Marblehead, Ohio: Handless Jacques

20-foot-tall Jacques, with his pencil mustache and paper hat, used to have a tray of food. Somewhere along his storied career promoting roadside businesses, he lost his tray and both hands. C'est la vie!

Handless Jacques

Last week, after returning from a trip to Marblehead, Ohio, I noticed you didn't have a photo of Jacques, the handless goliath in the food-service cap. Just so happens I got a shot when we stopped for gas. Jacques now stands beside highway 163, between an RV sales business and a Shell station. He looks to be in pretty good shape -- except for the hands, which have been replaced by what looks like a framework for a small shield.

[David Plambeck, 09/25/1999]

Jacque the Pizza Man

Jacque, the statue seen at Marblehead, on Lake Erie, was born in Mansfield in the early 1970s. He stood in front of Jacque's Roast Beef restaurant right on the edge of the street, on Rt 42. Jacque's large arms and hands hung over the street. I remember that my husband was involved in writing a sign ordinance for the city. Apparently Jacque was deemed dangerous to passing traffic, and he quickly relocated to the Lake Erie area. I remember seeing him for years laying in the backyard of a house.

[Carol Pierce, 09/08/1998]

Jacque the Pizza Man

There is what appears to be a Muffler Man outside of the East Harbor State Park on the way to Marblehead, OH. When I first moved to the area in the early 80s, he stood at the ready with a giant pizza box, blue jacket, white "sailor" cap and a big smile. Then for a number of years he laid on the ground (apparently napping). Now he heralds the entrance to a trailer park. Its hard to be certain if he is a true Muffler Man, his hands were amputated at some point, probably to hold that pizza!

[Folerjo, 12/08/1997]