At 4-stories tall, Jeffrey the Snowman dazzles passersby in western Wisconsin
By ADAM DUXTER
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MILLTOWN, Wisconsin (WCCO) — Towering above Wisconsin’s Highway 35 is stopping people in their tracks.
“On the weekend, we have 150 vehicles a day coming through just to come and see it,” said Craig Carlson, owner and founder of Carlson Construction in Milltown.
Unmistakable, and unmissable, Jeffrey the Snowman is 58 feet tall.
“He’s 72 feet at the base, 58 feet at the body, and 44 [feet] at the head,” Craig said.
So how did a four-story snowman wind up in the parking lot of Craig’s construction company? You have to go back to 2019.
“We did it to try and win a trophy,” he said. “He was 19 feet tall. He was a little rough. The crew and my boys and I had so much fun doing it that we decided to do it again.”
Craig, with his sons Hunter and Boe, set two rules: Bigger, and better.
“The second year, we got him up to 32 feet. And then the third year, which was last year, 44 feet. And now this year we decided to go even bigger,” Hunter said.
“It doesn’t feel like work. It’s fun,” Boe said.
Jeffrey’s arms are not sticks, but trees. His pipe isn’t a corncob, but PVC. And raising his hat took the help of a crane.
But the real magic of Jeffrey isn’t in the hat, but in his name, and his heart.
We lost my brother six years ago and his name was Jeff, so we did it in memory of him,” Craig said. “He’d like it, so it’s been a lot of fun.”
It’s a labor of love that likely won’t stop, as long as there’s snow.
Jeffrey is also serving as a fundraiser for the Milltown Community Cub this year, with all proceeds going toward the village’s 75th anniversary celebration.
Craig hopes to create a community scholarship in Jeffrey’s name in years to come.
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