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Saturday, February 5, 2011

Outstanding in His Field

That describes the Big Viking in Chincoteague, VA.

This fiberglass statue on Chincoteague Island was originally in Delmar, MD where it stood atop a carpet store in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1960s and 1970s, Addison Nelson bought the statue and relocated it to his country store in Crisfield, MD. The statue stood as the store's mascot until the business closed in the 1980s.

In 1997, it was moved to Marion, MD lying beside the J. Stanley Adams Hardware store due to sign ordinances. Around 2001, the Viking was moved to Chincoteague and stands in a field on Ridge Rd at the corner of Pony Swim Lane.

NOTE: Looking for information on this statue, I came across the term “Muffler Man.”  One site explained that this term describes mass-produced fiberglass statues.
SAM_1022

15 comments:

Montanagirl said...

Interesting post. That statue is just huge!

Desiree said...

At last the poor chap has found his rightful place in the world! He looks most impressive in his field :)

diane b said...

It makes a good scare crow in the field. I love the place names in your state.

Elaine said...

He's traveled around a bit, which is suitable for a Viking. It's good that he's found a good field to stand in.

Kjell T. Evensen said...

Looks like one of my ancestors. ;)

Lois Evensen said...

Great story. He looks familiar. ;)

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Hello Everyone, yes this Viking is a big fellow but does look a bit lonely in this field. Not shown in the photo is the flea market sign nearby. Possibly in the summer months the Viking has lots of visitors, but Grenville and I were the only ones around this weekend.
Mona, Grenville estimated he's about 20 feet.
Desiree, he is very impressive in the field.
Diane, the place names are American Indian.
Elaine, he did look a bit loney on a rainy day.
Kjell, I thought you would find it musing.
Hi Lois, nice to see you back again for a visit.

Anvilcloud said...

Like Vikings of yore, he is well-travelled.

Out on the prairie said...

classic art to still be around

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

AC, it seems this Viking certainly was travelled, but in a small area unlike his ancestors.

Steve, it seems there is a lot of this classic big statue art around and in the past few months we've seen quite a few...more to go

Ginnie said...

That would be an imposing sight at night if you didn't know what it was !!

Connie said...

Oh my, he looks kind of menacing! Interesting post. :)

Far Side of Fifty said...

very interesting statue..I got the impression that one arm looked female and the other male..strange I know..perhaps I need one of those hot fudge flushes:)

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Ginnie & Daisy, this is not the "friendliest" looking giant we have come across, but then Vikings are traditionally rather imposing are they not? It was a challenge tracking down the history online, although I could not find old photos of when this big guy was at the carpet store or country store. The statue did look rather forlorn on a rainy Sat afternoon when the photo was taken.

Far Side, perhaps the statue has undergone repairs in all its travels, but I could not find info...good observation.

Diana said...

hi Beatrice, hope you got some hot fudge sundae too, and I do understand Grenvilles collapse. Hope he is doing well and you too. Hope you had a wonderful birthday, Daisy(our Lab) had her birthday too and especially didn't mind me singing to her. Amazing what a couple of arthritis doggie pills will do for her ears.Rest up and soak up the fudge. Diana