The Penobscot Marine Museum is seeking donations to restore Prospect Harbor’s 40-foot-tall fisherman statue, “Big Jim.”
“Big Jim has stood as a proud symbol of our coastal heritage for more than six decades,” the museum says.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it has stepped up, offering to chip in to shore up the roadside icon – with a little catch.
In a letter sent to the museum, PETA is pledging to help the museum meet its $30,000 fundraising goal, but only if it agrees to put a block of tofu in Big Jim’s arms.
The animal-rights group calls tofu, “the most versatile food on the planet, and today’s answer to ‘Where do you get your protein but without the iodine and pain that comes with the fish?’”
Last we checked the museum wasn’t biting…
Big Jim was erected in 1959 along Route 1 in Kittery, welcoming visitors to Sardineland and Vacationland.
“Holding a sardine can, he was part of a creative campaign by the Maine Sardine Council to celebrate and promote the state’s sardine industry,” according to the museum.
“His image quickly became more than just advertising – it became a tribute to the hardworking men and women whose labor powered Maine’s coastal economy for over a century.”
In partnership with Bold Coast Seafood, the new owners of the former Stinson Cannery, and the Gouldsboro Historical Society, the museum says it is “breathing new life into this beloved roadside icon so that the story of Maine’s sardine industry and the generations who worked in it will never be forgotten.
Though weathered and now holding a lobster trap instead of a sardine can, Big Jim still stands watch – a steadfast reminder of Maine’s maritime glory days.
PETA To Penobscot Museum: ‘Trade Ya A Box Of Tofu For Big Jim’s Sardine Can’
By Ted Cohen
A great sign! I remember seeing that sign as a kid riding with dad to sell lobsters in NH, Kittery and even Boston. It was right up their with the Crawford’s lobster pound sign painted on the roof of their building ax we crossed the bridge.