Well Into Spring, Massapequa Park Snowman Is Still Going
MASSAPEQUA PARK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- It's hard to imagine with temperatures in the 60s, but a snowman is still standing on Long Island.
As TV 10/55 Long Island Bureau Chief Richard Rose reported, the Fregoe family even in mid-April was continuing efforts to keep their snowman going.
"I won't take snow from an ice skating rink or any artificial snow," said Mike Fregoe of Massapequa Park. "The only way this guy is going to stay alive is with the snow from this winter."
Shoveling snow in a tanktop, Fregoe was defying the changing seasons to save the beloved snowman he first built with his daughter, Rebecca, during the blizzard back in January.
"I joke with my daughter – we'll keep it just 'til the next snowstorm, and she says, 'Really, dad?'" Fregoe said.
At the height of winter, the Fregoes' Frosty grew to 9 feet. But now, their snowman is slowly shrinking.
"He's getting a little bit of a suntan," Fregoe said. "He's got lotion in his hand, though. So that keeps him cool enough – that and a lot of ice."
Every day, the Fregoes trek to a nearby park to haul out buckets from a dwindling snowbank. Their effort has attracted thousands of fans on Facebook – some of whom wave from their cars in support.
"I say if you have snow, come and donate it," said Jackie Espejo of Massapequa Park. "I'm going to go look for snow now."
Fregoe said he has gotten what he calls "snow-nations" from near and far.
"People have brought it from Vermont, out east in the Hamptons, Patchogue, Sayville," he said.
Fregoe said he simply loves a good snowman – something his teen daughter has always known.
"When I was born, I feel like every single winter, we had a snowman," said Rebecca Fregoe.
Whenever the snowman does melt, Fregoe said he'll just put the last of it in a freezer to start anew next winter.
Fregoe said fears the warm forecast for the weekend may signal the end for his snowman. He said he hopes a celebrity – or perhaps his favorite late-night comedian, David Letterman, will come to the rescue by having truckloads of snow from Canada sent in.
His Facebook page also remains active to keep the snowman going.
