American Giants aficionado Joel Baker shares his knowledge and experiences with a large crowd in Atlanta

 

[May 30, 2024] 

A Grand Opening ribbon cutting ceremony for Atlanta’s American Giants Museum took place on Sunday, May 26, at 2 p.m. just outside the museum with Joel Baker of American Giants LLC cutting the ribbon.

YouTube video - Atlanta Giants Museum ribbon cutting

The 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.

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]