Rocky Mount, North Carolina - Bunyan Muffler Man [formerly Stan the Tire Man]

Towering over Interstate 95 some 40 feet high stands Paul Bunyan on a pole, adjacent to Old Glory waving in the breeze at The Log Cabin Homes sales center at Goldrock exit 145 in Rocky Mount, NC greeting drivers along the highway. He is the former Stand the Tire Man, bought and moved from Salem, Illinois.

This Muffler Man version, Paul Bunyan, is being used by Log Cabin Homes for its current advertising and promotion campaign. Log Cabin President, Tom Vesce said "The company has already been bombarded by Muffler Men aficionados for site visitations and picture taking alongside Paul Bunyan." He went on to say "this statue became a roadside attraction at our Log Cabin sales center the day it was erected."

Competitors' reaction to the erected statue has ranged from brilliant to charges of idolization on the part of Vesce. When confronted with the fact that the statue has an uncanny resemblance to himself; Vesce laughed and simply said "when in Rome do as the Romans do." Someone needs to tell him that Rocky Mount is not Rome. [Tom Vesce, 08/31/2007]

Muffler Man -- after spending ever so many years standing guard over the Stan The Tire Man facility in Salem, IL -- has sought new employment elsewhere. He has found another job opportunity in Rocky Mount, NC as a promoter for Log Cabin Homes.

Part of his decision, other than a change of climate and topography, was the fact that the new employer afforded health benefits that would repair his damaged foot. [James Somer, 07/07/2007]

[RA: We've received several reports from travelers who noticed that the Tire Man was gone. Jim Somer has sold his Muffler Man to Log Cabin Homes in Rocky Mount -- although we're not sure of the exact new location, since there are at least three businesses with that name in the town.]

YES! This is very true! Here's the real deal, though: HE USED TO BE MARRIED TO A UNIROYAL GIANT WOMAN and they both lived at the Stan the Tire Man in Salem, BUT THEY GOT A DIVORCE!!!! That's what EVERYONE in Salem says! Anyway, she moved south to the next big town down the road, Mt. Vernon, which is also on Rt. 37, and she lives at our Stan the Tire Man on Broadway. (I work here in Mt. Vernon.) I'll send you her picture, too! But here's the kicker: No one in Mt. Vernon knows of her secret past and scandalous divorce! Except me. I'm from Centralia. [D. Hartley, 02/02/1999]

I remember quite well a muffler man standing on the outskirts of Salem, Illinois, a little town about an hour south of Effingham on interstate 57. Go to the center of town and go south on rt. 37 to the outskirts of town and you will see him. I have been in Indiana now about 15 years, so I don't know what they have done with him recently, but I do know he is still there because I passed thru town 2 weekends ago and he was still standing but with no muffler. I know at one time it was a tire shop and they called him "Stan the Tireman". They had tires in his hands at that time. [Dave Hawkins, 09/01/1998]