This 30-ft. tall Paul Bunyan sculpture is constructed of car parts -- from old Kaiser automobiles -- salvaged from Detroit scrap yards.
According to Norman Woelk, "My father William L. Woelk hired this built for his 'Mackinac'(pronounced mack-in awe) gas station in Gaylord, MI. in the very early 1960's." The original work cost a total of $4,500, created by artist Betty Conn and architect Edward X. Tuttle
The statue stood from decades on Gaylord's main street, at the gas station, which eventually closed. After a period as a roadside statue in town, it moved in 2001 or so to Alpena Community College. It has been repainted in the colors of the college teams and is displayed on the campus.
Note: Perhaps it's a transcription error, but we recorded shooting a photo of the Car Parts Bunyan in Grayling, about 30 miles south of Gaylord on I-75, in 1991. Anyone know if he spent time there?
