Posted: 7/30/03

If you donít like Forest Lakeís changes, try Brainerd

There are some in Forest Lake who lament the changing face of the cityís downtown business district. There have been some sad faces as many of the old buildings that graced N. Lake St. for 70 to 80 years fell in the wake of redevelopment.

Change can be hard to get your arms around and it is not easy to accept. Thatís been the theme in Forest Lake over the past year as the downtown changes have advanced.

For those who are sadly watching the state of current affairs in Forest Lake, there is this point. Itís a good thing they donít live in Brainerd.

Anyone who has been around Minnesota for some time ó and particularly central Minnesota ó may associate Brainerd with Paul Bunyan and his trusted companion, Babe the Blue Ox. Both are fixtures at Paul Bunyan Amusement Center (actually the center in Baxter).

For 53 years, the talking lumberjack has been greeting kids of all ages as they pass through the gates of the amusement center. But all that is about to change.

Come Labor Day, the amusement park is slated to close for good, ending its run in the Brainerd Lakes Area. Owners Patti and Don McFarland say the high rate of property taxes make the land too valuable to utilize for the seasonal operation so the property is being sold to a developer for a Kohlís department store.

This has to be a shock for many Paul Bunyan fans who remember the big lug from their one or two early-life trips to Brainerd. I must have been about 7 or so when I made the big journey.

I wandered back to the amusement center in July with my significant other who had been promising for years (well, maybe five or six) to take me to see Paul one more time. The visit was a lark of sorts, but for the $10 admission fee I wanted to see the park one more time other than just the sniff that I had been getting from the Mills Fleet Farm parking lot during shopping visits while in the area.

Big old Paul was still there doing his thing, talking to the kids, raising his eyebrows, turning his big noggin and moving his arms from time to time. The kids loved it and swarmed around the big guyís boots.

The amusement park was much like I remembered it. The carnival rides canít rival Valleyfair but they are simple enough to please the younger set. The Paul Bunyan Express train still makes its rounds in the park.

The side attractions, admittedly a bit cheesey, are something most adults get a hoot out of. You can play Tic Tac Toe with a chicken but beware, the chicken gets to go first. I fed in a quarter for a game only to lose to the chicken!

If you are a fan of tradition, the idea of Paul getting the ax, so to speak, is not overly appealing. But itís not as if Paul and Babe and all the rides are going to the junk yard. The McFarlands have pledged to keep the statues and the amusement park in the Brainerd Lakes Area.

But not unlike Forest Lake, getting things done to arrange such a relocation is far from easy. Plans to move Babe and Paul and some of the rides and attractions to This Old Farm on the east side of Brainerd have been complicated by zoning issues and area residents who are opposed to the crowds the pair might draw to their township.

Nothing is ever easy, no matter where you are.

This may come across that I am shilling for Babe and Paul but I donít feel bad about the tone. Anyone who went to see Paul and Babe as a kid must have a soft spot inside them that hates to see the center turned into a department store!

The governor agrees. Gov. Tim Pawlenty has visited the center in attempts to encourage a local relocation. ìWe love you and want you to stay in Minnesota,î Pawlenty was quoted by the Brainerd Daily Dispatch during a visit with Paul at the amusement center this summer.

Soft spot aside from the governor, there is a bit of Minnesota history here that needs to be saved. Paul arrived on June 29, 1950 after once being part of the Chicago Worldís Fair.

It was a victory for Brainerd after earlier losing its chance to land the original Paul Bunyan, the big fella who is parked up Bemidji way. That Paul was originally intended for Brainerd but wound up in Bemidji when the folks in Brainerd saw the funds stolen that had been banked for the giant figures of Paul and Babe.

Pawlenty is right in hoping the Brainerd Lakes Area can keep its Paul and Babe. Some may scoff at history and tradition, but they are important.

In Forest Lakeís case, buildings canít be saved. In Brainerd, the sentimentalists should be happy they are only dealing with an amusement park that can be pulled up and moved. That is, we hope it can be pulled up and moved.

Top of Page