Alvord House of Leather (Closed)
Mayfield, NY
Photo courtesy Dirk Burhans

Standing guard along Route 30 was the Alvord House of Leather Guy, a 24-foot giant dressed in boots, a fringed jacket and thick black glasses. With his long sideburns and wide goatee, this fellow looked ready to sell travelers a leather coat or join a 1970s rock band.

Unlike the familiar Muffler Men, the 975-pound statue was custom built to resemble shop owner Steve Alvord. Rod Shutt constructed it with a wooden frame, chicken wire and fiberglass before delivering it to Mayfield on May 13, 1971. The giant remained outside the family leather business until the store closed in 1998.

It was a sad roadside sight when the Leather Guy came down in 2006. Neighbor Marty Greco bought him with plans to advertise a log-home business, but the housing market crashed and the big fellow remained flat on his back for several years. Greco took a second job selling potato chips and eventually saved enough money to stand him up again.

Before the giant returned, he received some serious fiberglass surgery. His mustache, muttonchops and glasses were cut away, his face was ground smooth and his fringed jacket became a plaid shirt. The Leather Guy had turned into a hipster Daniel Boone. His old black spectacles were saved and permanently wired into one hand as an inside joke for travelers who remembered the original. Just two hours after Boone went back up, Greco reportedly received a call about a log home. Now that is some powerful roadside advertising.

UPDATE: The former Leather Guy moved again in November 2016 and now stands along Route 30 outside the Wildlife Sports and Educational Museum in Vails Mills. 08-26

Ice Cream Pirate
Stone Harbor, NJ
Photo courtesy Carl Schuetrumpf

This Ice Cream Pirate stands along the sidewalk just north of Stone Harbor, looking like someone served him a melted cone. With his eye patch, peg leg and permanent scowl, the old buccaneer is hard to miss while cruising along Seven Mile Island.

The fiberglass pirate guards the area between Pirate Island Miniature Golf and the neighboring Buccaneer Ice Cream stand. The golf course adds pirate ships, waterfalls, caves and rope bridges to the scene. Technically, the grumpy fellow stands in Avalon, although early roadside travelers often listed him under nearby Stone Harbor.

UPDATE: The pirate remains on duty outside the seasonal miniature golf and ice cream attractions in Avalon. 08-26

Wilson's Carpet Bunyan
Jersey City, NJ
Photo courtesy Bob Jagendorf

Here's a roadside lumberjack that has been used as an attention getter for different businesses for years. Now it is in front of a carpet store near Jersey City. This guy has been in the Sopranos. Many thanks to Bob Jagendorf for info.

Standing beneath the Pulaski Skyway, this Wilson's Carpet Bunyan looks like he has been carrying the same roll of green carpeting for a very long time. The 20-foot lumberjack once advertised Wilson’s Carpet and Furniture, and his oversized load made him easy to spot from the busy roads around Jersey City.

The fiberglass fellow started life as a standard 1960s Muffler Man. His axe was replaced with a sheet-metal carpet roll that even contained an electronic message board. His concrete base carried the equally hard-to-miss slogan, “America is #1! Love it or leave it!” A giant pair of fiberglass pants once stood nearby, although those eventually disappeared.

Carpet Man became a television star in 1999 when he appeared during Tony Soprano’s drive through North Jersey in the opening credits of HBO’s The Sopranos. That brief appearance turned the old carpet mascot into one of the better-known giants in the state.

UPDATE: Wilson’s Carpet and Furniture has closed and the building has become a cannabis dispensary. Carpet Man remains beneath the Pulaski Skyway, still holding his green carpet roll. 08-26

The Happy "Halfwit" Muffler Man
Hammonton, NJ
Photo courtesy Bob Jagendorf

Standing along Route 73, The Happy "Halfwit" Muffler Man looks a lot like Alfred E. Neuman from MAD Magazine. The freckled face, big ears and gap-toothed grin belong to a fiberglass design commonly called the “Happy Halfwit.”

The 18-foot figure was produced by International Fiberglass during the 1960s. His arms came from the familiar Muffler Man mold, while the goofy head was closer to old comic characters such as Mortimer Snerd. Over the years he advertised several businesses and wore different outfits, including a yellow-and-blue hillbilly costume.

Today the big fellow welcomes travelers to Mr. Bill’s Richman’s Ice Cream and Burger Co. His latest paint job gives him a white shirt, bow tie and red soda-jerk apron. He sometimes holds restaurant signs in the same hands once intended to carry an axe or muffler.

UPDATE: Mr. Bill remains open on Route 73 in Winslow Township, near Hammonton. The Happy Halfwit is still standing and continues to receive repairs and fresh paint. 08-26

Cowtown Cowboy Muffler Man
Pilesgrove, NJ
Photo courtesy Paul Bauke

Cruising along Route 40, it is hard to miss the Cowtown Cowboy Muffler Man standing beside a giant red-and-white cow. The pair guards the entrance to Cowtown Rodeo, proving that rural South Jersey has a little bit of the Wild West.

The 22-foot fiberglass cowboy was made in 1967 to resemble “Marshall Sid,” the owner of a Dodge dealership in Wilmington, Delaware. When the dealership closed, Cowtown owner Howard “Stoney” Harris bought the big fellow at auction in 1975 and hauled him to the rodeo on a farm trailer.

This cowboy has had a rough ride. High winds snapped him in half in January 2005, sending his upper body tumbling onto Route 40 while his blue jeans remained standing. He was repaired and returned to duty in 2006. His old lasso was later removed because visitors kept trying to swing from it.

Cowtown Rodeo has held weekly professional rodeos since 1955, with family roots reaching back to 1929. Hard to believe this is New Jersey, but the cowboy, cow and Saturday-night rodeo are all still here.

UPDATE: Cowtown Rodeo remains open in Pilesgrove Township near Woodstown. The cowboy and his giant cow companion continue to greet travelers along Route 40. 08-26

Amish Man at Zinn's Diner (Rem.)
Denver, PA
Photo courtesy Bob Jagendorf

Standing barefoot with a wooden hay rake, Big Amos was quite an attention getter outside Zinn’s Diner. He may have looked about 30 feet tall from the highway, but this big Amish fellow actually measured 15 feet from his feet to the top of his hat.

Local artist Rodman Shutt built Amos in 1969 to resemble the diner’s owner. He even had a speaker inside that welcomed travelers with corny sayings delivered in an exaggerated Pennsylvania Dutch accent. Nothing like a talking fiberglass Amish man to let everyone know that dinner was close by.

Amos survived a 1972 fire that destroyed the original Zinn’s restaurant. When the rebuilt diner closed in August 2003, the statue was restored and moved to Hershey Farm in Strasburg. He survived another major restaurant fire there in January 2023 without being harmed.

UPDATE: The former Zinn’s Diner property in Denver now operates as the Park Place Diner. Big Amos remains at the rebuilt Hershey Farm property in Strasburg. 08-26