A new Muffler Man — a 19-foot-tall miner named Frecs — recently was erected on old Route 66 in Galena, Kansas.
The Muffler Man isn’t 100 percent done. He still needs touch-ups after a weld broke on his supporting frame, and his boots needed to be finished.
Regardless, it stands just west of the historic Galena Viaduct (aka Front Street Bridge) on the original alignment of Route 66 in Galena as a photo op.
Frecs (short for Freckles) was started about 18 months ago by Renee Charles, president of the Kansas Historic Route 66 Association, with the help of John Simon, who welded the frame, along with friends and a few city employees lending a hand. Charles said most of Frecs is made of “poor man’s fiberglass.”
“I felt Kansas needed a Muffler Man on Route 66 and couldn’t afford to buy one,” Charles stated.
Charles added the Freckles was the nickname of her grandfather, who worked as a miner in the tri-state area of Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.
The area near the Front Street Bridge has seen a lot of activity lately, including a replica of the Sheriff of Radiator Springs installed there on a faux lift and the erection of a Ghost Bike memorial in tribute to two German cyclists who died in an accident on Route 66 west of town.
(Image of Frecs near the Front Street Bridge courtesy of Renee Charles)
That ain’t no muffler man.