Mark Gage is pictured with a wooden model in front of the same barn adorned with the iconic smiling sun that has greeted visitors in Frewsburg for 35 years. A blue face mask was recently added to the sun during the coronavirus pandemic. P-J photos by Eric Tichy

FREWSBURG — A large smiling sun, painted on the side of a barn, has long greeted visitors entering Frewsburg. Today, during a period of social distancing and many unknowns due to COVID-19, the icon is being used to comfort area residents while also having a little fun.

“It’s just what’s going on right now,” said Mark Gage, owner of the barn and son to Martin Gage who painted the first smiling sun with the phrase “Have A Happy Day” in 1985. “He’s smiling so it only made sense that he should have a mask on.”

Mark Gage made the large face mask from a blue tarp; he put it up in early April, and has received plenty of positive feedback from drivers and Frewsburg residents accustomed to seeing the face, complete with wide eyes and a large, toothy grin.

“It’s just a fun thing to do,” Mark Gage said.

The sun has been around in one form or another for 35 years. Martin Gage, with the help of fellow Frewsburg resident, Terry Johnson, put up the first iteration in 1985 when the barn needed a fresh coat of paint.

Mark Gage believes his father came up with the idea while on vacation.

“When I ran through his photographs of his life I found a happy face picture that he had taken of a farm I believe that was out in the midwest, and he had taken three or four of them and put them in a photo album,” he said. “And that was prior to 1985, and I think that was where he drummed it up when he was on vacation somewhere.”

Martin Gage died in November 2016, at which time his son took on the responsibility of maintaining the sun.

“We talked a lot that night,” Mark Gage said of discussions he had with his father the day he passed. “That was one of the things he was very serious about. He looked me in the eyes and said, “You are going to keep that up?’ He was worried about that.”

The sun has been updated over the years. Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, teardrops and an American flag were added to the face. Following Martin Gage’s death, a speech bubble was put up with the words “R.I.P. Marty.”

Mark Gage said having the sun wear a face mask in today’s world just made sense. “Everybody has been saying, ‘Your dad is smiling down. It’s just a good, happy thing to do. When we were putting it up, people were honking and yelling.”