Paul Bunyan’s future in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ is uncertain.
The owners of three businesses on North Stone Avenue at East & Glenn Street are selling, and what happens to the 20-foot statue will be up to the new owner.
Owned by the Toia family, the properties are home to Don’s Hot Rod Shop, Celebrations Party Spot and Super Suds Car Wash.
Leo Toia originally bought the 20-foot statue in 1964 to bring attention to his automotive store. Since then, Paul has been a big part of the Toia family.
Paul is also one of many “,†which are giant fiberglass statues made in the 1960s and ’70s. The giant characters varied in style, with some dressed as cowboys, Vikings, Native Americans and lumberjacks, like .
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Three businesses on a corner of North Stone Avenue at East Glenn Street are being sold. What happens to the ax-wielding lumberjack statue that has towered over traffic for decades will be up to the new owner.
They were created for business advertising, and there are still over a hundred standing across the country.
Deanie Burris, granddaughter of Leo Toia, was only 2 years old when her father, Don Toia, helped put the statue up. She grew up with the statue and when she was 20, helped her father make a giant Santa suit for Paul.
Her family is selling the properties because of difficulty with maintenance and upkeep, tasks that usually fall on her younger brother, also named Don Toia. They want to downsize Don’s Hot Rod Shop to a more manageable location until her brother retires.
“It’s going to be a sad day,†Burris said of leaving their location. “I mean, we’ve been here 79 years, since 1946.â€
The buildings on the northwest corner of Stone and Glenn, and the home of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s Paul Bunyan statue, are being sold. The fate of the 20-foot fiberglass lumberjack is still uncertain.
There is no buyer for the properties yet, but Burris hopes Paul can log even more years on his corner of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.
The family prefers to have the fiberglass, ax-wielding lumberjack stay put after the properties exchange hands. But many interested buyers have indicated they might move him.
“I think he holds a special place for all of us really,†Burris said. “We just feel like movement at all just doesn’t seem right.â€
Burris said she would prefer to sell Paul separately to someone interested in maintaining him and the history of the Muffler Men if the buyer wants to get rid of him.
As of now, however, the sale of the family’s properties are pending, and Paul’s future remains unclear.
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