Muffler... Men?
Editor’s note: Originally published November 16, 2017. Republished April 2, 2020.
Everett's Muffler Man is a local icon.
His beloved seagull-splattered head gazes out on the west end of Hewitt. His lantern jaw is set, his eyes are steely.
I love the Muffler Man. I always assumed he was a uniquely Everett landmark, particular to this mill town.
But what if I told you there were hundreds of muffler men?
I found them on the internet.
There are muffler men in Billings, Montana and Flagstaff, Arizona. There are about 300 of the statues across America. Some hold tacos, some hold golf clubs, some hold axes.
They’ve turned into something of niche collector's items, fetching $15,000-$20K apiece.
All muffler men are 14 to 25 feet tall (Everett's is 20 ft) and most stand with left palm turned down, right palm up. They appear in various forms. There’s spacemen, Native American, pirate, Paul Bunyan, and cowboy versions on the Muffler Men.
Q: Muffler Man or Portland hipster? A: Either.
There’s even a one-off series of “Muffler Women” called the Miss Uniroyal line. They were manufactured with dresses that could be removed to reveal bikini-clad bodies. Miss Uniroyals were modeled after then-first-lady Jackie Kennedy (what does it say about the American consciousness in the 1960s that the first lady, a strong female figure, was turned into mass-produced pop-art in a bikini?).
Miss Uniroyal.
The statues were manufactured in the 1960s and early 1970s by a California company called International Fiberglass. They originally made a mold for a Paul Bunyan-type figure for an oil company (hence the palm-down stance; the original statue held an axe). International Fiberglass used the mold to turn out hundreds of variations on Paul Bunyan for customers.
Technically, our Everett Muffler man is the “classic” design: steely gaze, lantern jaw, enigmatic smile. No beard, no mustache, no accessories.
I still feel that he's different, unique. Probably no other Muffler Man on this continent is so splattered in bird excrement. So he has that going for him.
Classic Everett Muffler Man. Still the best, IMHO. Technically he's known as the Stevedore Man and he held a wrench until the 1980s. A stevedore is someone who works on the docks, a longshoreman. This is in keeping with Everett's maritime labor vibe.
The muffler man mold was destroyed in the 1970s when International Fiberglass went out of business.
Our guy is still with us, guarding Hewitt and looking over barflies in the Soundview beer light. His rolled-up shirtsleeves and brawny arms are symbolic of Everett's blue-collar charm and grit.
His brothers and sisters wait out there, scattered in parking and mini golf courses on the byways of America, talismanic folk icons. Watching.
Richard Porter is a writer and Google searcher for Live in Everett.