Today, people around the country will be celebrating one of the most famous people in Eau Claire.
I know what you’re thinking — and it’s not Justin Vernon’s birthday. Think bigger. About 15 feet bigger. Any guesses?
It’s Paul Bunyan Day!
Paul Bunyan is one of the best-known heroes of the Midwest. He and his sidekick, Babe the Blue Ox, have become a national symbol for the logging industry that swept through the U.S. in the 1800s. And in Eau Claire — like many historic logging cities — he’s a household name.
“Really, the lumber industry is what made Eau Claire,” said Paul Bunyan Logging Camp Museum director Diana Peterson. “Eau Claire was actually the little city, and Chippewa Falls was the big city. And then lumbering came in and stormed the whole area, and Eau Claire just grew leaps and bounds through the logging industry.”
In fact, according to Peterson, the Paul Bunyan statue in Carson Park is the most photographed spot in the city.
In 2002 the statue was vandalized but was soon repaired and extensively restored by local retired firefighter Kim Nessel. Then in March 2015 Nessel volunteered to take on a much bigger task: creating an entirely new statue. Standing at an impressive 15 feet tall, the new-and-improved Bunyan was unveiled this May.
Want to get in on the lumberjack-themed celebration right here in Eau Claire?
Here are the top 3 ways to celebrate Paul Bunyan Day:
1. Visit the Paul Bunyan Logging Camp Museum
Spend your day learning how tens of thousands of men braved freezing Wisconsin winters in temporary logging camps, familiarizing yourself with every logging position from the foremen to the road monkeys, and recounting some tall tales about America’s tallest man.
2. Take your iconic picture with Paul and Babe
This one needs no explanation.
3. Eat a ginormous pancake breakfast
Any Paul Bunyan aficionado knows that Paul was a man who loved himself some breakfast. Legend has it that Paul made his flapjacks on a griddle so big that his men would have to wear slabs of bacon on their feet and skate around it in order to grease it up. They had a train to pour on the batter, and crews of men would deliver them via wagon directly to Paul’s plate.
And even though Paul Bunyan’s ginormous appetite may be false, yours certainly doesn’t have to be. According to the Paul Bunyan Logging Camp Museum, each lumberjack ate more than 8,000 calories a day! So start the griddle. You’ve got work to do.
