreement
for another ten years. Thomas said this giant was originally at a
hot dog stand in Cicero, Illinois on Route 66. Roy Stevens, who ran
the hot dog stand wanted to retire.
When Steven’s family decided to put the hot dog guy
on eBay to sell it, Thomas said wonderful folks from the Route 66
Association stepped in. The Association convinced the family to not
sell the giant if the association could find a town in Illinois to
host it.
Because Thomas said Atlanta wanted to host the hot dog guy, he asked
Bill Martin, Atlanta’s Mayor at the time, about it. Thomas asked
Martin what he would think of having a 19 foot tall statue of a guy
holding a hot dog near downtown Atlanta. Thomas was surprised how
quickly Martin agreed to it, and said he owes [the late] Martin a
debt of gratitude.
The American Giants Museum is very much a public/private
partnership. Thomas said the Atlanta Betterment Fund, which is a
partner, solely exists to help the community enjoy a better quality
of life. Thomas said they had to ask the city council for funding to
help build the museum. A grant was written on the city’s behalf to
pay for all the outdoor landscaping.
One guest had a question about who has Muffler Men Giants.
Baker said some business owners have purchased Muffler Men Giants.
Lee Woods of Hot Springs, Arkansas has several giants and is getting
more. Baker said Aaron Perry of Gearhead Curios has a Viking. He
thanked these two men, who were both present, who have invested time
in getting them restored and are working to bring these giants to
the public.
Other businesses around the country also have Muffler Men. Baker
said these Muffler Men, which were made between 1962 and 1972 and up
until recently, if you wanted one, you had to get it from the
original “pool” of men.
When Baker and others started working with Mark Cline, all that
changed. The Muffler Men are now more available to be restored by
Cline, who has worked to get spare parts and missing heads. Cline
eventually developed molds for the giants and can even make new
ones. Baker said the original molds are all gone.
Another story Baker shared was that the mold for the Gemini Giant’s
helmet was taken home by the painter who had worked at the company
using the molds. The helmet was then used for a pet house the
painter.
Sitting near Baker was Lisa Smith of New Mexico. Baker said it was
Smith’s father, Bill Swan that sculpted the first giant’s face.
Baker said Swan is really the father of Muffler Men since he made
the iconic face hundreds of giants now have. He finds it an honor to
collaborate with Smith, see some of her photos and get more history
of the Muffler Men.
One man had asked about a giant near St. Louis, Missouri. Baker said
Muffler Men were built to hold mufflers, but some have raised arms
or wave. The only Waving Bunyan giant can be found around the St.
Louis area. Baker does not have photos of all the giants.
A woman left a photo at the museum this weekend,
which Thomas said appears to be from the mid-60. In the photo, the
woman is a baby being held by her father and one of the giants is in
the background. Baker was excited to see the photo and find out more
about it. Thomas and Baker would love to have more photos of giants.
There was then a question about the American Giants Museum and
plans for adding more giants.
On both sides of the museum, Baker said there are slabs. The west
side is called the Land of the Giants rest area and has several
slabs. The plans are to eventually have six giants outside the
museum.
Snerd was installed in June 2023. Baker said this giant is all
original aside from his legs. The Texaco Big Friend was to be
installed later in the day. Sometime this summer, Baker said they
hope to have a Viking.
In Baker’s collection, he has a classic Bunyan and Midas Muffler
Man. He just got a Waving Giant [which was at the museum for the
grand opening]. Baker said it may eventually be installed at the
museum.
The Phillips 66 Cowboy is an oil giant Baker found. He has one from
Belleville, Illinois and recently pulled another one out of the
woods in Georgia. Baker said he loves the hunt and hopes to restore
the cowboy from Georgia to his original look.
Since the Muffler Men were produced in the 1960s and 1970s,
someone asked about the original costs.
In the museum, Baker said there is a 1969 catalog showing the costs.
He thinks the Gemini Giant costs $3,000 to make, which was then
considered high end.
International Fiberglass made what the customer wanted, so he said
they did a lot of custom jobs. Some of the Phillips 66 cowboys had a
six shooter, which Baker said would have cost another 50 or 60
dollars.
