'Stan the Veggie Man' lives ... but in hiding

By Scott Merzbach
Staff Writer

Published on October 13, 2006

HADLEY - The landmark 'Stan the Vegetable Man' sign, which for decades advertised Stan's Drive-In on Route 9, has been taken down.

The iconic sign, featuring an anthropomorphic caricature made from an assortment of vegetables, was removed about a month ago to ensure its safe-keeping, said Toni Waskiewicz, the granddaughter of the Hadley resident who founded the business in 1948.

'We took it down a few weeks ago because we were worried about vandalism,' Waskiewicz said.

Waskiewicz said she may touch up the paint on it, but otherwise hoped to keep the sign intact. Eventually, she said, she would like to donate the sign to the Hadley Farm Museum, where more than 3,000 artifacts from Hadley's farming history are on display.

Waskiewicz said the stand at 200 Russell St. has been closed for a couple of years, and the land and buildings are now for lease.

'It was time to move on,' Waskiewicz said.

She took over the business from her grandfather Stanley Murdza in 1998 when he announced his retirement, and for a time added both a small antiques store and Sully's restaurant to Stan's Drive-In, which marked the return of meals there.

Murdza, now 91, originally opened the business as a restaurant serving hamburgers and had famous visitors, including President John F. Kennedy.

In the 1960s, Murdza transitioned the business into a fruit and vegetable stand where he provided fresh produce that he and other Hadley farmers grew, including asparagus, corn and tomatoes in the summer and potatoes, carrots and beets in the winter.

It was during this period that Murdza designed the original sign; its Vegetable Man had a pumpkin for its head, string beans representing its arms, carrots doubling as its legs and corn for its feet.

Hadley artist Frederick Wilda, whose family supplied Indian corn that was sold at the stand, redesigned and repainted the Vegetable Man in the early 1980s, and then again six to seven years ago.

While removing the sign, Waskiewicz said she discovered an earlier rendering of the Vegetable Man beneath the most recent sign in which he's holding Hadley asparagus instead of a basket filled with vegetables.

Anna Maria Irvine, of Northampton, said she believed many people would miss seeing the sign on their trips along Route 9. The sign became a well-known attraction on the road, even before it became so heavily traveled by commuters.

The Vegetable Man, Irvine said in an e-mail message, 'was kind of scary but in a lovable way.'

One Web site, www.jimmysquid.com, has a photo of the sign and describes it as a 'Hadley icon.'

'Stan the Vegetable Man has been a Route 9 fixture for as long as I have been here. Just look at those diabolical, taunting eyes. Truly a Hadley icon.'

Stasia Murdza, who helped run the business through the years, said she and her husband, Stanley, were happy the sign was safe. Several years ago, it was stolen by college students, she said.

Selectman Gerry Devine said he was glad to hear the sign would be preserved for future generations.