Bunyan Muffler Man: One Arm
Lake Vanare, New York
Type: Bunyan (22 ft. tall)
Arm position: Standard, right arm missing
Accessories: Sign-saw and tree stump (to hide missing foot)
This Muffler Man has survived more abuse than most. In the 1970s, according to his former owners, he was shanghaied by hooligans who tossed him onto a lumber truck, drove to nearby Lake Luzerne, and threw him in.
The next day his head was visible sticking out of the water. During the kidnapping he lost his right arm, which may still lie at the bottom of the lake.
A big storm knocked Bunyan's head off in 2002. When his new owner set the head aside on the ground, someone stole it, then had the audacity to call and offer to buy the rest of the Muffler Man cheap because he had no head!
By 2010 Bunyan was barely visible in the woods, missing significant parts of his body. But in that same year new owners bought the property, cleared away the foliage, and by 2012 the Muffler Man had been repainted and re-headed. He now stands as he did 40 years ago, propped against a cut-off tree to hide his missing arm, holding a large cross-cut saw with his one remaining hand.