In the great North Woods Lumber Camps, when the day's work is done and the cold winter night has set in, the stars glisten like shining cold crystals, the ice crackles and booms in the lakes and streams, and all is frozen and silent over the land, then the lumberjacks gather before the cozy warm fires glowing in the bunkhouse stoves to relax after the hard labor of the day. Then the wonderful tale of the first and greatest lumberjack of them all - Paul Bunyan - hold them entangled!!

Paul appeared either before or after the falling of the Blue Snow during the "year of the two winters" when it grew so cold it did not start to thaw until after it began to freeze again. It was so cold that as people spoke - their words froze solid and piled-up like cord wood - thus cluttering up the whole area. It became such a problem laws were passed forbidding talking outdoors.

Paul was so huge he parted his hair with a broad ax and combed it with a big crosscut saw! The stiff branches of a whole pine tree made-up his brush.

When he was very young he went deer hunting. Seeing a deer 5 miles away, he shot at it and then ran so fast to see if he hit it that he outran the shot and got the whole charge of buckshot in the seat of his pants. He always was spry! Even when he was old he would blow out the light and be in bed asleep before the room was dark.

Maine was where Paul started. From there he moved to the Dakotas where he settled for a year. There he cut off all the timber there in that year. It was simple - being such a flat land. Paul set his crosscut saw up - and cut a swath 10 miles wide at one time.

Early in his career he acquired his special pet, Babe the Blue Ox, who was quite and animal - just the right size for Paul. Jim, the pet crow, decided one day to fly from babe's left horn to his right horn. He started in mid-winter - got lost on the way - and finally reached the other horn after the spring thaw. He said it was a horrible experience.

With Babe, Paul accomplished tremendous feats, such as, straightening-out twisting roads and rivers by tying one end to babe and pulling hard until they straightened out. What was left over from the curves was laid down as new roads and streams. They straightened the Mississippi river this way. No trouble at all!

Getting logs to the river was no problem. Paul tied Babe to a large section of timber land and had Babe pull it to the river bank. After the logs were cut and floated, the cut was hauled over land back to where it came from. Very easy - no sweat at all.

One day on his way to Washington and Oregon, Paul was strolling through Colorado and thinking quite intently. Before he realized it his peavy - a special log grabbin tool, dragged along the ground and the result? The Grand Canyon was gouged from the earth. We owe much to Paul!!

PAUL BUNYAN JAMBOREE

TRIPOD STAND one staff

Campers are timed to set up three long poles in a tripod and have them balanced. Equipment: three long poles.

SUGAR CUBE TOSS one staff

Campers throw a cement block for distance. Equipment: a cement block and

stakes to mark the villages and special camps.

BUNYAN'S TOOTHPICK BALANCE one staff

WOODCHIP'S PEANUT PIG-OUT one staff

Campers are timed to see how many salted in the shell peanuts they can eat in 30 seconds.

LADLE CARRY one staff

It's a race for 5 or six campers at a time!!! Using a small ladle, campers take water from the starting line and fill up "Paul Bunyan's bathroom dixie cup (a pitcher) so he can brush his teeth at night.

TOOTH PICK BALANCE

Campers try to balance a bat or stick on the fingers of their upturned hand.

They are timed to see how long they can holds it. Equipment: 2 or three

P.B. toothpicks.

BABY BUNYAN'S MEDICINE RACE 2 staff

It's a race!! 3 or 4 campers race to the Bunyan baby to feed it his medicine (nasty looking bug juice carried in a large spoon or ladle.) While caring the ladle or spoon full of medicine campers must run to the crying baby Bunyan three times. The first camper to finish wins. Note, baby Bunyan hates taking his medicine.

LUMBER YARD OBSTACLE RACE two staff

Campers are timed in a race around a course littered with stumps and other

obstacles to go through. Equipment: anything you can think of.

CANDLE SPIT OUT two staff

Campers try to put out five lit candles from a distance of 12 feet using water

they spit out of their mouth. Each camper is given a small cup of water to complete the task. Equipment: 10 candles , lots of matches, water, paper cups.

MATCH LIGHT one staff.

Campers strike an upright kitchen match stuck in a chopping block with a small hand ax. They get a maximum of 5 strikes. Equipment: hand ax, kitchen matches, a chopping block.

ROPE CLIMB one staff

Campers are timed to climb a rope tied to a limb. They touch the knot and slide back down. When their feet touch they are timed. Equipment: thick rope.

BLUE OX SHOE PITCH two staff

Campers pitch horse shoes to a very distant ringer pole. Equipment: Horse shoes, ringer pole, measuring tape.

BABE THE BLUE OX RACE two staff

Two campers from the same cabin team up for this timed event. One is blindfolded and leads the other through a maze of cones by a rope held by his cabin mate. Equipment: rope, blindfold, cones

LOG SAW two staff

Two campers from the same cabin team up on the cross-cut saw and are timed to saw through a log set on a saw buck. Equipment- cross-cut saw, sawbuck, and long log.

MILK DRINK two staff

Campers are timed to see how fast they can swallow a small cup of milk.

Equipment Several gallons of milk and cups.

LOG ROLLING two staff

Campers are timed to log roll on a log a certain distance. They can fall off once and still qualify. Equipment- log rolling log and cone.

BUNYAN’S GET-UP-AND-GET DRESSED IN TIME FOR BREAKFAST- ROUTINE one staff

Campers lay down on a mattress and on "go" jump up, run to some oversized clothes and put them on for the fastest time. Equipment: mattresses and old oversized clothes.