Have You Ever Seen The "Muffler Man"

7 Miles Today;  Out walking in the predawn hours.  It's Ash Wednesday and church is at 8am.  Temperature around 30 degrees and the roads were a little tricky with spots of thin ice cover.  Today on my blog I came across a interesting story.  The town of Atlanta, Illinois caught my interest.  A village of approximately 1,700 is famous for a 19 foot fiberglass figure  holding a giant hot dog!   Forrest's Route 66 virtual experience has him visiting Atlanta where if it wasn't for a 19 foot fiberglass figure few travelers would visit this nice little town. Here my take on this neat story on my Route 66 journey. 

 The Legend Of Tall Paul

If you took a road trip during the 1960's and 1970's you probably encountered the few of enormous fiberglass statues referred to by fans and followers as Muffler Men or M-Men.  These giant figures earned the name, because they were often situated in front of muffler and tire shops across the country to draw customers.  Atlanta's Tall Paul's original home located in Cicero, Illinois for many years at Bunyon's Hot Dog's.  When Bunyon's closed the owners were offered as much as $10,000, but decided to "permanently loan" it the small town of Atlanta some 150 miles south of Chicago...Atlanta wanted to display Tall Pall for the city's Route 66 Heritage Exhibit.

Built in the 1960's (like all of the 150 or so muffler men ever made).  Tall Paul was destined to be promoting mufflers at gas stations.  In 1965 Tall Paul was bought by the owner of Bunyon's Hot Dogs in Cicero, Illinois where the ax was removed and a huge hot dog took its place...This transformation of The Muffler Man to Tall Paul is what legends are made of.  Tall Paul's career has not been all the smooth, over the years he has had to endure bullet holes and even a few arrows in his body.  If one is ever visiting central Illinois a must see is TALL PAUL.... Until tomorrow from somewhere along America's Main Street, God Bless Walk Forrest Walk