Schellhase 2022 Midwest and Western RV Travels: 8 Aug 2022 - Bemidji, the Woolen Mill, Paul Bunyan and Babe, Depot and Vet's Memorial

8 Aug

Got a little chilly in Bemidji last night for an August morning! We did have the heater running in the bedroom but set very low just to take the chill off. I think it kicked in a couple times. The good news is the days are beautiful, in the 70's and rain is staying away for the time being.

We stayed in Bemidji today and starting with the Bemidji Woolen Mills store. This place is iconic with the red and black plaid wool garments like Paul Bunyan is sporting, above! This is a fourth generation family owned business that is 102 years old.

Their manufacturing (woolen mill) area is in the back of the building and retail is up front.

As you walk through the store you can almost feel the warmth of these great clothes, hats, and mittens. They also sell Red Wing footwear, children's clothing, a wide variety of yard, bedding, blankets, pillows, towels, and on and on!

Check out this awesome hat!

Unique hand-warmer. It had a strap that fits around your waist

Doreen found a pair of woolen mittens that she thought would be great while walking Liberty this winter!

From there we headed towards Lake Bemidji and the Paul Bunyan Park. It is pretty easy to find with an 18 foot high statue of the big guy right there with his massive blue Ox Babe!

The story behind the statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox goes back to the the fall of 1937 when the Paul Bunyan Carnival was being organized. Different organizations in town we asked to take over various parts of the program and a local construction company was asked to build a statue of Paul Bunyan. Earl Bucklen was mayor at the time and was used as the model.

The mayor and Paul Bunyan, 1937

Measurements were expanded 3:1. There was 5-1/2 tons of concrete used for the footings. The 18 ft tall statue was made out of steel and wood frame covered with stucco and it weighs 2-1/2 tons. 737 man-hours were used to build Paul Bunyan.

The Bemidji Rotary Club was in charge of building Babe the Blue Ox which was further delegated to others. The oz used as the model came from a logging camp and the same 3:1 dimensions were used, other than the spread between the legs was widened to allow a truck to be operated between the statue. The horns are 14 ft across. Paul Bunyan and Babe are a well known roadside landmark and have been placed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

We stopped inside the visitor center which is near the statues, and took this picture of a fireplace built from stone gathered from all 50 States.

Notice the curling stone in front

Babe's massive rifle

There are also other artifacts and items of interest in there.

On the way back to the truck we admired the beauty of Lake Bemidji which also happens to have the Mississippi River flowing through it. Tomorrow we will travel to the Mississippi River Headwaters and the origin of the river at Lake Itasca.

From the park we passed through the old downtown Bemidji area on our way to the train depot. It is full of shops, bars, restaurants and stores of all kinds.

Just a few blocks south we arrived at the Great Northern Train Depot which is the home of the Beltrami County Historical Center. Unfortunately they are closed while we are here, so we could not go inside.

The original Great Northern Depot was built in 1898 and then this new one was built in 1912. The depot served passengers until 1959 when the Great Northern merged with Northern Pacific to become the Burlington Northern in 1970. In the mid-1980's it's service as a freight depot ended and the building was abandoned. From 1997 to 1998 the citizens rallied to save the depot and funds were raised to restore it. In Oct 2000 the restoration was completed and the Beltrami County Historical Society moved into the building.

Next to the depot is the Freedom Defenders Veteran's Memorial. All branches of service except the newest "Space Force" are represented. There is also a tribute to the service dog.