Like everyone else in town, Bob Palazzo and his son Ben were overwhelmed with the amount of snow accumulating as they plowed out their property. But as a team that builds large sand castles in warmer weather, the pair saw a giant opportunity.
"We were going to plow the fire hydrant out and we decided we had a big pile already made so we used the excavator to carve it out," Ben explained Sunday.
What they carved was an enormous snowman - they guessed it was 15 feet high and 20 feet at the base - along the side of Plainville Avenue, near their home at 556.
"It got out of hand because there was so much snow as we cleared the piles that were out on the road, so we decided to have some fun with it."
The Palazzos used the excavator to shape the piles, then climbed up on platforms to carve the sections.
"We climbed up to the top and had a platform for the head," Bob said. "The middle section was actually so wide we were able to stand on it and carve out the head, then the middle and base."
They used a tin can for the nose, plastic spraycan tops for the eyes and a branch for the nose.
From their home they've been able to see people stopping all day to take pictures or just smile as they drive by.
"It's kind of fun to watch them just smile," Bob said. "That's why we did it - to cheer people up and give them a little break from the snow."