Now, people can get a basic giant or custom one made by Cline.
Another question regarded how many giants were made over the 10
years International Fiberglass was manufacturing them.
Baker said Texaco ordered 300 Texaco Big Friend Giants. Today only
six are left.
There are between 200 and 300 Muffler Men still around of the well
over 600 giants Baker said were made. In the 70s and 80s, he said
Muffler Men were thrown in dumpsters at an alarming rate.
When the Waving Giant came down at the request of the people of the
town it was in, Baker said it was stored in an attic.
Thomas asked if Texaco had ordered around 2,400 giants like he
had heard.
Before making the giants became a logistical nightmare, Baker said
there was an order for 3,000 Texaco giants.
For various reasons, Baker said Texaco wanted the
giants destroyed. Many who ran Texaco stations hated the giant.
International Fiberglass made more than just Muffler Men. Baker said
they also made countless animals, dinosaurs, the Big Boy giants and
the A & W Root beer Mama and Baby.
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Besides the Muffler Men giants, someone asked
whether there was any Sinatra, Elvis or Santa Claus giants.
Baker has never heard of any Sinatra or Elvis giants, but they did
make custom giants. There is a Jesse James giant in Missouri. He
said some Santas were made, though few are left.
Soldiers, carpenters and cowboys were also made. Baker has never
even seen some of them.
An Uncle Sam statue was made, and Baker said it is bigger than the
Texaco Big Friend. Baker has not even seen all giants listed in the
catalog.
With so many giants made, someone wanted to know whether there is
a “rarest” giant to find.
When International Fiberglass made these giants, Baker said they
made some that are very hard to find. For instance, there is a
cartoon looking Dancing Cow Baker would love to find. Baker said the
cow looked so fun.
Of the Texaco Big Friends, Baker said only six are
left. The 12’ tall giant inside the museum is called the
professional. International Fiberglass made a bunch of them because
they were more affordable. Some were animatronic and waved at
people.
In the museum’s display case, Thomas said there is a
shipping label with the International Fiberglass logo, which is hard
to find.
Baker said International Fiberglass put stickers on everything they
made, but many of the stickers rubbed off.
When International Fiberglass closed down, Baker said they literally
emptied their filing cabinets into the dumpster and many records
were destroyed. Someone found a catalog and the sticker through
dumpster diving.
Next, Thomas asked Baker to discuss some of his more unusual
finds.
The Waving Giant was one Baker said was an unusual find. His
searches for giants usually start with photos. Baker said he has
seen some of the giants on Roadside America.
While searching for giants, Baker has walked right up to people to
see if they had seen a certain giant. One man Baker asked about the
Waving Giant gave Baker a strange look. It turns out it was in the
attic of where the man worked.
Every once in a while, Thomas said he gets a phone call from Baker
where Baker sounds like an excited nine-year-old who just found
something. Thomas asked Baker to tell the story about the giant in
Georgia.
Baker said there was one giant in Douglas, Georgia that looked like
a captain. For years, Baker searched for the captain and posted his
search on Social Media. He went through the town asking people if
they knew where this giant had ended up.
A man named David Bissler had seen Baker’s posts on Social Media and
went all out to help Baker find this giant. Finally, one family said
they thought the giant may be in the woods in the back of their
property. The family had not seen it in ten or fifteen years. Once
the family located the giant on their property and took photos, they
sent them to Baker.
Baker said it was amazing to see the captain sitting out there in
the woods, and he had one of those “nine-year-old” moments. He asked
the family if he could come get it and restore it and the family
thought it was a good idea.
To get to the captain, Baker had to drive his truck far back into
the woods and drag it out. He made a YouTube episode about this
experience.
A couple people had questions about the famous
Gemini Giant, which was in Atlanta for the weekend before heading to
be restored. One wanted to know about what was used to make these
giants.
For the Gemini Giants, Baker said it is possible a metal plate
special finish was used. The question of what they used will be
answered as the giant is restored.
