''Big Potato Man'' is a sculpture of a large

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

man located along Route 105 in

Maugerville Maugerville ( ) is a New Brunswick unincorporated community located on the east bank of the Saint John River in Maugerville Parish, Sunbury County, in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The settlement is located on provincial Route 105, 16 ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada. Constructed in 1969 by

Winston Bronnum Winston Bronnum (1929-1991) was a self-taught Danish Canadians, Dano-Canadian nature artist, sculptor and entrepreneur known for his large concrete animal sculptures which adorn Canadian roadsides. He founded and operated the defunct Animaland Pa ...

, ''Big Potato Man'' serves as a form of roadside advertisement for the adjacent farming business.

Description

''Big Potato Man'' is a large

sculpture in

. Made using

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

, it stands at a height of with a thickness of . The sculpture has two legs, arms resembling

twig A twig is a thin, often short, branch of a tree or Bush (plant), bush. The buds on the twig are an important diagnostic characteristic, as are the abscission scars where the leaves have fallen away. The color, texture, and patterning of the t ...

s, a smiling face, and sports a black

top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or ...

. ''Big Potato Man'' was created in 1969 by sculptor

for Karl Harvey, as a means to advertise the

roadside stand Street food is food sold by a hawker or vendor on a street or at another public place, such as a market, fair, or park. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption. Some street f ...

for his family farming business. ''Big Potato Man'' stands along Route 105, which was formerly part of the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

. Since 1969, it has stood at the front of a farming business.

History

Background

In 1921, J. H. Harvey bought a farm in

, a small community along the Saint John River between

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

and

Oromocto Oromocto is a Canadian town in Sunbury County, New Brunswick. The town is located on the west bank of the Saint John River at the mouth of the Oromocto River, approximately southeast of Fredericton. The town's name is derived from the name o ...

. The Harvey family ran a business, known then as Harvey's, selling vegetables at their

''Big Potato Man''

In 1968, Karl Harvey, who ran the family farming business at the time, sought the creation for a large

sculpture, seeking a creative method to advertise his stand. In 1969, Karl had ''Big Potato Man'' built. Created by sculptor

using

, the sculpture measured high and had a thickness of 3 feet. ''Big Potato Man'' proved successful for the business, with Gordon (Buzz) Harvey, Karl's son, later saying "he doubled our business within three to four years pretty well." Following Karl Harvey's death in 1996, the $1,500 Karl Harvey Memorial Scholarship was posthumously created in his honour. On March 24, 1999, the sculpture was nearly destroyed when a fire struck the business. In November 2015, the farm and home of ''Big Potato Man'', then known as Harvey's Big Potato farm, was put up for sale. Silver Valley Farms began leasing the farm in 2016, and would take ownership of the establishment in September 2021. In April 2022, Silver Valley Farms sought repairs for ''Big Potato Man'', which was at risk of collapsing. However, repair costs quoted at prompted the creation of a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...

campaign, which quickly racked in support. The fundraiser raised over within the first 48 hours, and successfully reached its goal within nearly two weeks.

References

{{reflist Potatoes Fruit and vegetable characters Outdoor sculptures in Canada Buildings and structures in Sunbury County, New Brunswick Concrete sculptures in Canada 1969 sculptures 1969 establishments in New Brunswick Roadside attractions in Canada Sculptures by Winston Bronnum

Description

History

Background

''Big Potato Man''

See also

References