<P> The statues have been hailed by the Kodak Company as the "second most photographed statues in the United States", behind only Mount Rushmore in South Dakota . </P> <P> The city of Bemidji is located in a vast woodland and lake region . As early as the 1890s the town saw a modest tourist trade . When rail connections came to Bemidji, in 1898, promoters began the development of lakeshore sites for cottages, hotels and resorts . Most of these resorts catered to hunters and anglers . In the 1920s the rise in automobile popularity contributed to a significant boom in Bemidji's tourist industry, but it, along with the rest of the economy, suffered during the Great Depression . Enter Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox . </P> <P> As a means of stimulating tourism in Bemidji a number of local, civic organizations sponsored a winter carnival meant to hype the city's resources for winter sports . Due to Bemidji's once prominent status as a logging and lumbering center the celebrations focused on Paul Bunyan, the larger - than life lumberjack who is an American folk hero . On January 14, 1937 the carnival opened with Earl L. Grinols, Sr. the carnival king . The onset of the carnival brought the unveiling of two giant statues, one of Bunyan and the other of his giant blue ox, Babe; the pair would serve as carnival mascots . Babe was brought into town on a Grinols Implement & Fuel Co. truck arranged so that its exhaust exited through Babe's nostrils . </P> <P> In March 2006, the Rotary Club of Bemidji raised $53,000 and along with a $68,000 federal grant set about to repair some damage to the statues . In addition the money was to be used in maintenance with the majority slated for stabilizing the ground beneath the statues, to lessen shifting in freezing temperatures . The work also focused on a 1 - inch - wide (25 mm) crack in Babe from the neck to the hindquarters which continued to widen despite yearly fixes by the city with caulk and blue paint . </P>

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