“Timber!” Paul Bunyan…

Johnny-on-the-Spot … by John Foster …

We’ve had an ash tree in our yard since we moved here 31 years ago.

It was just a sapling but grew to about a height of 35 feet.

About 5 years ago, it started producing fewer and fewer leaves.

Then, the past two years, there was nary a leaf.

It actually had more woodpeckers than branches.

This tree was the last to “leaf out” every spring and the first to drop its leaves every autumn.

It was time for it to come down.

I did the usual checking with friends and neighbors for tree-removal leads before making my choice.

I contacted Cody Hines of C&C Yard Work and he brought our old ash tree down quickly and safely and really cleaned up the yard nicely which was important to me.

Plus, he was priced quite reasonably.

In the past, I would team up with my late Father-in-law or son-in-law to down a tree but I went this route because I no longer like the “thrill” of cutting down a tree.

Now I have to admit when I started looking into tree removal, I couldn’t help but think of Paul Bunyan.

He’s the legendary giant lumberjack as well as American and Canadian folk hero who left his mark in North America with his big blue ox, Babe.

Truth be known, there are two likely characters who helped start the legend of Paul Bunyan.

One was Fabian “Saginaw Joe” Fournier, known for lumberjacking, drinking, fighting and getting murdered.

The others is a French-Canadian lumberjack named Paul Bon Jean.

Both of these guys were of large stature and log-cutting abilities.

Some said the “real” Paul Bunyan was 7 feet tall and took a 7 foot stride and may have weighed 300 pounds.

“Paul Bunyan” may have come from the Quebec expression “bon yenne” to express surprise or astonishment.

“Bunyan” in old English comes from “bunion” while in old French “bugnet” for a large lump or swelling.

But the fictional Paul Bunyan was either born in Bemidji, Minnesota or one of 8 other locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine and Nova Scotia.

Babe the Blue Ox was his pet and working animal according to the oral traditions of North American loggers.

The earliest recorded story about Paul Bunyan was in the early 1900’s based on a story in the Duluth News Tribune.

It told of a large lumberjack that winter of 1904 in North Dakota (the year of blue snow).

The story said the cook had to prepare the grill by strapping two large hams to his feet and running up and down a half mile of black stove top to get it ready for the food and cooking.

On the menu was beans and “red horse” meat.

Yummy!

The legend of Paul Bunyan is also found in Ojibwa folklore.

It’s said that for 3 days, Bunyan fought Nanabozho (also known as “Nanabush), who slapped Big Paul with a giant walleye.

Nanabozho was an Indian spirit

That made Paul fall on this behind and his fanny in the soft mud left an imprint that formed Red Lake, Minnesota.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox and also “credited” with creating the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota with their footsteps.

Folklore also tells us that Babe dug the 5 Great Lakes for the lumberjacks so they could have fresh water to drink.

It’s said the Mississippi River was created by Paul dragging his ax while walking.

Some claim Paul was the biggest and strongest baby ever born in Maine.

He tipped the scales at 136 pounds and could walk on this first day.

There’s also a tale about a red-haired giant lady named “Sylvia” that Paul rescued after she was trapped by an avalanche following a great snow storm.

Legend has it they were married later the same day.

Bunyan’s extreme size was a later invention of writers.

You will find Paul Bunyan statues in Oregon, Maine, California, Connecticut, North Carolina, Minnesota, Michigan, South Dakota, Wisconsin and New York state.

Statues at the “Trees of Mystery” near Klamath, California feature a 49 foot tall Paul Bunyan and a 35 foot tall Babe the Blue Ox.

Walt Disney offered several Paul Bunyan features over the years, including one featuring him in a log-cutting contest versus a steam-powered mechanical saw.

The short starred Thurl Ranenscroft who was the voice of Kellogg’s “Tony the Tiger”.

The legend has Paul Bunyan buried in Kelliher, Minnesota in the Paul Bunyan Memorial Park.

It’s a large mound of grass with a headstone that reads “Here lies Paul and that’s all”.

Great way to end this article, don’t you think?