Grades K-4: Life, Legend, & Lore
Lesson Two
Artist Fred Smith and Legendary Northwoods Characters
Logger, farmer, tavern keeper, and artist, Fred Smith has almost become one of the famous Northwoods characters that so inspired him during his lifetime. The funny and magical art environment he made over a period of fifteen years in Phillips, Wisconsin brings together folklore, legend, local flavor, and history. Taking in all he saw around him, Smith produced-one sculpture at a time-an amazing introduction to the culture of the North. It almost goes without saying that Paul Bunyan has a place of honor in the Wisconsin Concrete Park. As a former lumberjack, Smith most certainly felt a personal connection with the logging giant. In the evenings after work in the camps, storytelling helped take the men's minds off their gloom and brought much-needed laughter after a hard day.
Display the full-page images of Smith's sculptures. After everyone has had an opportunity to look at the images, discuss the following questions together.
Discussion Questions:
1. Describe these sculptures. What do you see?
2. Where do you think that Smith got his ideas for these sculpted figures?
3. How do Smith's figures tell a story or something interesting about Wisconsin?
4. In the photograph, Smith's sculptures are outside. How does the outdoor environment help to tell the stories of these sculptures?
5. What materials has Smith collected and used to create his sculptures? How might you reuse recycled materials?
Tell Me a Tale
Read the following accounts of Paul Bunyan and Babe his big blue ox:
Discussion Questions:
1. What valuable clues can you learn from these "tall tales" about life in logging camps?
2. What did the loggers eat?
3. What were the weather conditions?
4. How were the logs transported from place to place?
5. What states did logging occur in?
6. Where did the loggers live when they were working?
7. Why might people tell "folk stories" or "tall tales"?
Upper Elementary students may enjoy reading an actual letter written by a young teenager who worked in the logging camps. Click on the link below to view this letter.
Discussion Questions:
1. What in this letter is similar to the folk stories of Paul Bunyan?
2. What were some of the hardest things that this young man faced in the logging industry?
3. What are some reasons that this young man might have decided to work as a lumberjack?
4. Imagine that he is sitting around the campfire, listening to stories of Paul Bunyan, after a long day's work. How might these stories have helped the lumberjacks?
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