I am no authority on giant gorillas placed in fields, but from what I understand this gorilla (made of wire and paper) originally sat on the rooftop of a business in Mandan. When that business closed, the gorilla was taken from place to place and eventually it landed in Harvey.

I considered knocking on the door of the owner of this land and asking what story he had to tell about this gorilla, but it was Sunday morning and I did not want to disturb anyone on such a day. I also shun all human contact and will take any excuse to do so.

I don't know why this particular beast is called "The Mighty Og." In fact, I know only through hearsay that this is the designated name for this thing.

The Mighty Og is located in Harvey, North Dakota, on Route 52, near the intersection of Route 3. Og is on private property, next door to the Artos Motel.

Og is located next to the Artos Motel, which is at the nearby intersection of Highway 3. Atop Og is a pole and atop that pole is a hornet. This hornet may have been placed after Og was re-located to Harvey, because Harvey High School's athletic teams go by the name "Harvey Hornets."

I am aware of two definitions for the word "og." The more common meaning would be "officer of the guard," which is perhaps the spirit in which Og was placed shaking his fists at would be intruders.

The other definition is from the Book of Deutoronomy. According to Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary, Og was:

the king of Bashan, who was defeated by Moses in a pitched battle at Edrei, and was slain along with his sons (Deut. 1:4), and whose kingdom was given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh (Num. 21:32-35; Deut. 3:1-13). His bedstead (or rather sarcophagus) was of iron (or ironstone), 9 cubits in length and 4 cubits in breadth. His overthrow was afterwards celebrated in song (Ps. 135:11; 136:20).

It is also believed that the word "ogre" is derived from the name Og, King of Bashan.

But getting all biblical over a big gorilla may be missing the point. I think someone in Harvey just has a sense of humor, and saw this as a way to make Harvey stand out among other towns in North Dakota.

Click here for pictures of the Mighty Og >>