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'I-4 Giants' stand tall as towering tributes to strawberry workers

Wish Farms decided to honor three long-time employees with 22-foot billboards.

PLANT CITY, Fla. — It’s hard to miss the three new signs on the south side of Interstate 4 in Plant City. Just shy of Exit 22, heading east towards Orlando, stands a trio of towering billboards that welcome visitors to Plant City.

“We call them 'the I-4 Giants,'” said Gary Wishnatzki, the third-generation family owner of Wish Farms.

One month ago, over Gasparilla weekend, the Wish Farms folks decided to erect three enormous monuments to the success of its company, which was founded in 1922. The three 22-foot tall billboards each look like a beloved member of the strawberry-loving company.

“It looks just like him,” said Suzanne Jackson, whose dad, Willie, is the first sign to greet riders on the interstate. “It’s an honor.”

Credit: 10News Staff

Willie Jackson, known by the Wish folks as “Big Willie”, died in 1988. He worked for the company in multiple capacities for decades. His daughter jokes that his nickname fit since Willie was 6-foot-4, 220 pounds. She now takes the long way home from work just to see her dad’s billboard.

Next to him is Ralph Houston Sr. He worked on the loading dock at Wish for years. He always had a cigar and pencil in his hand. Those are features included in his billboard.

“There are over 100,000 cars a day that go by here, so this is maximum visibility,” said Wishnatzki. “I absolutely believe they deserve the recognition.”

The final billboard depicts a man who is still on the job at Wish. Lonnie Gonzalez started working for the strawberry company when he was 18 years old. Now, 56 years later, he’s the last face you see towering over the road at Exit 22.

“Ain’t hardly a day go by that somebody don’t say something,” said Gonzalez. “Something like this? Never even entered my mind.”

Lonnie goes back so long that he started working when Gary’s dad and uncle ran the strawberry business. Now Gary and his son, Nick, take care of Wish.

“I’ve always loved having Lonnie work for us,” said Gary.

The billboards were painted by a California artist named John Cerney. They were created in Cerney’s warehouse. Gary first saw his work while driving through a lettuce field in Salinas.  It gave him the idea to do a similar sign near the site of his new strawberry headquarters which is set to open in 2020.

He says the three giant billboards are the perfect faces to greet visitors to Wish’s new home.

Lonnie’s billboard is based on a photo taken for the Tampa Tribune in 1991. He’s shouting his trademark “STRAAAWWWBERRRRIEEES!” call in the image, the same call he makes to alert loading dock workers of every berry delivery.

“I think he’s tall,” Lonnie joked while looking at his billboard. “It makes me proud to know that Gary and Nick think that much about me.”

The same goes for Big Willie’s family.

“I was in awe,” said Suzanne, “because I never expected to see this. It could have been anybody else but they chose my dad.”

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