Yogi Bear Is Thrilled

Only in Ohio.

The Longaberger Company is an Ohio-based manufacturer of "heirloom-quality" woven hardwood baskets.  (Yes, there's no better inheritance than a basket!)  For decades, their business boomed -- over 8000 employees and $1 billion in annual sales.  In 1997, Longaberger built themselves a new corporate HQ building in Newark, a small town east of Columbus.  The one-of-a-kind structure is a 7 story, 180,000 square foot basket.

Alas, times changed, sales tanked and the company fell on hard times.  The Basket Building was quietly closed and the remaining skeleton crew was relocated.  They put the place up for sale but couldn't find any buyers for their gigantic basket.  The building sat vacant while it piled up almost $1 million in tax debt.

But an angel buyer has miraculously appeared, paying $1.2 million for the basket.  The new owner is a restoration firm which specializes in historic buildings.  A spokesperson said they'll try to get the building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, because "Just look at it!  It's historic!  It's gigantic!  It's a pic-a-nic basket!"

The spokesperson acknowledged "We have no idea what we'll do with it," but insisted they are dedicated to its preservation.  He added that they were pleased to discover the building's interior contained a couple pieces of gigantic fried chicken, some gigantic devilled eggs, and a slice of historic, gigantic chocolate cake.

Yogi Bear was pretty happy about it, too.