Manhattan, Kansas -
30-Ft-Tall Johnny Kaw, Kansas Answer to Bunyan

Johnny Kaw is located in the Southeast corner of City Park facing Poyntz Avenue in Manhattan, Kansas. He holds a scythe to harvest wheat. You have him listed under Muffler Men as a "Paul Bunyan", but he was designed as Johnny Kaw (a legendary character indigenous to Kansas) by one of the Kansas State University's Art Department faculty, Tommy Tomash, sometime in the 1950's (it is almost a self portrait). Johnny Kaw is about 30-35 feet tall and is kept in good repair. There is also a great playground for small children just to the west. [Eric Abraham, 03/19/2002]

[RA: Johnny is fairly young for a hero of legends. He was invented in 1955 by a Kansas horticulture professor; the concrete-and-steel statue went up in 1966.]

Here in Manhattan, KS, we have what is supposedly the world's largest statue of Johnny Kaw. (Johnny is a midwest version of Paul Bunyan, except that he harvests grain with a thresher and has no sidekick that I know of.) This statue is 20-30 feet high and stands in the corner of city park. I've seen this thing every day for the last 5 years and, up until 2 days ago, thought is WAS Paul Bunyan. (Well, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Paul). [ alpine, 10/01/1998]