Paul Bunyan became closely tied to Minnesota tourism through the work of Merrill Cragun and Louise Cragun, founders of Cragun's Resort on Gull Lake near Brainerd. In August 1933, Merrill Cragun and W.J. "Jack" Madden created Paul Bunyan's Playground, Inc., later Paul Bunyan Inc., to promote tourism throughout Minnesota. From 1933 to 1938, Merrill, serving as executive secretary, and Louise worked with Chambers of Commerce and resort owners, and the Brainerd Chamber of Commerce became the first to join, establishing Brainerd as the capital of Paul Bunyan's Playground. The Paul Bunyan image was further developed through a red and black jacket made by Hickerson Garment Factory and through postcards, booklets of Bunyan stories, and a Paul Bunyan game printed at Cragun's printing shop in St. Paul. Merrill Cragun Sr. also promoted resorts at sports shows, and products tied to the legend included potatoes, maple sugar and syrup, hams and bacon, pancake flour, jams, jellies, and a Paul Bunyan candy bar. In 1936 and 1937, the Brainerd Chamber sponsored Paul Bunyan Days with parades, bands, floats, log rolling, beard growing, tobacco spitting, and yarn spinning contests. In 1939, the Craguns bought and began building the eight cottages of Cragun's Resort, which opened in 1941, and in 1942 Merrill formed the Minnesota Resort Association. During the war, Louise ran the new resort. After the war, Merrill helped secure the adoption of "10,000 lakes" on Minnesota license plates, helped form the UPS foodshows, directed the 1949 Minnesota Territorial Centennial, and became director of Continuing Education at the University of Minnesota, while remaining deeply involved with Cragun's until his death in 1986. Louise continued documenting the development of Paul and Babe, Minnesota tourism, and Cragun's Resort for the Minnesota Historical Society, and she died in Brainerd in 2006 at age 96. A Paul Bunyan statue dedicated in May 2005 in memory of Merrill K. and Louise Cragun was created by Josh Porter of Avalon Studios in Merrifield; it began as a 15 inch clay prototype and was completed at 11 1/2 feet tall and about 900 pounds, depicting Paul with rolled-up sleeves, seated on a break and waving in welcome to visitors to the Brainerd Lakes Area.