Big Tommy a roadside wonder

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CARBURY - Just west of Lake Metigoshe Big Tommy has been hard at work all summer.

Motorists on Highway 43 can be excused for slowing down upon seeing the burly strongman at the side of the road, hoisting a monstrous hay bale over his head. It's both a surprising and astonishing sight.

As roadside attractions go, Big Tommy certainly ranks as one of the most striking in a state where haybale art work is not completely uncommon. He's not just a spray-painted face on a round hay bale. Big Tommy is more like Paul Bunyan. He's a big, muscular guy with a job to do. Not felling trees like Minnesota's legendary lumberjack, but stacking round hay bales with effortless ease.

Underneath his crumpled hat and behind dark sunglasses, Big Tommy toils away in the North Dakota sun. An unassuming sort, he wears simple blue jeans, a shirt advertising Bottineau Farmer's Elevator and a pair of leather gloves like those that might be found on the seat of any farmer's old pickup truck.

Yup, Big Tommy looks somewhat ordinary and wouldn't cause a stir at the local elevator or coffee shop. That is, unless he engaged in some sort of Olympic display of strength. In that category, there's nothing at all ordinary about Big Tommy.

Round hay bales can weigh 1,000 pounds or more, but Big Tommy twirls them with ease. That's the stuff from which legends are made and tales are told and postcards are sold.

"I guess there's quite a few people that take pictures of it with their kids standing next to it," said John Christiansen, Bottineau. "It used to be down south of town."

Roger Heidbreder of Bottineau is Big Tommy's agent of sorts. He was behind Tommy's move to his current location, but certainly isn't seeking a lot of credit.

"It's just a friend doing something for a friend," said Heidbreder. "We do it for fun."

There's much more to Big Tommy than meets the eye. Underneath his shirt and jeans is a skeleton made of pipe recovered from the old Stone Hotel in Bottineau. A few bolts are needed to hold him together and an old scraper blade is used as a base to keep him from tipping over.

"A friend got the original idea off the Enchanted Highway," said Heidbreder. "Now, once a year, we change Big Tommy's clothes and use a loader to put a new bale up there."

Big Tommy has fast become an emerging landmark in the Turtle Mountains. Few days or hours pass without people stopping to take a closer look or snap a photograph or two.

"It's rewarding to see that," said Heidbreder. "That's what it's all about."