The legend of Paul Bunyan is ingrained in Minnesota history, and his statue is a symbol of local pride to Bemidji residents. FOX 9's Maury Glover takes a closer look at the legacy the statue represents as it nears its 90th birthday.The first record of loggers telling Paul Bunyan stories may have been in Wisconsin, but the first Paul Bunyan story was published in Michigan in 1906. News Center Maine mentions the date, but not the location, in History and folklore of Bangor's Paul Bunyan statue now on display.
New signage aims to educate visitors about the folklore and history behind the iconic statue.I learned something new about the importance of timber to Bangor from this video. Any day I learn something new is a good day.
I close with Insider explaining How A Deteriorating Paul Bunyan Giant Is Restored | Refurbished | Insider.
Joel Baker is the owner of American Giants, a company that restores muffler men. Muffler men are 18- to 25-foot advertising giants that were popular in the 1960s and are becoming popular again.I could have used this information 25 years ago when I was a tour guide and consultant for Pre-Historic Forest in the Irish Hills, which had fiberglass dinosaurs and other extinct animals that needed repairs. It's still worth knowing now, even if I don't have an immediate use for it.
He shows us how his team restores a Paul Bunyan muffler man. This includes patching up cracks on the giant, adding a structure inside, repainting it, and placing it in its new location.
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for another post I can share in July tomorrow followed by International Asteroid Day, the younger but paradoxically more established version of Apophis Day, to close June, and Canada Day to begin July.
When Narb was a young biped, he visited Oregon's Trees of Mystery roadside attraction. Narb marveled at the 20m high Paul Bunyan statue, and gazed in wonder at the 10m high Blue Ox beside him.
ReplyDeleteWhen our current president was young, perhaps he did the same, and adopted the persona of the weapon-wielding giant who always had (a) Babe at his side. But he instead ended up more like the Goblin Shark.
Narb! It's a rare treat to have you comment twice on my blog in two days! Thanks for chiming in!
DeleteThat written, I couldn't resist fact-checking you. First, Trees of Mystery is in Klamath, California, not Oregon. Second, while Paul Bunyan is indeed tall at 49 feet, that's 15 meters, not 20. Third, Babe is even taller, at 11 meters (35 feet). Of course, all this is dependent on Wikipedia being correct, and that's not a sure thing.
Speaking of Wikipedia, its Statues of Paul Bunyan article lists the two closest Paul Bunyan statues nearest New York City as being in Stony Point, New York and Enchanted Forest Water Safari in Old Forge, New York. Pervert Hoover probably would have seen one of them, not the one in Klamath. It would have been more appropriate if he had seen the statue in Bangor, Maine, which Pennywise possessed in the It movies.
As for being like a goblin shark, that would be better than being like a Greenland Shark. He'd outlive us all!