The guys who restore giants are very interested in what is under all
the layers. Some have several paint layers on them, and Baker said
the crew goes layer by layer to find out what was used.
Three Gemini Giants were made, but Baker said only one remains.
Baker calls the Gemini Giant one of the most iconic representations
of Route 66 Muffler Men.
In 2012, Baker went to film the Gemini Giant. He said the launching
pad for the giant was in disrepair and there was a for sale sign,
but nothing was happening. The venue was then purchased and
restored.
Recently, Baker said Joliet and the city of Wilmington purchased the
Gemini Giant and plan to have it restored. Thomas and Baker were
watching closely to see what was happening when it was for sale.
The ReGiant team went to Wilmington to get the Gemini Giant and
bring him to Atlanta. Baker is thankful to the Wilmington Public
Works Department for their help with getting the giant down quickly.
Thomas gave a shout out to Quinn Adamnowski of the
Joliet Historical Museum for his assistance with the giant.
Though there were originally three of these giants, Baker said the
other two Gemini Giants had different legs. One was in Los Angeles
and the other in Coney Island at Astroland. The one at Coney Island
wore a clear visor.
Photos from the 60s are hard for Baker and others to find. The
helmet on the Coney Island Gemini Giant was lost in the 60s and
Baker said it appears to have completely disappeared by the 70s.
Someone then asked about how Baker started his collection of
giants.
Baker was living in Southern Illinois when he started the
collection. His collection is still there, and Baker said the
ReGiant crew works part time to restore them. Baker said they try to
provide photos and videos of the progress.
Now Baker lives in Colorado. He told everyone to look for photo
progress [on the American Giants Facebook page] of the restorations.
Since Baker has such a passion for the Muffler Men, Thomas asked
how his family feels about it.
Baker travels, does research and makes videos and he appreciates how
many hours his family lets him devote to those activities. One giant
was in their garden for a while. Over the weekend, his wife and kids
were with him helping sell merchandise.
Someone wanted to know if there would be more events like this one.
Baker asked who might be interested in an annual event or one every
other year and people responded by clapping. He said they could meet
different places each time.
In closing, Baker expressed appreciation for people who are
passionate about giants like Mark Cline, a man from Virginia who
creates custom giants.
There is also Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios owner Mary Beth Babcock of
Tulsa, who has a 20-foot Buck Atom’s statue in front of her shop.
Babcock found out a Paul Bunyan lumberjack giant that had been sold
by someone in Illinois is in Tulsa. Baker said the lumberjack will
soon be restored. This summer, the Uniroyal gal Stella will come to
Tulsa.
Gearhead Curios in Kansas is getting a custom made waving giant with
a Muffler Man head later in the summer.
There will be more Muffler Men coming, so Baker told people to keep
an eye out for them on Route 66.
The Country Aire Restaurant will soon have a Uniroyal gal holding a
pie. Thomas said the owners became interested when they saw one in
the museum. Cline is making the Uniroyal gal for them.
By 2026, Thomas said the goal is to have all the platforms by the
museum filled.
The Texaco Big Friend arrived by 4 that afternoon to
the cheers of many people.
Photo courtesy of American Giants
On Sunday, there were several people Baker calls
stars of Muffler Men present for the Grand Opening. When the Texaco
Big Friend was bolted down to the platform, many of them watched.
These Muffler Men stars include Valerie from Silly America, Shelly
Lynn with the Paul Bunyan Muffler Man Project and Lisa Smith,
daughter of Bill Swan who made the first Muffler Man.
Also present were Offbeatjimmyworld, Aaron Perry from Gearhead
Curios and ReGiant owner Michael Younkin.
The Texaco Big Friend now stands on the East Side of
the American Giants Museum.
Many people sat in the shaded area of Atlanta’s Xenia Park enjoying
the weather that had cleared off after a stormy morning. Food
options included a BBQ food truck, grilled ribeye, pork chop and/or
brats from a sidewalk vendor. For dessert, people could purchase
baked goods from Atlanta Christian Church or treats from Missy’
Sweet Shop at the Palms Grill Café featuring specials made just for
the occasion.
[Angela Reiners]
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