Concrete Statues Took
Over Wisconsin Farm
The owners of Heavy Critters joke that they
aren’t sure if they’re running a retail shop or
museum. More than 6,000 statues made of
concrete, granite, jade, boulder stone, lava
rock and resin fill six buildings and the
grounds around the Oshkosh, Wis., farmstead.
The sheer quantity and the huge variety
make it a destination attraction for people
who just want to look.
Tom and Cindy
Glatz, and Cindy’s brother,
Ron
Wachholz, and his wife, Linda, own and
operate Heavy Critters on the homestead
that’s been in the
Wachholz family since
1915. The partners started their business 10
years ago after visiting a rural statuary business
in another state and realizing that there
wasn’t anything like it in Wisconsin.
Heavy Critters is in a good location, just
south of Oshkosh, near a busy intersection.
“Our best advertising is our silo and our
brochure,” says Cindy. She supplies Oshkosh
hotels, businesses and tourist stops with brochures,
and Heavy Critters painted on the silo
makes a perfect landmark for visitors.
“If you can think of something, we’
veprobably got it,” Cindy says, standing in the
midst of statues that range from small concrete
lady bugs that children paint at birthday
parties, to fountains and 2,000-lb. statues.
As members of the Ornamental Concrete
Producers Association, the partners purchase
from 22 statuary manufacturers that cover the
gamut from wildlife and domestic animals,
to saints and gargoyles, to a man holding a
pizza and a Harley bench. So far the only request
that Cindy
hasn’t been able to fill is a
spine for a chiropractor.
The business has grown through hard work,
teamwork and networking.“The four of us
had this great idea, but we never thought
about who would do what,” Cindy says. “As
it evolved, we each developed our own area
without stepping on each other’s toes.”
Cindy handles ordering, marketing and
organizing events. Tom fixes and restores.
Linda paints and custom airbrushes the statues.
Ron moves and transports the statues.
Until she died in September 2007, the
Wachholzes’ mother, Virginia, loved to welcome
and deal with customers.
Cindy made good contacts through a local
marketing network group. Through it she met
website developers and marketers with creative
ideas.
While the main focus of Heavy Critters is
selling, the farm is also an event destination.
Heavy Critters hosts birthday parties for
children and fundraisers with a percentage
of sales going to a specific cause. They also
welcome bus tours and sponsor garden parties
at their farm.
“We really are just a unique, fun place
and we invite everyone to come see us,”
she says. Heavy Critters is open from April
1 to Dec. 23. Prices range from $2 to thousands
of dollars, but many items can be
purchased for $25 to $100. Samples of
available statues from one of the manufacturers
can be downloaded on the Heavy
Critters website. Just ask for whatever you
have in mind, Cindy adds, and she can
probably find it. Most items can be handled
with a handcart and be shipped.
This article
originally published by Farm Show
Vol. 32, No. 5, 2008
