One big snowman
Residents turn snow into local oddity
By Brielle Kennington
Argus Observer
Friday, January 11, 2008 12:26 PM PST
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| Brandon Eleckel (left) and Calvin Demoe (right) are the masterminds behind the construction of a 10 foot snowman situated on 13th Street in Payette. The snowman took four hours to complete and a truck with a plow to push the bottom ball onto the curb. |
PAYETTE - When it comes to building a snowman, big is better.
At least that was the premise driving the effort by Payette residents Brandon Eleckel, 20, and his brother-in-law Calvin Damoe, 24, Tuesday, when they decided to take advantage of a snowstorm and build a 10 foot tall snowman.
Eleckel, originally from Texas, has lived in Payette just five months and said the 10 foot tall snowman started out as just a regular sized snowball.
The snowball, though, grew.
And grew.
“Originally we had a regular size one, but we wanted to see how big we could get it,” Demoe said.
Eventually the duo enlisted a friend, Scott Campbell, to help them accomplish the mission of building a big snowman.
“By the time we got half way around the block we had to start recruiting people,” Eleckel said.
The help, though, did not end with Campbell.
In fact, Campbell, Eleckel and Demoe eventually enlisted Payette resident Chad Griffin to help them push the colossal ball of snow down the street.
Griffin said he joined in because he was impressed with the size of the snowball.
“I’ve never seen one that big before,” Griffin said.
As the snowball expanded, other people joined in to help.
Toward the end of quest to create the bottom ball of the snowman, eight men were working to push it down the street. Those eight individuals spent an hour pushing the large ball down the street to its final location on South 13th Street in Payette.
Then the group faced another challenge — how to get the huge ball onto the curb. Eleckel said the group then waved down a truck that had a plow on its front bumper.
Even then, though, the heavy snowball was hard to move, Demoe said.
“The snow plow could only get it over the curb,” Demoe said.
Despite slick conditions and cold temperatures no one suffered any major injuries besides some slipping and sliding and, of course, some aches and pains.
“My back hurts because of this ball,” Demoe said with a laugh.
As they pushed the ball up the street it gained more weight and eventually turned into a large piece of ice, Eleckel said.
The top of the snowman was added using a ladder and the snowman sports two rocks for eyes and a small garden shovel for a tongue.
The entire project took four hours to complete with several other members of the community pitching in on the effort.
“Our family has a lot of spirit. It was our crazy idea, but it was a neighborhood thing. I like doing this kind of crap to put a smile on someone’s face,” Eleckel said.
Eleckel said judging by the response from passing motorists, their effort was popular.
“Everybody that drives by gives us thumbs up,” Eleckel said.
Even after the snowman began to melt Wednesday it still stood tall and massive. Eleckel reported they would add onto the snowman if it begins to melt.
“It was even bigger last night. You should have seen it,” Demoe said.
