Big Al was a local legend in Dangerfield, Texas—a massive alligator who roamed the grounds near the Lone Star Steel plant in the 1970s. Workers and townsfolk alike swapped stories about spotting him near the mill ponds and creeks, where he was known to sun himself or slip back into the water with barely a ripple. He became a sort of steel mill mascot, a symbol of wild Texas hanging on in an industrial world. Big Al died in 1976, but his legacy stuck around. A small monument with a plaque was pla