Big Show

After fighting for the United States in World War I, Carl Strom founded Western Exterminator at the start of the Roaring 1920s. Last year, the company celebrated its 100-year anniversary.

Soon after the company’s founding, Mr. Little, a cartoon character sporting sunglasses, a top hat and a hidden mallet behind his back, was first introduced in 1931 in Western Exterminator’s Yellow Pages ads. Since then, Mr. Little, and his sidekick Menace the Mouse (the potential mallet receiver), has evolved into a West Coast icon.

Not only has his image appeared on billboards up and down the coast, in books and on the big screen once or twice, he was on stage for Van Halen’s “1984” tour.

Though Western Exterminator became a Rentokil company in late 2012, it continues to prominently feature Mr. Little in its advertising.

He’s kind of a big deal, which is why Rentokil accepted a restoration offer from Vintage Roadside. The small mom-and-pop company located outside of Portland, Ore., preserves pieces of roadside history, and it offered to preserve and safely move a 20-foot Mr. Little statue that had stood outside of Western’s Santa Ana, Calif., location for years.

Cherissa Vandergriff, senior director of marketing, residential pest, Rentokil NA, said Western’s Santa Ana office was moving and knew its statue was in need of restoration due to general wear and tear. Around the time management was trying to determine what it would take to move the statue, they got in touch with Vintage Roadside.

“Being able to take that long, rich legacy and share it with the public so they can all come and see him was something that was a perfect fit for us,” Vandergriff said.

The statue, which weighs an estimated 1,500 pounds, is currently on display at the Valley Relics Museum in Van Nuys, Calif., but it might move around so more people can get up close looks.

“We felt like [Valley Relics] was a great match as it was fairly local to where the statue stood originally, and the museum has a great collection of mid-century advertising and other historic artifacts on display,” said Jeff Kunkle, owner of Vintage Roadside.

Kunkle said Mr. Little had the benefit of living in a fairly mild environment over the years and had also received great periodic maintenance. After removing him from his original perch, he received a thorough examination and a top-to-bottom cleaning.

“Compared to some of the statues in our collection, he was in fantastic shape,” Kunkle said. “When the time comes for him to move to his next museum, we’ll route him to our restoration shop in Oregon to see if there’s any work needed.” — Kaitlyn McGarvey