Green Giant marking 30th anniversary
Sarah Day — Staff WriterArticle Photos
BLUE EARTH - On Monday, the Green Giant statue in Blue Earth marked 30 years of towering over the town. On Friday, area residents will get the chance to celebrate with him.
The event is set for 7:30 p.m. at the fairgrounds.
The history of the statue is tied to Paul Hedberg, once-owner of KBEW, who had a radio show in the 1970s called "Welcome Travelers."
"I interviewed people on old Highway 16 before the interstate," he said. "I talked to them and mentioned to them on the show that we had a Green Giant plant and I would give them a can of green beans as a sample of Blue Earth. They wanted to see the Green Giant."
Hedberg wanted to give people what they wanted, and also find a way for Blue Earth to draw in people from the interstate that had yet to open.
Prior to Interstate 90, travelers packed the local highways that ran through towns such as Fairmont and Blue Earth. When I-90 opened, those travelers drove just outside them.
Hedberg turned to Green Giant Corporation president Thomas Wyman.
"They said, if you can raise the money locally we'll consider it," he said.
The corporation didn't contribute any funds. So Hedberg went back to Blue Earth and visited 10 businesses: Blue Earth Industrial Service Company, Blue Earth Lumber Company, Blue Earth Medical Center, Blue Earth State Bank, First National Bank, KBEW, L&M Motors, Tafco Equipment Company, Blue Earth Valley Telephone Company and the White House Steak House.
Each gave $5,000 in one week, stunning Wyman.
Designing the statue took a little more time and effort.
On all the advertising for Green Giant, his back side hadn't been designed, and Green Giant needed to approve it.
Then, Creative Displays in Sparta, Wis., got to work building the 47.5-foot, 8,000-pound Jolly Green Giant in the summer of 1978. The statue has 6-foot-long feet, wears a size 78 shoe and has a smile 48 inches wide.
Although he had $50,000 in hand from the businesses, Hedberg still had to get the statue moved and installed. In addition to construction, the bill totaled $70,000. So Hedberg paid for the rest.
Hedberg wanted the statue to be ready for the I-90 dedication. Blue Earth happened to be the midpoint between the coast-to-coast interstate that runs from Boston to Seattle.
The giant was transported to Blue Earth and presided over the ceremony. He had been shipped via a flatbed trailer and lifted by a crane.
He then went into storage, laid on a mobile home frame and covered up for winter.
In June and July of 1979, the 8-foot tall base was built for the giant to stand on. On July 6, 1979, he came to stand next to the Faribault County Fairgrounds. Hedberg said the giant had holes in the back of his legs that were filled with concrete.
"He's mostly hollow inside," he said, noting that the fiberglass giant is supported with a steel structure.
Hedberg initially wanted the giant to stand out next to I-90.
"I couldn't get any of the landowners out there to donate any land," he said. "He would have been much more effective right out on the interstate. The fair board finally gave me the (use of their) land."
Blue Earth Chamber of Commerce director Shelly Greimann said about 10,000 people visit the statue each year.
"(The giant) is certainly part of our identity," she said. "It's really a fun aspect of our heritage to promote. He's good for Blue Earth. ... Anytime you can entice people to stop off I-90 and visit your community it's a wonderful thing."
Greimann said the symbol particularly resonates with the area because many towns had canning factories, and many area residents had family members working in the Green Giant plants.
The giant is scarfed each year for Christmas - to help him fend off the cold. Around August, he is donned with a Relay for Life T-shirt. In prior years, he wore a Harley jacket and red bandanna in honor of the Sturgis motorcycle rally.
Giant green footprints appear around downtown prior to Giant Days, which is coming up this weekend.
Greimann said many children think the giant walks around town. City Attorney David Frundt's children hold the giant in high regard. Jack, Nick and Joe put peanuts and raisins out for the giant to eat. The next morning, green footprints appear in front of their home and the goodies are gone.
Greimann said playground equipment was designed several years ago to expand the giant's park. Equipment included a potato-and-celery slide and a swing featuring Sprout standing on a tomato. Those plans haven't yet come to fruition.
One thing Hedberg wanted to see when the statue was built was a speaker system that played a "Ho, ho, ho" recording when someone pushed a button. He said the idea would be feasible today because of advancements in electronics.
The statue should be around for many more years to come. Greimann said it has only been repainted once - to her knowledge - and has had cracks repaired once. There are currently cracks in his feet, she said, and fund-raising will be needed to repair those.
Hedberg just hopes people still enjoy the Jolly Green Giant.
"It was done to improve things," he said. "I've always believed in fun and frolic. It was a fun deal to do."
