Big Potato Man

In 1921, J. H. Harvey bought a farm in Maugerville, a small community along the Saint John River between Fredericton and Oromocto. The Harvey family ran a business,^[2] known then as Harvey's,^[5] selling vegetables at their roadside stand.^[2]

In 1968, Karl Harvey, who ran the family farming business at the time, sought the creation for a large potato sculpture,^[2] seeking a creative method to advertise his stand. In 1969, Karl had Big Potato Man built.^[4] Created by sculptor Winston Bronnum using concrete,^[5][2][8] the sculpture measured 20 feet (6.1 m) high and had a thickness of 3 feet. Big Potato Man proved successful for the business, with Gordon (Buzz) Harvey, Karl's son, later saying "he doubled our business within three to four years pretty well."^[2] Following Karl Harvey's death in 1996, the $1,500 Karl Harvey Memorial Scholarship was posthumously created in his honour.^[9] On March 24, 1999, the sculpture was nearly destroyed when a fire struck the business.^[10][11]

In November 2015,^[12] the farm and home of Big Potato Man, then known as Harvey's Big Potato farm, was put up for sale.^[2] Silver Valley Farms began leasing the farm in 2016,^[13] and would take ownership of the establishment in September 2021.^[14] In April 2022, Silver Valley Farms sought repairs for Big Potato Man, which was at risk of collapsing.^[15] However, repair costs quoted at CA$10,000 prompted the creation of a GoFundMe campaign.^[16] It raised over CA$4,600 within the first 48 hours,^[17] and successfully reached its goal within nearly two weeks.^[14]

• The World's Largest Lobster, another sculpture made by Bronnum