Jurassic Park meets Lynn

LYNN – It has scared more than a few children in the 20 years it?s been mounted on one of the walls at the Lynn Public Library. But the green dinosaur, with its bared claws, has also become a mascot for kids and parents visiting the library?s children?s room.?It?s almost a ritual for kids to walk over and visit the dinosaur,” said children?s librarian Sue Cronin.The words “Hilton Heads” are stenciled at the base of the dinosaur?s head. The polyurethane beast, and many others, are the creation of former Lynn Fire Lt. George Hilton, who built the head during the dinosaur craze that surrounded the original “Jurassic Park” movie.The film?s 1993 release prompted Hilton and former Chief Edward Higgins Jr. to try to make some money off the craze during their spare time.?Ed said, ?I?ll sell ?em, you make ?em,?” Hilton said.They arranged to have the dinosaur body parts cast in molds and Hilton added details and painted skin on the moldings inside their workshop.?We were on the top floor of the Lydia Pinkham building. I had my 80-year-old mother (Verna O?Neill) working in a sweatshop,” Hilton joked.He said Higgins managed to line up contracts with the Museum of Science and the Sharper Image company to buy the heads, which ranged in size from the relatively small, lightweight creation in the children?s library to 80-pound replicas. He also built customized dinosaurs, taking in orders from as far away as Alaska.?In a matter of a couple of months, as many as I could make were sold,” Hilton said.Hilton said Museum of Science employees marveled over his dinosaur-painting schemes. He said he studied photographs and real-life lizards to come up with the designs.After he retired in 2007, Hilton said some of his creations remained stored in the Pine Hill fire station on Woodlawn Avenue. Chief James McDonald said city workers assigned to clean out city buildings disposed of the dinosaurs, but McDonald recalls the beasts lurking in the station?s bowels.?The finished product was pretty talented,” he said.Cronin can?t remember how the children?s room dinosaur ended up in the library and Hilton is not sure what happened to many of his creations after he retired, but library page Phoebee Jean is happy to see the library dinosaur glaring down at young readers.?It?s very realistic,” she said. “I think it?s pretty cool.”Cronin said library employees like to soften the dinosaur?s image by putting a big set of “Harry Potter” glasses and a Red Sox cap on the head. Ford School third-grader Eddy Matias prefers to see the dinosaur with its long teeth and sharp talons.?It?s scary,” he said.Hilton has lived in Georgetown for 10 years and now specializes in wood carving. He still has retired firefighter friends who remember when Hilton brought dinosaurs back to life briefly to walk the earth.?They were bizarre, but beautiful,” said former District Chief Lawrence Godbout.