Dawn when I saw your post I thought you meant the "Big Tex" at Canyon Texas. I will link to him below. I never realized there was one at the state fair. They have been trying to save and restore him. I thought maybe something had finally happened to him. Then I realized it was a different Big Tex. Jay

Here is a link that might be useful: Canyon Big Tex

Jay, I'd forgotten about Canyon's Big Tex. I hope they can save him.

When Chris sent me a message saying Big Tex had burned, I was confused. He and Tim work with a gentleman whose nickname is Big Tex so at first I was afraid something had happened to that gentleman. I had to text him back and say "Do you mean the State Fair's Big Tex?".

This was Big Tex's 60th Birthday year and I believe he had new jeans and a new shirt for his birthday year. He didn't get to wear them long enough to wear them out. I guess Dickies will have to tailor a new outfit for him.

I was looking at that big metal frame and thinking it would be a great topiary frame and we could cover it with vines.....so, you see, I just turned this into a vaguely gardening-related topic. If Big Tex was a topiary, what plants would we use?

Dawn

I happened to be at home on Friday, and in front of the computer on Facebook when I saw the first post...I went right over to WFAA to watch the saddest sight EVER...! My family and I lived in Dallas for 17 years - my girls grew up there.

If you have not seen Big Tex in person, then you cannot possibly understand how beloved he is. It sounds silly, but he is ICONIC. Dressed in his gigantic shirt and jeans from Dickies brand clothing, with his hat on his head, greeting everyone with his deep, booming "Howdy, Ya'll", etc...Sad day!

I do understand that they very quickly assured everyone that he will be rebuilt in time for next year's Fair...that is a relief! It just would not be the same without him.

Sharon

Sharon,

I just hope when they rebuild him, they don't do it the "usual" Dallas way....i.e. forming a committee to get input from all parts of the community, having an international competition to select a famous designer or architect, fighting and bickering over the design concept and wasting lots of time and money, etc. before soliciting donations from some rich Dallasite whose name will be plastered on Big Tex. You know what I mean.....sometimes Dallas can make something more complicated than it has to be. Big Tex doesn't need no stinkin' neon lights and he doesn't need to be standing on a big slab of stone in a reflecting pool either.

I want them to build a traditional Big Tex all Texans will be proud of and that still will look like the Big Tex we all know and remember. I don't want a 21st-Century artist's concept of an updated metrosexual Big Tex with a manicure, tattoes and an earring or something similar. I just want good ol' traditional and iconic Big Tex.

If they change his look too much, I will be so disappointed!

And, on a silly side note, someone sent Tim a recording of the comments from firefighters arriving on the scene. The first fire unit on-scene always gives a "scene size-up" to other inbound units so everyone understands what is going on and what they'll see when they arrive. Dallas FD 777 said, upon arrival, "We have a large cowboy, clothing burned off". Despite the sadness of seeing Big Tex burning, I had to giggle when I heard that scene size-up. It was direct and to the point, and certainly an accurate description of what they were facing.

I don't know if you noticed, but people brought cards, flowers and other items and laid them on the ground near Big Tex after the fire was over and the firemen had cleared the scene. I also noticed the landscaping around his feet was relatively unscathed, all things considered.

Dawn

I, too, heard the scanner recordings - they were pretty funny, I have to admit.

I hadn't even thought of them changing him!! That would be horrendous; he needs no "updating". "Metrosexual Big Tex"...oxymoronic, to be sure. We should voice our concerns in some sort of public forum before they go crazy :~)

Yes...people did leave flowers and such, and one funeral home even held a memorial service for him.

Sharon

Sharon, I am not saying they will try to change him, but Dallas has a knack of making things complicated in that effort to be a "world-class city", that's all I'm saying.

Look at what they go through to build a bridge.....it cannot just be a bridge. It has to have a fancy foreign designer and be named (justifiably so) for someone who was willing to foot a large portion of the bill.

I hadn't heard about the memorial service, but I'm not surprised.

Dawn