The House on Dryden

There’s a little bit of everything… pottery… sleds… a keyboard… even a bear claw.

Since 1952, “Big” Tom Harmon has collected more than 500 items for his yard display.

“There’s a story to every piece on this bank, I remember most of them but a lot of them I’ve forgotten,” he says.

What started decades ago as a way to cover up a dusty, rock covered yard has now turned into a destination for tourists and nursing home residents.

Some visitors know the yard so well they can tell if he makes a change.

“I got twin ducks up on that bank up there. There’s a blue pair and a yellow pair. If I put two blue ones together, I don’t much do it right now, but they’ll say how’s come the ducks is moved? They know everything these people and it’s a part of their life too,” he says.

With hundreds of items in his yard “Big” Tom can’t use a push mower, so he just throws down his cushion, grabs his scissors and gets to mowing.

“I don’t have no place to go and I got the rest of my life to get there so that’s how busy I am.”

He doesn’t mind the work, because he says the yard is a bright spot in a neighborhood that’s deteriorated over the years.

The items are a great conversation starter to reminisce about Zanesville’s past.

“It’s fun. The younger generation have no more idea what we’re talking about than the man on the moon, but the people that understand this,” he says. “It’s conversation the people we just, I don’t know how to say it, but this is my life, a big part of my life.”

So if you’re heading down Dryden feel free to stop and talk or honk and wave, but don’t even ask “Big” Tom says the items are priceless and not for sale!

If you want to check out “Big” Tom’s yard feel free to stop by anytime, however the display is put away from Thanksgiving to St. Patrick’s Day.