I got you, Babe: Bemidji, Minnesota's Paul Bunyan statue

Even though Paul Bunyan, the world's most famous giant lumberjack, has French-Canadian roots and dates back to 1837, many states in the northern USA lay claim to him as their favorite son, and luckily for the eccentric roadside attraction fan, many of these adopted hometowns have giant statues for all the world to see.

Bemidji, Minnesota is a beautiful lake community ("The first city on the Mississippi," they proudly boast) where Paul Bunyan Park features a glorious 18-foot statue of Paul and his big blue ox Babe as goodwill ambassadors to all passersby. The statues were erected in 1937 and Bemidji's mayor at the time, a Mr. Earl Bucklen, served as the model for Paul. Lots of people like to have their picture taken with Paul and Babe, including Scooter Christensen of the Harlem Globetrotters, the Mens and Womens 2006 Olympic Curling teams, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Bemidji State University mascot Bucky the Beaver, and the Lincoln Elementary Kindergarten Class, who were learning about the letter "P". And who can blame them?

Paul and Babe are awesome examples of what makes America great: borrowing someone else's cool thing and making it even cooler. What could be better, I ax you.

Salmon-chanted evening: the beautifully restored Big Fish Supper Club of Bena, Minnesota

Here it is in 2006...

...and how it looks today. Holy Mackerel!

One of the thrills of traveling the open road in search of eccentric roadside attractions is stumbling upon an unexpected awesome vintage place. This happened to us back in 2006 while cruising down Route 2 in northern Minnesota when we spotted the Big Fish Supper Club in the small town of Bena. It was a fantastic 65-foot building in the shape of a gap-mouthed muskie on the grounds of a lake-front cabin retreat. It was built the 1950s and showing signs of its age, which only added to its roadside charm.

Some recent web surfing led me to an item of great joy. The Big Fish has been beautifully restored. So much of the time places like this either rot away or are demolished that it's a modern miracle someone would put the love and attention (and bucks) into bringing a roadside gem like this back to its former fishy glory. The whole place is up for sale so apparently the owners want to put their best foot, or fin, forward.

I got the recent pictures from this flickr address belonging to Josh Porter, the talented fellow that did the restoration:
www.flickr.com/photos/avalonstudios/4150177515/

Here's what he had to say:

This is a picture of the newly refurbished "Big Fish" statue in Bena, MN.
I was hired to repaint the statue.
The final look of the fish is meant to mimic the original paint finish applied in the 1950's (folksy / nostalgia)
The interior structure was rebuilt by the current owners.
The fish, restaurant and cabins are all up for sale.

If you have a roadside attraction that needs rebuilding or repainting, give me a call
Josh Porter (Avalon Studios) http://www.avalonsculpture.com/
218-821-7965

Kudos to you, Josh, for putting your heart and sole into a job well done. On a "scale" of 1-10, this is an 11. Let's hope they find a buyer for this magnificent roadside attraction. Cod knows we could use more plaices like this while driving down the pike.