Sandyman: a coastal snowman brings holiday cheer to Pass Christian Beach
By Guest Columnist Katelyn Petty
Along the Gulf Coast – where the winter season and Christmassy weather is not very frightful, but, rather, delightful, since it is mainly in the high 60s and low 40s – visions of Christmas traditions are celebrated at this special time of year. Christmas on the Gulf Coast is a little different for people here than for those who live in Minnesota.
The biggest difference is that Minnesota has snow, especially during their winter season, and here on the beaches of the Gulf Coast, we have sand. For many who live here along the Gulf Coast, including Mary Bourdin, a resident of Pass Christian, and her two neighbors, Kathy James and Cindy Cohen, sand is the new snow for them, and seashells are their snowflakes. Mary Bourdin has memories of snowmen while growing up in Minnesota, whether it was seeing them all around her in her neighbors’ yards in the area where she lived or more personal memories of her and her family building them together as a Christmas family tradition.
“We always had snowmen,” Mary said. “It was like they became a tradition,” she added.
Since then, she has moved to Pass Christian, Mississippi. In 2015, Mary, her two neighbors, and their families came up with an idea and decided that the beach next to Pass Christian’s Harbor along Highway 90 and across from West 2nd Street in Pass Christian needed a sandman.
“We just kind of had this idea that, ‘Hey, we need a sandman on the beach,’” Mary stated.
Over the Thanksgiving Holiday, they went to the beach and built one.
“He was only about knee- to waist-high, to begin with, that first year,” Mary explained. “We shoveled everything by hand and took water from the beach with buckets,” she added.
Now, this sandman has become a community effort and has grown to be about 15 feet, thanks to the Harrison County Sand Beach Authority workers and the Pass Christian Fire Department. Sometimes visitors, vacationers, and locals who have visiting families have helped decorate this unique Coastal sandman.
Each year, the two-day project of creating the sandman starts the Wednesday before Thanksgiving; the Harrison County Sand Beach Authority workers mound up a large pile of sand to begin creating the unique snowman. After the large mound is made, the Pass Christian Fire Department sprays the mound with water, to help keep it together throughout the entire holiday season.
On the Friday after Thanksgiving, Mary, her two neighbors, and their families gather together to decorate the holiday landmark that has become known affectionately as “Sandyman.” Everything except for Sandyman’s hat and mittens are natural items found on Pass Christian’s beach, such as six blue crab shells for buttons, pinecones for eyes, seven oyster shells for his smile, Spanish moss eyebrows, yaupon holly scarf, and, of course, branches for his arms – just like regular snowmen have.
Sandyman waves to motorists who are traveling on Highway 90, as well as the participating runners in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon that occurs the second week of December. His face also smiles at people who are walking on the beach behind him.
“Everyone just loves and enjoys him, and it gives us great joy to see that he is a wonderful part of the Pass Christian community for the holiday season,” said Mary. 
