Big Mike: Muffler Man with Wrench
Dallas, Georgia
Type: Classic (20 ft. tall)
Arm position: Standard
Accessories: Pipe wrench
Nickname: Big Mike
Big Mike, with his mighty pipe wrench, is named for Mike Whitman, the plumber who had the statue built by Bell Plastics in California. Mike the plumber had been searching for an old Muffler Man for years, but finally decided that a new one would be more durable and more suited to his specific needs.
However, by the time Big Mike was installed in May 2018, Mike the plumber had found and purchased two additional old statues, including a Uniroyal Gal that had arrived a week earlier and stood at the other end of Big Mike's downtown parking lot. "The mayor made a comment that downtown was starting to look like a miniature golf course," said Mike. "Otherwise there's been no complaints."
Well, there was one. Big Mike originally had the name of Mike's plumbing business on his wrench. "The city didn't think kindly of that," said Mike, and quickly covered it up.