A Fire-Breathing Dragon is Brought to Life in Saco

If you were at the Saco Fun Days event held last weekend, chances are that you likely saw a metal dragon on top of a trailer.

And even if you missed Saco Fun Days, there is no chance you missed that dragon while passing through the town.

The PCN stopped by Larb Creek LTD, to approach the owner, Michael Wiederrich of Saco, to talk about his art and the dragon that has been talked about around Phillips County, and many passing through, for the last few weeks.

Wiederrich, the son of Wayne and Della Wiederrich, was born in North Dakota, but has lived in Saco for most of his life. He attended Saco Schools until the 7th grade and finished middle school and high school in Hinsdale, where he graduated in 2003. He transferred to participate in the FFA program.

In 2005, he moved to Glendive to go to Dawson Community College. In 2007, he earned an Ag Power Degree and a certificate in welding.

Though he earned the certificate, which he said doesn't make him a certified welder, Wiederrich said that his first project was a tandem bike that he embraced together with his dad. He was welding by the age of 12, thanks to his father, Wayne, and his uncle, Jay Yeska.

"The tandem bike was the first bicycle that I owned, when I was eight or nine," Wiederrich said.

He found the other half of it in a dumpster.

"It was a 20-inch tandem bike," Wayne said. "Nearly everyone around Mike's age rode it at the fair. We took it to the fair all of the time."

The bike was later painted orange and black to honor Saco's school colors. It was used in the Saco Fun Days Parade once.

Though his father taught him a majority of what he knew in his younger years, today his father is impressed by his son's work.

"He's experienced with metals that I have never encountered," Wayne said. "Like, I have never been a good welder with aluminum, but Mike can do it."

After earning his degree, Wiederrich joined the Navy, for 3-and-a-half years. He was stationed in Japan on the USS Kitty Hawk and then transferred to the George Washington. He worked as a plane captain and then worked on an air framing rig.

"We work on the skin of the airplane and hydraulics," Wiederrich said. "A majority of the aircraft is our responsibility. From the landing gears and the shell of the aircraft."

During that time, Wiederrich worked on the EA-6B Prowler, which is now discontinued.

He moved back to Saco in 2011, to work on the Yeska Ranch, a ranch owned by his mother and grandfather, John Yeska. He worked at the ranch for over a decade, and now shares time with his shop, Larb Creek LTD. The store opened up in February of this year.

The idea for his store's name came from where he lives, Larb Creek.

"I figured I would use it as something of a landmark and incorporate it into the name," Wiederrich said. "It's the creek that runs through our ranch and also the road to the ranch is called Larb Creek Road."

Though the dragon was an idea conceived 25 years ago, Wiederrich, with the help of his father, gathered pieces (mostly sickle sections from combines and swathers) over the decades, and started building the project last September.

"It's been an ongoing thought that I wanted to do, it's just one of my largest pieces, so far," Wiederrich said.

"I'm just amazed," Wayne said. "I never thought that after collecting 130-pounds of sickle sections.... to see it near completion, I am truly amazed with the things that he comes up with."

The dragon, named Key Cough, a play of words for "Keep Off," was worked on during the fall of 2021, and throughout early winter, until working outside wasn't possible. That was the reason he purchased the store front. Which has a garage.

"If I got one project done out of there and one thing to show, it would probably be that dragon," he said.

The dragon is 16 feet from snout to tail and eight feet wide, and was inspired by the traditional Chinese Dragon.

"I could've chosen any type of dragon, but people know (the Chinese dragon) when they see it," Wiederrich said. "Maybe later, I might do a dragon based on a dinosaur, but with the Chinese dragon, I enjoy the snake-like qualities."

He said that maybe it was also because he got a chance to live in Japan and see other parts of the world.

Widderich said that if he had the funding he would make a larger than life Tyrannosaurus rex.

"I would make him four times larger than life and out of stainless steel," Wiederrich said. "Just the skeleton of one. That's what I am hoping that this is leading up to."

Wiederrich also has plenty of other metal works in his shop. One of the more popular gift items are the roses. He learned to make the roses for FFA fundraisers during his time in college.

"I kept changing them as I built them," he said. "I added leaves or had them in different directions and added more things to make them more appealing. I put my own flair into it."

The roses, like many other items that he builds, are made of recycled or repurposed materials. Some of his roses have been five feet tall.

"Truth be told, what I want to do is make a huge one, where the bud is about six feet wide," Wiederrich said. "And then put it on top of the building. If the dragon doesn't catch their attention, maybe the rose will."

Wiederrich has many creations, including a larger than life statue of a mosquito in Malta's M-Trail, motorcycle side cars, a large drill, Elk skull made of an engine block, handheld weapons, and much more.

As of Monday, September 5, the dragon had not been weighed. Wiederrich believes that Key Cough weight 2.5 tons, or 5,000 pounds. He is offering a deal to those who think that they can guess the weight of Key Cough. If you think you can guess the weight correctly, give Wiederrich a call at 406-648-7501. The winner will receive a metal rose.

The Dragon was scheduled to be weighed on Tuesday, September 6.