ON JANUARY 6, 1948, the Daily Item featured this photo of a giant snowman built by then 16-year-old Victor Garbenis on the lawn of his family’s 47 Charles St. home. The Item reported that Garbenis began building his massive masterpiece just after Christmas. “The figure stands 35 feet high and towers over homes and trees in the neighborhood,” the photo caption stated. Three major snow storms in less than two weeks had left the town blanketed with two to three feet of snow, providing the artist with plenty of construction material. Given his aptitude for building things, it was no surprise that following his 1950 graduation from Wakefield High School, Garbenis joined the U.S. Navy Construction Batallions, also known as the “Seabees.” He went on to work as a contractor in civilian life. Victor Garbenis passed away in 2012 at age 80.
