Snow Shark! Mokena Resident Makes the Best Out of the Blizzard

Jon Fisher is neither 11 years old nor insane, but his crazy inner child was hard at work following the massive snowstorm.

Last Tuesday, while most Mokena residents were shuttering themselves inside their homes to keep out of the path of the blizzard, Fisher was in his back yard, piling up snow and shaping the drifts into a snow shark.

The sculpture, which can be seen, teeth and all, in his yard at 10947 First Street in Mokena, took him around 12 to 20 hours to complete, he said.

"I don't really go into it with an idea in mind," Fisher said. "The shark just sort of came out itself."

Fisher, a Lincoln-Way East graduate, said he has made about half a dozen snow sculptures over the years, including an elephant, a heart and a pig. The pig was part of a Christmas present for the sister of his girlfriend, Julie Conry.

"He's very different and strange and funny," Conry said. "He was Homecoming King and Class Clown of our senior class."

The shark has caught the eye of several residents.

In fact, Mokena Patch found out about the shark through a tip from Police Commander Dan Rankovich. In a message left on Mokena Patch's voicemail yesterday, Rankovich said, in his characteristically blunt, no-nonsense manner "Someone looks like they made a huge snow shark in their back yard. I think it's pretty cute."

Fisher said neighbors have also asked him to build sculptures in their snow-ridden yards, but the snow by then is often unpackable.

"Usually, it's the day after the fall you get the best snow," Fisher said. In addition, building the sculpture takes a lot of time and heavy lifting.

By day, Fisher is an accountant at DePaul University in Chicago. He said the snow allows him to show his artistic side. "People look at me as a numbers guy," he said, laughing. "I don't just do taxes."

In addition, it helps him exercise his inner child. "As I got older, it seemed the less people played in the snow," he said. "I guess this kind of gives me a chance to play in the snow."

Fisher's home is at 10947 First Street, but the shark is on Division Street. Fisher encourages people to take photos of themselves standing next to the shark, riding on top of the shark or inside the shark's mouth.