Big John, the Iron Mountain Iron Mine welcome sign that has stood tall greeting visitors on U.S. 2 for 60 years is now completely renovated.

The first Big John was built in 1962, with Eugene Carollo, one of three of the original founders, used as a model. The inspiration for Big John came from other U.P. landmark signs like Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe.

The project began Sept. 9 with the removal of the boots portion of the 1-ton structure.

“We took a couple sheets down and noticed how deteriorated the wood had become — we knew then it needed to be completely rebuilt,” Iron Mountain Iron Mine Manager Karen Carollo Secinaro said.

Iron Mountain Iron Mine Manager Karen Carollo Secinaro displays one of the old faces that was discovered when dismantling the Big John wooden miner sign. (Terri Castelaz/Daily News photo)

Overseeing construction was builder Rick Demski. He, with assistance from Secinaro and two tour guides, have worked on the structure daily for the past several weeks.

Big John is two-sided, each mirroring the other. “This made for many cut outs,” she said.

It took 52 sheets of treated marine-grade plywood, along with many feet of board lumber, to restore the familiar sign.

“I even got to work the jigsaw, cutting out each piece like a wood puzzle,” Secinaro said.

Artist Kevin Thomson took on the challenge of painting the landmark. It took Thomson, with the help of Shelly Martin, a couple weeks from start to finish. Secinaro noted it took 9 gallons of paint and 8 gallons of primer.

The back of the Big John sign, with Iron Mountain Iron Mine Manager Karen Carollo Secinaro and builder Rick Demski on the scaffold. (Terri Castelaz/Daily News photo)

The 94-year-old current owner is once again the face of the miner. “We used a photo taken of my dad (Eugene Carollo) at a younger age,” she said. “He loves it.”

Over the years, Big John has had a couple revisions using “generic” faces. It was interesting to discover the faded former faces under the current layer, Secinaro said. “He (Big John) was very different back then,” she said.

It has been more than 30 years since Big John has been repainted and the first time the wooden marker has undergone full restoration. She hopes the materials last as long as the original.

They have also repainted the welcome and stats signs, which should be displayed soon.

“I’m so glad I had this experience — it’s been fun,” Secinaro said.

In 1956, brothers and businessmen Albert and Eugene Carollo of Iron Mountain sought ideas on how to generate customers for their three hotels. “My uncle (Albert) used to travel frequently out west and noticed how the caverns were really drawing a lot of people,” said Secinaro, who took over as manager more than nine years ago from her cousin, Dennis Carollo, who ran after the death of his father, Albert.

Knowing they were in the Menominee Iron Range, they thought an underground iron mine might become a tourist attraction. They began exploring known closed mines and caves from Iron Mountain to Waucedah. However, the location would need to be easily accessible from the highway.

While walking on the hillside of the site of the East Vulcan Mine, Eugene Carollo rediscovered an “exploratory tunnel” that had not been used since the late 1800s. She noted the working tunnels were on the other side of U.S. 2 in Vulcan.

The brothers, along with James Goullette, began the process of renovating the tunnel. In 1956, they opened up for their first walking tour, giving spectators a glimpse of iron mining as it once existed. The portion of the mine open to the public totals about 2,600 feet of drifts and tunnels that descend to 400 feet below the system.

The underground train for tours was installed in 1965. This allows guests to travel half of the tour by train and travel by foot.

The Iron Mountain Iron Mine welcomes thousands of guests from throughout the world each year. “I love meeting all the people and really enjoy talking to them,” Secinaro said.

She noted her father, Gene, still makes frequent trips to Vulcan to visit with guests as well.

The beam from Big John’s mine lantern will go dim this evening as the mine shuts down for 2022.

“It shines bright 24/7 during our touring season,” Secinaro said. “Once the light goes off, we are closed until next year — the Friday before Memorial Day.”

The Iron Mountain Iron Mine is at W4852 U.S. 2 in Vulcan. For more information, go to the website at https://ironmountainironmine.wixsite.com/ironmine or the Facebook page.