Renovation of the Babe the Blue Ox statue took place in late July of 2008. Babe was long overdue for his "facelift".

A look Back

Dave M. Borash, "Paul Bunyan of Brainerd, Minnesota" (MA thesis, South Dakota State University, 2003) 41-45

In 1965, Paul’s good friend Babe the Blue Ox joined him in Brainerd. Standing 15 feet tall at the hump, 24 feet long, and weighing in at just over 3,000 pounds Babe was created with a steel frame and fiberglass body in Kansas City, Missouri by the sculptor Jac. T. Bowen.

Larry Lopp had seen some of Bowen’s work at the Wall drugstore in Wall, South Dakota and from that point on had become “obsessed with the idea of having Bowen create Babe” (The Kansas City Times, February 3, 1965). Lopp and Bowen corresponded throughout the winter of 1964-1965 and once Bowen’s sketches had been approved, Babe became a reality (Figure 44). Upon completion of the statue one question remained. How does one transport such a huge animal from Kansas City to Brainerd, a distance of 767 miles? Hauling cattle to Omaha was nothing new for the Missouri Pacific Railroad, but a creature the size of Babe was something different. Lopp originally went to the Northern Pacific Railway freight office and was told that the huge statue could not be shipped the way he wanted it – “standing upright on a flatcar for all the world to see” (The Brainerd Daily Dispatch, May 14, 1965). After all, the arrival of Babe to the Paul Bunyan Center would be a huge promotional event for the park. “Then I went to the Rock Island freight office,” Lopp said, “and they told me it couldn’t be done. I still wasn’t ready to give up and one day when I was in St. Paul I decided to go see the Northern Pacific’s publicity agent. He was enthused about the idea and began looking through the regulations to determine whether there were some way we could get the job done.” It was finally determined that if Lopp commissioned a flatcar and bolted the big statue down as the railroad dictated, it could be shipped.

To make sure there would be no doubts as to where Babe was going, the flatcar was flanked by two enormous signs that read: “Babe the Blue Ox Going to Join Paul Bunyan in Brainerd, Minnesota.” Forever the salesman, Larry wanted everyone to know of the event. Hauled through Kansas to Omaha, Nebraska Babe was picked up by the Rock Island line and taken to Council Bluffs, Iowa. From there he went on to Des Moines, Iowa and then Northfield, Minnesota arriving in Minneapolis on May 21, 1965. After a short break in Minneapolis, Babe continued his journey to Brainerd. Upon arrival in Brainerd, another hurdle was met. The railway station, located in downtown Brainerd, was over 4 miles away from the amusement center. Lopp hired a trucking firm with a lowboy trailer to carry Babe to his final resting spot.

2008 Renovation

In July of 2008 it was decided that Babe needed a little bit of restoration and help in order to maintain him for the future generation of visitors to Paul Bunyan Land. In order to do this the owners chose a method of restoration that included a complete coating of foam that would be carved to show a more "in shape" Babe and a tough coat of spray on bed liner. Josh Porter from Avalon Studios was chosen for the restoration process because of his great work with the Statue of Paul, Paul's Building, Concessions and many other works. Here are photos of the process.

Before & Photo of Babe's structural insides:

Starting to Spray the Foam Insulation to build up Babe

Scuplting Begins, Josh Porter from Avalon Studios shown sculpting Babes face

Blue truck bed liner being sprayed on Babe

Finished Babe prior to Shading

Babe after being shaded with Automotive Paint

Before & After

V.

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