The origins of Bemidji’s iconic Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues

Originally conceived as a gimmick to promote tourism during the city s Winter Carnival the Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues in Bemidji became the second-most-photographed sculptures in the country in the s The prototypical roadside colossus inspired dozens of other Minnesota and Midwest cities to create similar works in the decades that followed In Bemidji teachers and civic leaders organized a simple winter carnival consisting of sporting events surrounding an annual basketball match between St Cloud Teachers College and a crew of local school teachers This event was repeated only once until January of when Bemidji Rotarians sponsored construction of an -foot-tall statue of logging legend Paul Bunyan to launch the return of the winter games Related Paul Bunyan lore leaves out Native loggers Lighting Paul Bunyan s pipe Credit MNopedia As Cyril Dickinson and the workers at his lumber company oversaw construction of Paul Jim Payton manager of Bemidji Electric Company was responsible for the construction of his companion Babe the Blue Ox Workers built both statues on a three-to-one-scale using Bemidji Mayor Earl Bucklen and an ox from Headwaters Camp as models They did not however follow that scale while constructing Paul s neck lighting was poor during construction resulting in the appearance of little to no neck at all Within three weeks a concrete-and-plaster Paul was installed on the shores of Lake Bemidji joining the Fireplace of States constructed in Babe was more nimble consisting of a wooden frame wrapped in wire netting covered by wool and canvas After he was mounted onto a car he served as the carnival s mobile ambassador Attendance at the four-day sports carnival was bustling with roughly people participating Babe greeted visitors with a spectacle auto tail lights shone out of his eyes and bus exhaust poured out of his nostrils to give the appearance of exhaling cold air Before Babe could tour downtown Bemidji workers removed his fourteen-foot-wide tin horns so as not to pull down street decorations Babe the Blue Ox in a parade in Minneapolis Credit MNopedia After the event was over a full-page spread about the statues in Life magazine February brought national attention to Bemidji Babe traveled to the St Paul Winter Carnival and later the Minnesota State Fair escorted in all parades by highway patrol and Bemidji Fire Marshal Pete Johnson as designated bull whacker In people attended the Bemidji Winter Carnival Babe was joined in the parade by a sixteen-foot-long black duck and corresponding rifle crafted by the neighborhood of Blackduck twenty-five miles northeast of Bemidji Bunyan must have hunted near their town people joked with the giant duck as his quarry The duck was the first in a series of giant statues erected in area towns inspired by the Paul Bunyan legend and the Bemidji statues Babe stopped traveling by with organizers citing damage to the statue as well as the expense The ox was permanently installed next to Paul on the Bemidji waterfront There he overlooked the carnival until that too stopped in as World War II drew attention and information elsewhere The statues fame only grew however when they were featured again in Life in The Eastman Kodak corporation named them the second-most-photographed sculptures in the United States following Mount Rushmore Related Tourism in Minnesota from In the s an amusement park with Bunyan-themed rides was built on fill added between the statues and the lakeshore and a host of other businesses drew names and inspiration from the logging legends In plans to renovate the park highlighted an ongoing tension in the public between natural preservation and commercial evolution on the city s lakeshore Concerns reappeared in the s when a new tourist information center replaced the original Bunyan house In the City of Bemidji installed a two-foot berm and boulders in front of Paul and Babe to give tourists a better angle for selfie photography The move sparked population outrage via letters to the editor Facebook posts and Twitter discussions using the hashtags Paulmageddon and Babeghazi Citizens