By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
OLEAN — Eric Jones’ latest snow sculpture of the winter season was turning some heads on West State Street on Thursday.
A larger-than-life Bona Wolf Jones created this week sits at the end of the parking lot at Worth W. Smith Hardware, 1624 W. State St.
There was a steady stream of people stopping by for a selfie. The Wolf quickly went viral on social media feeds. Jones finished carving the snow sculpture Wednesday night and put the finishing touches — including paint — Thursday morning.
Members of the Worth W. Smith crew were among the first to pose beside the 9-foot tall Wolf after Jones completed the sculpture Thursday.
Worth W. Smith owner Nate Smith said the West State Street hardware store has sponsored other Eric Jones sculptures in the past.
Last year he sculpted a Josh Allen snow sculpture in the same spot as the Bona Wolf, and before that he sculpted a giant pumpkin for a Veterans Day sculpture.
“Besides his great sculpting ability, Eric is genuinely a nice person,” Smith said in an interview Thursday inside the hardware store.
Smith said he and his wife Theresa were talking about what to ask Jones to sculpt from snow this year. “Theresa said ‘why not do the Bona Wolf?’ We’re proud Bonas supporters.”
And the men’s team is off to a fantastic start — 14-1 — this season.
Unlike much of last winter, Jones has plenty of snow to make snow sculptures. And it’s very cold. The Bona Wolf is not going to melt for some time.
“The cold snap is helping for sure,” Jones said Thursday night, recalling he was begging for snow at this time last year.
Jones and the Smiths have a long relationship. He has been buying supplies from the hardware store for years.
“Eric has a large number of followers,” Smith said. “His sculptures bring a lot of eyes and we like being part of the community. It brings a lot of smiles on these cold winter days. And it is worth every penny.”
Jones’ next snow sculpture is one of the biggest he’s planned this season. The wooden mold for the snow to be carved is 12 feet long and 9 feet high.
It’s a tribute to MVP candidate Josh Allen that’s sitting outside Roosa Development in Springville and will be ready for game day Sunday when the Buffalo Bills, according to Jones.
There’s 500 cubic feet of snow in the wooden frame. “It’s a unique tribute to our MVP and the play of the season,” Jones hinted. Stay tuned.
