Weekend Trips: Texas State Fair

Big Tex Welcomes Millions to Texas State Fair

By Lucas Everidge

Dallas, Texas, Sept 27, 1999 --- New season, new duds. Big Tex, the official ambassador of the State Fair of Texas and the world's only 52-foot-tall talking-and-waving cowboy, has been to the tailor. Never a slave to fashion, Tex appeared in traditional Western sartorial splendor for the 1999 event, Sept. 24-Oct. 17.

An anticipated three-million-plus fair-goers will find him standing dutifully in Big Tex Circle, greeting first-time visitors and old fans alike. The body of his handsome new shirt is red with contrasting blue collar and sleeves set off by white cuffs. The yoke is white with Navy blue stars. No detail is left undone. The authentic cowboy shirt features (faux) mother-of-pearl snaps, contrasting red piping and half-moon breast pockets that are inset and embellished at each tip with an arrowhead motif. His actual shirt size is a hard-to-find 100 180/181.

The big guy is, of course, wearing five-pocket jeans (Model 9393, size 284W/185L), made of 72 yards of blue denim and weighing 65 pounds. Big Tex's pants and shirt are made, 'Texas Proud,' by Fort Worth-based Williamson-Dickie.

Merle Haggard once sang of 'manly footwear'; accordingly, Big Tex's big feet are appropri-ately clad in brand-new, size 70 Dan Post cowboy boots. Company literature says podiatrists endorse its boots (important info for someone who's on his feet for almost four weeks).

What says 'cowboy' better than a bright belt buckle? Tex has one, and it's big. Very big. Dan Post also fabricated this important new accessory for Big Tex's last appearance this century.

The big fellow was orginally built in 1949 for a Christmas celebration in Kerens, Texas. After two years in the spotlight as the world's tallest Santa Claus, the Kerens Chamber of Commerce sold the figure to the State Fair for $750. R. L. Thornton, then State Fair president, envisioned a Texas-sized cowboy as an enduring symbol of the annual exposition. He hired Dallas artist Jack Bridges to transform Santa into Big Tex. Bridges succeeded by applying generous amounts of bailing wire, chicken wire and papier mache.

Big Tex was a sensation back in '52, when he first appeared at the State Fair of Texas. He's been talking since 1953 and, in 1997, Big Tex received a complete structural makeover. Charles Noland of Dallas-based Amusements, Inc. headed up a team that rebuilt the giant's frame and added the option of a Texas-sized wave to go along with the familiar, "Howdy, folks! Welcome to the great State Fair of Texas."

Even though he gets Star Treatment, Big Tex somehow remains cheerful and astonishingly down-to-earth, not an easy task for such a tall guy. Complete information about the events at this year's Texas State Fair can be found at their website, www.texfair.com.