A Bountiful landmark with a prehistoric look
Mar 04, 2022 12:52PM ● By Tom Haraldsen
One of Davis County’s most recognizable street corners is home for a prehistoric creature. Or at least a facsimile of one. He sits in front of Ernies Too, the Sinclair gas station and convenience store at 2565 South Main (Hwy. 89) in Bountiful, and depending on the season, he’s always dressed appropriately. Brunson the Dino is the green dinosaur trademarked by the Sinclair Oil Corporation. He and his fellow dinosaurs grace 100s of Sinclair stations, but not all of them, across the country. He became the company’s icon in 1932, and Dinos have appeared World’s Fairs and the famous Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City for decades. They’ve also been featured in cartoons and even movies. But in Brunson’s case (and that is his name–keep reading to find out why), he arrived in Bountiful on April 22, 2019, according to his “mom,” station employee Jena Smith. “It was kind of funny, because that’s almost exactly the day I got married, and the employees teased me that he was a wedding present,” Smith said. “So I kind of adopted him and more or less serve as his Mom.” Over the past three years, Smith makes sure that Brunson is dressed for special occasions like Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, the Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Station customers have really embraced the mascot, even participating in a contest which the station held to give him a name. “We had a lot of suggestions, but Brunson was the most popular, so that’s his name,” Smith said. Brunson has had some challenges over the past three years. He was hit by a car and suffered some serious damage that required him to leave for a few weeks to be repaired. Last year he suffered some damage when a violent windstorm tipped him over. But customers and “Brunson buddies” were quick to wish him a speedy recovery as he was being repaired again. So come summer heat or winter cold, he stands guard at the intersection. “We had one customer who put a mask on him due to Covid,” Smith said. “We didn’t want him to be considered as making a political statement, so we removed it.” She said Brunson, who is only permitted to be displayed at stations that meet Sinclair’s “Year of Brand Excellence” award for operations, is made of fiberglass and is highly photographed. “Customers post lots of pictures with their kids in front of Brunson. He’s a lovable figure and that’s what we wanted him to represent.” According to the corporate website, the Sinclair dinosaur is one of the most popular icons in American petroliana. Sinclair’s advertising writers first had the idea to use dinosaurs in Sinclair marketing back in 1932. They were promoting lubricants refined from crude oil believed to have formed when dinosaurs roamed the earth. The original campaign included a dozen different dinosaurs, but it was the gentle giant, the Apatosaurus, which Dino is patterned after, that captured the hearts of Americans. Smith said that Brunson is also a key part of the station’s annual 12 Days of Christmas Food Drive, where contributions are collected for donation to the Bountiful Food Pantry. l
One of Davis County’s most recognizable street corners is home for a prehistoric creature. Or at least a facsimile of one.
He sits in front of Ernies Too, the Sinclair gas station and convenience store at 2565 South Main (Hwy. 89) in Bountiful, and depending on the season, he’s always dressed appropriately.
Brunson the Dino is the green dinosaur trademarked by the Sinclair Oil Corporation. He and his fellow dinosaurs grace 100s of Sinclair stations, but not all of them, across the country. He became the company’s icon in 1932, and Dinos have appeared World’s Fairs and the famous Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City for decades. They’ve also been featured in cartoons and even movies. But in Brunson’s case (and that is his name–keep reading to find out why), he arrived in Bountiful on April 22, 2019, according to his “mom,” station employee Jena Smith.
“It was kind of funny, because that’s almost exactly the day I got married, and the employees teased me that he was a wedding present,” Smith said. “So I kind of adopted him and more or less serve as his Mom.”
Over the past three years, Smith makes sure that Brunson is dressed for special occasions like Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, the Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Station customers have really embraced the mascot, even participating in a contest which the station held to give him a name.
“We had a lot of suggestions, but Brunson was the most popular, so that’s his name,” Smith said.
Brunson has had some challenges over the past three years. He was hit by a car and suffered some serious damage that required him to leave for a few weeks to be repaired. Last year he suffered some damage when a violent windstorm tipped him over. But customers and “Brunson buddies” were quick to wish him a speedy recovery as he was being repaired again. So come summer heat or winter cold, he stands guard at the intersection.
“We had one customer who put a mask on him due to Covid,” Smith said. “We didn’t want him to be considered as making a political statement, so we removed it.” She said Brunson, who is only permitted to be displayed at stations that meet Sinclair’s “Year of Brand Excellence” award for operations, is made of fiberglass and is highly photographed.
“Customers post lots of pictures with their kids in front of Brunson. He’s a lovable figure and that’s what we wanted him to represent.”
According to the corporate website, the Sinclair dinosaur is one of the most popular icons in American petroliana. Sinclair’s advertising writers first had the idea to use dinosaurs in Sinclair marketing back in 1932. They were promoting lubricants refined from crude oil believed to have formed when dinosaurs roamed the earth. The original campaign included a dozen different dinosaurs, but it was the gentle giant, the Apatosaurus, which Dino is patterned after, that captured the hearts of Americans.
Smith said that Brunson is also a key part of the station’s annual 12 Days of Christmas Food Drive, where contributions are collected for donation to the Bountiful Food Pantry. λ
