Thursday, April 29, 2010

This Is Arizona: Stone & Glenn, Tucson

All photos by A.C. Huestis. Click for bigger!

It's true that there's nothing particularly "Arizonan" about Tucson's resident Muffler Man™, but he's always seemed to be very at-home in the Old Pueblo™. Sadly, his double-sided ax was stolen recently.


These photos show him with his holiday accessory. Now, don't get too excited when I tell you this, but he used to have an entire Santa suit, complete with hat and white beard! I'm pretty sure I've got photos of that somewhere.


Roadside America mentions that some Arizonans know this Muffler Man as Glenn Stone because of the corner he guards. In the 70s and 80s, though, we all called him Leo the Lumberjack, because he was located in front of Leo's Auto Supply. Nobody native would ever think to call him Paul Bunyan.


Poor Leo. He's always been reasonably well maintained, but I'd like to see a slightly better paint job. I'd like to see his irises and lips detailed, for instance, as long as nobody gets carried away. He really does need a new ax.

Arizona is home to at least three other surviving Muffler Men. See Leo contextualized here at Google Maps.

6 comments:

Lulu Maude said...

How about a Fender Stratocaster?

He certainly is a hunk of ... whatever he's a hunk of.

Old lip-eating Mitch could pick up a few pointers here.

desertwind said...

Good times. Five kids in a sticky hot station wagon, shrieking out at the sight: "Do you know the Muffler Man? The Muffler Man. The Muffler Man. Do you know the Muffler Man? Who lives inside your brain."

EVERY time we passed one.

How my parents survived family "vacations," I'll never know.

Diane Griffin said...

I am in mind of Pernel Roberts, or possibly Robert Goulet.

Peteykins said...

Robert Goulet, yes.

sk said...

The same statue was (is?) the Northern AZ University mascot outside its domed athletic stadium circa 1986 anyway; a dang lumberjack, one of two in that town I believe. The Glenn and Stone install is much preferred, more blatantly Arizona.

sk said...

oops didnt see you'd already linked to those.