opposed to the renovations claimed that new landscaping would crowd the statues and make large-group photography more challenging Ultimately the Bemidji city council voted in agreement with them It cost the city to re-do plaza plans remove pounds of boulders and regrade the plaza to prevent flooding City Manager Nate Mathews explained There s an emotional connection to that statue It s really kind of a sacred place to Bemidjians Bibliography American Legends Life February Bemidji to Consider Helping Pay to Restore Babe the Blue Ox Albert Lea Tribune February Berg Jenny Babe the Blue Ox to Stand Taller Minneapolis Star Tribune August Bowen Joe Why Genocide Graffiti on Bemidji Landmark Sparks Debate Bemidji Pioneer January Building the Legend Visit Bemidji Enger John Bemidji Feels The Hate Over Paul Bunyan Park Renovation MPR News July Given Amble Rosemary Tools of Bemidji s Industry Tourism In Bemidji First City on the Mississippi Bemidji Centennial Bemidji MN Bemidji Book Committee Harris Moira F Monumental Minnesota A Guide to Outdoor Sculpture St Paul Pogo Press Harty John Patrick Legendary Landscapes A Cultural Geography of the Paul Bunyan and Blue Ox Phenomena of the North Woods PhD thesis Kansas State University Hess Jeffrey A Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox National Register of Historic Places nomination file March State Historic Preservation Office St Paul Larson Paul Clifford Icy Pleasures Minnesota Celebrates Winter Afton MN Afton Historical Society Press Lee Art and Rosemary Given Amble Paul Bunyan In Bemidji First City on the Mississippi Bemidji Centennial Bemidji MN Bemidji Book Committee McKeig Cecelia Wattles Bemidji A Snapshot of Bemidji Bemidji MN C W McKeig McKinney Matt Plan to Restore Paul and Babe s Bemidji Home Stalls Town Pride Hurt Minneapolis Star Tribune June Miron Molly Bemidji s Amusement Park Rides Are Shutting Down Bemidji Pioneer August New Look for Paul and Babe Bemidji Pioneer November Paul Babe Brew Up Art Spat in Bemidji St Cloud Times January Paul Bunyan and Babe His Blue Ox Go To a Winter Carnival at Bemidji Minn Life February Paul Bunyan s Buddy Blue Ox Demands Repairs St Cloud Times May Paul Bunyan Stamp Rekindles Cities Rivalry St Cloud Times November Ross Jenna Bemidji to Stop Dressing Up Famous Duo Minneapolis Star Tribune September Shanilec President of C of C Has Big Plans for Bemidji s Progress Bemidji Pioneer October Related Support Primary Carnival Gets Publicity for Bemidji Area Bemidji Pioneer January Four Days of Entertainment Offered Here Bemidji Pioneer January Inkslinger Johnny Paul Bunyan Winter Carnival Sidelights Bemidji Pioneer December Paul Bunyan Winter Carnival Sidelights Bemidji Pioneer January Like Cedric s Paul Bunyan s Bemidji Statue Gets a Voice Minneapolis Star March Minneapolis Star Tribune photographs arranged by subjectPhotographs Collection Minnesota Historical Society St PaulDescription The folder Bemidji undated in box contains multiple photographs of the winter carnival as well as photographs of the statues over the years F B Pamphlets Related to Beltrami County in Minnesota Pamphlet Collection Minnesota Historical Society St Paul Description Contains original programs for multiple winter carnival celebrations along with various tourist guides and promotional material with images of the statues as icons of Bemidji Paul Bunyan Winter Carnival Opens Bemidji Pioneer January Winter Sports Carnival Will Start Shortly Bemidji Pioneer December Secondary Anderson Rolf T Lake Bemidji State Park CCC NYA Rustic Style Historic Tools National Register of Historic Places nomination file March State Historic Preservation Office St Paul Edmonds Michael Out of the Northwoods The A multitude of Lives of Paul Bunyan Madison WI Wisconsin Historical Society Marling Karal Ann The Colossus of Roads Myth and Symbol Along the American Highway Minneapolis University of Minnesota Harris Moira F Echoes from the Woods Legacies of Logging in Minnesota Minnesota History no Spring Web Atlas Obscura Paul Bunyan Babe the Blue Ox Bemidji Nik Nerburn In the Shadow of Paul Bunyan The post The origins of Bemidji s iconic Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues appeared first on MinnPost