Cedar Grove snowman Mr. Frosty stands 18 feet tall, will raise funds for Children's Wisconsin

Gary C. Klein, Sheboygan Press
Updated ·2 min read
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CEDAR GROVE — He's 18 feet tall, has a safety cone nose, a trash can hat, his name is Mr. Frosty and he hopes to raise money for Children's Wisconsin as he melts away.

After last week's snow, Jon Voskuil, of Cedar Grove, first created a small snowman with his children. A neighbor quipped that he should build a bigger snowman. Voskuil took the neighbor's suggestion to heart.

He teamed up with Nate Altheimer, Michael Voskuil, Trevor Peterson and Matt Posthuma to create the towering snowman on his front yard at 1111 S. Second St. in Cedar Grove last week.

"We are complete amateurs, and we just decided to build a big snowman," Altheimer said.

Nate Altheimer, of Belgium, Wis., left, Jon Voskuil, middle, and Michael Voskuil, right, stand in front of their 18-foot-tall Mr. Frosty, Monday, January 22, 2024, in Cedar Grove, Wis., The builders, working with Children’s Wisconsin, hope to raise charitable funds for the organization.
Nate Altheimer, of Belgium, Wis., left, Jon Voskuil, middle, and Michael Voskuil, right, stand in front of their 18-foot-tall Mr. Frosty, Monday, January 22, 2024, in Cedar Grove, Wis., The builders, working with Children’s Wisconsin, hope to raise charitable funds for the organization.

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A snowman that tall requires some serious attention to detail. Altheimer, of Belgium, brought in a lift from his construction business to put the head onto the lower two giant snowballs.

"We mixed snow, we sprayed, there is a lot that was involved. It's rock solid," Altheimer said.

Voskuil said there is rebar inside Mr. Frosty to help keep him stable. He added the Village of Cedar Grove provided the safety cone nose for the project.

Children of the builders of a 18-foot-tall snowman pose around the creation in the front yard of Jon Voskuil, Monday, January 22, 2024, in Cedar Grove, Wis. The builders, working with Children’s Wisconsin, hope to raise charitable funds for the organization.
Children of the builders of a 18-foot-tall snowman pose around the creation in the front yard of Jon Voskuil, Monday, January 22, 2024, in Cedar Grove, Wis. The builders, working with Children’s Wisconsin, hope to raise charitable funds for the organization.

Someone suggested to the team that a pool of some kind should be started to see how long Mr. Frosty lasts. Then, helping Children's Wisconsin came to mind as snowmen are so connected with children.

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Mr. Frosty's team decided to contact Children's Wisconsin to use Mr. Frosty's eventual demise to help raise funds for the non-profit organization. After donating $10 to Children's, donors are asked to guess the date when Mr. Frosty melts away into a memory. Children's has created a special webpage for the project at https://support.childrenswi.org/event/the-melting-snowman-for-childrens-wisconsin/e556140.

Children march round the 18-foot-tall snowman, Monday, January 22, 2024, that Jon Voskuil and several of his friends created in his front yard over the weekend in Cedar Grove, Wis.
Children march round the 18-foot-tall snowman, Monday, January 22, 2024, that Jon Voskuil and several of his friends created in his front yard over the weekend in Cedar Grove, Wis.

Local businesses joined in the fun as Jolly Good Soda, A3 Builders and Voskuil Electric along with Oostburg State Bank are donating funds to be used as prizes for the top three guesses. First prize will be $2,000, second prize will be $1,000 and third prize will be $500.

To put in your donation and guess, go to https://support.childrenswi.org/event/the-melting-snowman-for-childrens-wisconsin/e556140.

Gary C. Klein can be reached at 920-453-5149 or gklein@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @leicaman99.

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Giant snowman in Sheboygan County raises funds for Children's Wisconsin