Mr. Little Prepares for Big Tour

ANAHEIM, Calif. - In 2021, Western Exterminator celebrated its 100-year anniversary. After fighting for the U.S. in WWI, Carl Strom began the company at the start of the “Roaring Twenties.” Mr. Little was first introduced in 1931 as a recognizable figure to be used in Western Exterminator's Yellow Pages ads. Since then, Mr. Little and his sidekick, Menace the Mouse, have evolved into West Coast icons. Not only has his image appeared high on billboards throughout the coast, in books and on the big screen once or twice, it was even seen on the stage of rock band Van Halen’s 1984 tour.

Mr. Little has answered to many names over the years, including "Kernel Kleenup," "Inspector Holmes," and "The Little Man.” In its earlier years, each Western Exterminator vehicle even had a Mr. Little statue on it. Though Western Exterminator became a Rentokil company in late 2012, it continues to prominently feature Mr. Little in its advertising.

Mr. Little is a big deal, which is why Rentokil “gladly” accepted a restoration offer from Vintage Roadside, a small mom and pop company located outside of Portland, Ore. dedicated to the preservation and promotion of roadside history. Vintage Roadside offered to preserve and safely move one of its 20-foot Mr. Little statues. The one currently on display at the Valley Relics Museum in Van Nuys, Calif. stood outside of Western’s Santa Ana, Calif. location for years. Illuminated by antique neon signs and surrounded by classic cars and other icons of days gone past, the company said, Mr. Little stole the spotlight.

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. Western Exterminator supported the organization’s mission to preserve historic memorabilia and share it with the public.

“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,” she said.

Jeff Kunkle, owner of Vintage Roadside, said the passion for his business was inspired by the local A&W restaurant he grew up near. It had the "Burger Family" statues, he said, and Kunkle always remembered how seeing those larger-than-life statues was “as big of a treat as the frosty mugs of root beer.” In 2007, a former A&W owner asked if the company would like to be the next caretaker of his set of statues.

The latest statue under its care is the not-so-little Mr. Little statue. He joins Vintage Roadside’s statue collection which also includes the likes of Esso Tiger, a Tastee Freez Twin, a former gas station "Muffler Man" and a Jantzen Diving Girl.

“In working with Rentokil our shared objective is the preservation and continued enjoyment of this wonderful piece of advertising and company history,” Kunkle said.

Shortly before the pandemic, plans were well underway for a traveling museum exhibit that included several of those statues. Unfortunately, he said, those plans are currently on pause until several uncertainties pass. Reaching out to a few museums regarding the display of Mr. Little, however, has yielded “fantastic” response.

“We’ve begun by displaying him at the Valley Relics Museum in Van Nuys, Calif. We felt like this 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,” Kunkle said.

Seeing roadside giants like Mr. Little, he said, reminds people not only of a company, but of a specific place and a fantastic era of roadside advertising. Those types of statues are large, heavy, awkward and costly to move, and expensive to restore. It is fantastic, Kunkle said, that Rentokil saw the value in preserving one.

The touring Mr. Little statue is made of steel, plaster, and fiberglass, Vandergriff said. The general wear he sustained was largely from being exposed to the Santa Ana weather elements. Because of the statue’s height and weight, a crane was needed to move it. Kunkle said the company did not get an exact weight on it, but it was estimated to be around 1,500 pounds.

“Generally, statues of this size weigh around 500 pounds, but Mr. Little also has a steel internal structure that adds greatly to his weight,” he said.

Kunkle also 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,” he 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.”

This is a great opportunity for Western Exterminator to be able to use the Mr. Little statue in a larger way and share him with the public, Vandergriff said. Keep an eye on Western Exterminator’s social media for updates on where he will travel next. He is anticipated to be at the Valley Relics Museum throughout summer 2022.