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Giant Rocking Chair Stands 22 1/2 Ft. Tall
"The first one I built was about 10-ft. high, but I wasn't satisfied with that so I built a bigger one," says Joe Hejduk, Austinburg, Ohio, who designed and constructed a 22 1/2-ft. tall rocking chair which, so far as he knows, is the largest in the world.
The chair sits outside, drawing attention to his Country Living Center, a general store stocked with everything from cold drinks to unpainted furniture. Many motorists who spot the chair while driving along I-90 interstate highway in northeastern Ohio, turn back to have a closer look and to take turns climbing into "the worlds largest rocking chair" to have their picture taken.
"It's painted white, weighs about 1800-lbs., is 8-ft. 2-in. wide, 7 1/2-ft. tall to the seat and has 14-ft. long rockers. As many as 35 people can stand on the seat at once. You could even a put a Volkswagon in the seat," Hejduk points out.
"I used 2 by 4, 4 by 6, 6 by 6, and 4 by 4-in. treated lumber to build it. Instead of nails, I used threaded rod to hold boards together. All together, I probably used 80-ft. of 5/8-in. rod," Hejduk notes.
"The main problem I had was getting the chair to balance properly so it'd rock. I solved that by making the back of the chair adjustable. Now I can fine-tune it within ounces. One person sitting on the chair can rock it, yet it hardly moves on a windy day.
"I also made the chair so it'd fold up for transport with the back folding down and arms folding in. I displayed it at local county fairs for awhile but found it too time consuming and the chair was getting damaged."
Now, Hejduk leaves the chair sitting outside his store to draw in the curious. During the Christmas holidays he spruces it up with more than 400 sparkling lights.


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1987 - Volume #11, Issue #4