Go Big Red

It's not everyday you see a roaming red elephant. Actually, in Gainesville, it probably is.

 

My final year of college I found the elephant for the first time, in front of a barbeque restaurant. It was on my way to Target (#basic) so I drove by it several times.

 

His name is Big Red, and he's about the size of a real elephant, maybe larger, bright red and has big white tusks. He's got a signboard on his back that often shows messages wishing people happy birthday's and the like. He's actually the mascot for ProTouch Landscaping, though the company hasn't ruined the illusion for you and stuck their logo on his bum (don't get any ideas now.)

 

Brad Sample, Pro Touch's president, answered a few of my questions about Big Red. They aquired him in February 2014 after the elephant had been badly damaged. Sample said the elephant was tipped over at a football game, and needed some TLC.

 

RoadsideAmerica.com reportedly back in the early 2000's that there was a pink elephant with black spectacles, à la Buddy Holly, in Cleveland near an RV and Camper dealership. Sample confirmed that Big Red used to moonlight as a fashioanble pink elephant.

 

Later, Roadside America (which is supplemented by user submissions) reported that the elephant had moved to Gainesville, at Pearl Nix at Browns Bridge. Still pink at this point, apparently. 

 

Another user submitted that the elephant was finally painted red and apparently invested in contacts (or LASIK, like me) in 2009, about four years before I ever saw him. Sample said they had purchased the elephant after it's previous owner's appliance store closed, about five years after that submission was posted.

 

After I first found him, I spent the second half of my senior year of college, searching for the elephant while exploring Gainesville. When I couldn't look at my computer any longer, couldn't edit any more pages of my thesis, and couldn't bear to watch anymore prime time cable, I'd hop in my car and drive around the streets I knew, occassionally taking a few side roads, gradually learning about the city.

 

I searched for the elephant a little more come April 2013, after I had been offered a job at Jacobs Media. I figured I should learn a little more about Gainesville outside of downtown, so I'd hop in my car and look for the elephant, feeling quite successful when I had located him, another break from reality well spent.

 

(I still occassionally do this, but it has expanded from the red elephant, and morphed in to this blog.)

 

Now back to Big Red. Mr. Red got his name during a Facebook contest while the crew was giving him a good makeover. "Big Red" won by a landslide. Since then, ProTouch rents Big Red for parties, announcements, and all kinds of things. Sample said he's rented pretty frequently, and if you've got an interest in a certain date, to call a month or two ahead of time. 

 

 

Sample said Big Red is pretty popular, not just for renting, but when he's resting on that side yard at ProTouch, people stop and take pictures. 

 

Not that I'm dropping a hint or anything, but my next birthday is the big 2-5, and I wouldn't mind spending a little time looking for Big Red.

 

Join me next week as I welcome back to school with my favorite ghost story. All of the Brenau girls have already guessed it - Agnes, the resident ghost of Pearce Auditorium on Brenau's beautiful Gainesville campus, also known as my alma mater. I had some great times looking for Agnes while in school, and I've got some fantastic pictures of my past adventures! Agnes is a fun story we liked to dramatize for the freshman, but upperclassmen know that Agnes is real person, and her story is very strange and might be a little heartbreaking.

 

Until then, stay curious.