Franklin the snowman has become a seasonal resident of Vermontville, staying with the McCormick family each winter since 2016. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

VERMONTVILLE — His name is Franklin, he stands 20 feet tall, and you can’t miss him driving through town on state Route 3.

Franklin is a giant snowman, built every year since 2016 by Pat and Amy McCormick with their children: Holly, 10, and Elliott, 6.

He’s grown up over the years. The first year he stood 8 feet tall, still a respectable height for a snow person, but at this point Pat considers 8 feet “little.”

“We try to go bigger every year,” he said.

The McCormicks’ vision was big from the start. Pat explained how Franklin was first brought into this world.

“The kids and I just decided to go build a snowman, and if you’re going to build it, you might as well build it big,” he said.

Franklin’s wardrobe has grown over the years, too.

Today he sports a 30-foot long scarf.

Three years ago Amy asked followers of her “Friends of Franklin” Facebook page to send in scarves to stitch together into one long enough for him to wear. Pat said Franklin’s friends knit and mailed in scarves from all over the country. He now has enough for two scarves.

His top hat is made of wood, chicken wire, fiberglass and resin.

Franklin cannot be constructed using typical snow person methods.

“You’d never be able to roll a ball that big,” Pat said.

They fill a front-loader bucket with snow and pile it on, a shovel-load at a time, before shaping it. Pat said he is a bit of a perfectionist, so it takes a while to get it right. This year’s Franklin took around 20 hours of work to complete.

Pat said Franklin is a popular spot for photos and that all day he sees people pulling off and stopping on the road to take photos. He said they prefer that people take photos from the road rather than crossing their lawn.

The McCormicks plan to continue building Franklin for the foreseeable future.

“At this point I’m kind of committed,” Pat said. “It is fun, and the kids really enjoy it.”

He said he hopes, with everything going on in the world, that Franklin can provide a positive sight for people driving by.