Vintage Thingie Thursday: A glimpse of A Vintage Big Tex

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday

If you have a love for vintage things, well....you have come to the right place. We have a really good time each and every week!!!
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It's State Fair time in Texas....and as you can imagine, it is a pretty big deal here in this state. Big Tex has always been a noticeable icon of the Texas State Fair.

He is the beloved greeter at the gates leading in to the state fair. Of all the icons of Texas, I would be willing to bet, he is the most recognized.

Big Tex has looked like this photo for as long as I can remember. His shirt might change from year to year, but he has always looked like this. However, his origin was far removed from the front gates of the fair.

Big Tex was originally from Kerens, Texas. The Kerens Chamber of Commerce built what they claimed was the world's largest Santa Claus, a 49-foot-tall figure constructed from iron-pipe drill casing and paper mache with 7-foot lengths of unraveled rope for a beard. The thought behind this huge Santa was to attract Christmas shoppers to shop locally in Kerens and not travel to neighboring towns to spend their money. 

The promotion was a big success during the 1949 holidays, but the novelty wore off the following year, and community support waned. In 1951, State Fair president R. L. Thorton purchased the Santa's components for $750 and hired Dallas artist Jack Bridges to create a giant cowboy out of the material. Thus the birth of Big Tex and he has stood proud overseeing the guest at the fair ever since.

Tragically, last year, there was a fire which destroyed the beloved icon in a matter of minutes. The Big Tex we have all known and loved for years is no more.

But like everything else in the times we live in today, the Fair, and the City of Dallas has promised a new and improved Big Tex. Mind you, there was nothing wrong with the old Big Tex and many felt he should have been made like he was for all of those years, however it was not to be.

The news media is all hyped up as the unavailing of the "New Big Tex" will be Friday, opening day of the State Fair of Texas. The news covers this story each and every day, as you can expect that is how they cover a story....it takes days to lead up to an event and you have to hear about it each and every day. ahem. 

So, this is my vintage thingie today...the vintage Big Tex.....as the new one steps up to the gates this Friday to do the job the old one did for years, greet each and every guest with a BIG OLE HOWDY FOLKS. 

Happy Vintage Thingie Thursday!