This 20-or-so foot, 1800 pound fiberglass statue is, according to the gentleman pictured below, "the last Texaco Man in captivity." He's been standing for ten years in front of United Auto Sales in Clarksville. Before that, he lay out back by the pond on owner Bud Ross' land.
Ross' brother had the statue in front of his service station in the '60's, but Texaco ordered the figures destroyed when distracted drivers filed lawsuits blaming the statues for accidents. This one somehow escaped the cutter's torch.
When his brother died, Ross inherited the statue and eventually erected it on this spot, preserving a rare and colorful piece of Americana. Ross has been offered as much as $5000 (by the owner of a funeral home) for the big blue man, but so far has decided not to sell.
I was driving highway 64 through Clarksville on 1/28/98 and noticed the Big Blue Man was gone, as was United Auto Sales. The only trace left by the Texaco Man was this gigantic set of faded footprints.
I knocked on Bud Ross' door and he told me the statue had been sold, although he was tight-lipped as to who bought it and for how much. He wouldn't even commit to saying whether or not BBM is still in Arkansas. He did intimate that the buyer had seen the piece regularly over the course of years, so I still entertain the hope that it remains in the state and may at some point be put on public display.
If you are they buyer and you read this, please consider one of these suggestions. There are three places where the Big Blue Man could be appropriately displayed by people who would appreciate him and would take reasonable care of him. First, Lloyd Choate at War Memorial Amusement Park in Little Rock. Second, the Museum of Automobiles on Petit Jean Mountain. They have gas station and oil company displays, as does my third choice, the Oil and Brine (or Natural Resources) Museum in Smackover.
RTJ--1/29/98