From Ho, Ho, Ho to Howdy: How Big Tex Got His Start

If anyone can speak to the fact that everything in Texas is bigger and better, it’s the star of the State Fair of Texas – Big Tex. At 52 feet, Big Tex greets thousands of fair-goers every fall with a Texas-sized welcome. With size 70 cowboy boots, his are big shoes to fill. It’s probably why he has successfully retained his job as the official mascot of the State Fair since 1952 with little competition. While he is widely known and celebrated, many Texans may not know that Big Tex was in fact another famous figure in a previous life.

In the late 1940s, community leaders and merchants in the small Northeast Texas town of Kerens were looking for a way to boost their economy by encouraging residents to do their holiday shopping in local stores, instead of driving to Corsicana or Dallas. The Kerens Chamber of Commerce came up with a larger-than-life idea. Using iron-pipe drill casing and paper mache, chamber members constructed a 49-foot Santa Clause with a 7-foot beard made of unraveled rope. It is said he was patterned after a local grocer, Hardy Mayo, who was 6’2” and had broad shoulders and long hands.

The Kerens Santa Claus, which they claimed was the world’s largest, was placed in the middle of Colket Avenue, the town’s main street, from 1948 to 1949. While he was a big hit at first, the novelty soon wore off. Rather than send him home to the North Pole, the people of Kerens sold Santa to the State Fair president R.L. Thornton in 1951 for a sum of $750. Thornton then hired Dallas artist Jack Bridges to transform the Kerens Santa Claus into a giant cowboy. Bridges used photos of himself, rancher Doc Simmons, and Will Rogers to model the face.

It was this transaction and transformation that brought this small-town, er, large-sized boy, to the big city of Dallas, where he would settle long-term. Big Tex debuted at the 1952 State Fair of Texas. He donned a 75-gallon cowboy hat, and denim jeans withaplaidshirt. Big Tex had found his calling at the State Fair. He has presided over every State Fair since then and drawn thousands of visitors from across the state and the country. Several men have been selected to serve as the voice of Big Tex over the years, including famed Dal- las disc jockey, Jim Lowe, Jr., who was Big Tex’s mouthpiece for 40 years. More than 60 times a day during the fair season, Big Tex greets visitors with a booming “Howdy!”

For old fans and new, Big Tex will be welcoming fairgoers in just a matter of days. The State Fair of Texas opens September 25th, and will run daily through October 18th. Exhibits are open Friday through Monday from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; and Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.