Sunday, July 14, 2013

Moosequerade: The Big Boy moose of Manistique, Michigan



No wonder the moose is smiling -- he gets to look out at some awesome Upper Peninsula scenery...



It's not every day you see a moose dressed in red and white checkered overalls. Not every day, that is, unless you're visiting or reside in the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan town of Manistique and find yourself tooling past the local Bob's Big Boy restaurant on East Lake Shore Drive. The moose is so attired because back in 1936, a Mr. Bob Wian purchased a hamburger stand in Glendale, California. His signature dish became the double-decker hamburger and one of his frequent customers was a chubby six-year-old boy in loose-fitting overalls who helped around the place in exchange for free food. Bob was so taken with the boy he named the burger after him, The Big Boy. Another customer, a movie studio animator, did a caricature of the boy wearing red and white checkered overalls that became the logo for the restaurant, now called Bob's Big Boy. Moose being a popular icon in northern Michigan, it seemed only fitting that one wearing Bob's classic overalls would welcome diners to this friendly U.P. Bob's franchise. And this moose happens to look out at some pretty spectacular scenery...sandy dunes and tall grass swaying in front of beautiful Lake Michigan.

Why I'm telling you all this is a moostery to me, though.

2 comments:

Roadtrip62 - Don Milne said...

Cool photo of the moose! I have to mention though, that Bob's never had the Big Boy franchise in Michigan. It had long been controlled by Elias Brothers and more recently is just Big Boy Restaurants International.

Gunnar and Sherry said...

Hi Don. I was wondering about that...why some are Bob's Big Boy and some are just Big Boy, and, by golly, the sign doesn't say Bob's at all, just Big Boy. Boy!