Road Trip Day One: We pulled off the road to grab some much needed food and searched for a park in which to consume it...We spotted a park, parked the car and got out all before spotting the "jolly green giant" standing in its center. Apparently we had unknowingly stumbled into Blue Mountain, Minnesota the home of the Green Giant Cannery.
According to Wickipedia:
In 1978, the town of Blue Earth, Minnesota paid $43,000 to erect a 55-foot (16.8 m) fiberglass statue of the Jolly Green Giant to commemorate the linking of the east and west sections of Interstate 90. It was permanently erected on July 6, 1979, at 43°39′02″N 94°5′46″W / 43.65056°N 94.09611°W / 43.65056; -94.09611 (Jolly Green Giant statue (Blue Earth, Minnesota)). The statue attracts over 10,000 visitors a year.
The 55 foot statue of the Green Giant in Blue Earth was the idea of Paul Hedberg who owned local radio station KBEW. During the summer Hedberg interviewed travelers going through Blue Earth on U.S. Highway 16 for his popular radio program called "Welcome Travelers". At the end of each traveler interview Hedberg presented guests a sample of Green Giant corn and peas which had been canned in the local Blue Earth Green Giant plant. A common theme arising in interviews was a desire to "see the Green Giant".
In 1977 Hedberg contacted Thomas H. Wyman, President of Green Giant, to see if the company would allow a statue of their corporate symbol to be erected along the new Interstate 90 in Blue Earth. Wyman granted permission under the condition that funds for the project were raised locally. Hedberg approached ten local businessmen with the idea and asked for $5,000 each; within a week the $50,000 had been donated.
The Green Giant Company worked with the statue builder, Creative Displays of Sparta, Wisconsin, to ensure accuracy in the depiction. One concern was that the Giant had never been shown from behind on television.
The Green Giant statue arrived in Blue Earth via flat bed truck on September 21, 1978 and was actually erected on the 23rd. The Giant was hoisted in a sling by a 65 foot crane in the north roadside rest area along I-90, where he overlooked the official opening of I-90 at a point where east met west, marking I-90's completion and representing a 3,028 mile nonstop route from Boston to Seattle.
The statue was placed in its present, permanent location on July 6, 1979, a mile south of I-90 on U.S. Highway 169. It is estimated that 10,000 people a year visit the statue. The pedestal is accessible by steps, and the statue is maintained by the city, which cleans the giant at least once a year and adorns it with a red scarf around his neck during the Christmas Season.
How's that for useless trivia?
