Nursery buys a bivalve

CLEARVIEW – This area has a new roadside attraction.

The Clearview Nursery has added a giant clam to its menu of eclectic items.

Dan Bates / The Herald Owners and staff of Clearview Nursery look over their latest bizarre acquisition Sunday in the nursery parking lot: Ivar’s Clam from the 1970s. Jim McAuliffe (far right) saw an ad for the clam being auctioned on eBay and told his son, current nursery owner, Dan (second from right), who submitted the winning bid.

Nursery owner Dan McAuliffe bought the giant 12-by-12-by-7-foot Ivar’s Clam on eBay and put it on display Sunday. It’s the original clam that appeared in parades and other events.

McAuliffe paid $1,626 at an auction in Des Moines for the relic. It joins several old tractors, steam engines, an oil rig, a former Union 76 ball turned into a world globe, a stone garden and other unusual sights at the 11-acre nursery on Highway 9 between Snohomish and Woodinville.

It’s nice to be able to preserve old bits of history, McAuliffe said.

“They don’t get held onto,” said McAuliffe, who grew up in Bothell and remembers the clam from SeaFair Torchlight parades when he was a kid. “It’s kind of nice to keep ‘em and for people to be able to look at ‘em.”

Manager Lance Gibson said all the items probably pay for themselves by making the place fun. Some of the old steam engines, along with the oil rig, still run, he said.

“We try to keep this place as a family-friendly place. Kids like it,” Gibson said.

He said customers have called and asked about the clam after news spread of its purchase Thursday.

“I thought it was quite cool,” customer Mike Jones of Meadowdale said of the clam. “It’s something different.”

The clam looks like it’s made of weathered driftwood but is actually mostly plastic foam. It’s adorned with strings of small lights and sequins spelling out “Ivar’s” in the restaurant chain’s signature logo. The clam is accompanied by a wooden statue of an Ivarlike figure wearing a blue captain’s suit with a red parrot on his right shoulder.

The clam will need some refurbishing, Gibson said. It will be placed closer to the entrance and turned into a fountain.

A dedication ceremony for the clam is scheduled for Aug. 5, with representatives from Ivar’s expected to attend.

“Ivar’s lives on, moving out to the country,” Jones said.

Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.