Paul Bunyan emerged from generations of lumberjack whopper tales told in the camps of White Pine lumbermen in the northeastern forests of America. In 1913, the Walker family, owners of the Red River Mill in Minnesota, moved their operations west to carve a mill and town out of the northern Sierras and brought Paul Bunyan with them. Previously unknown outside logging camp circles, the giant lumberjack's exploits were first recorded in print for the Walkers by W.B. Laughead from 1914 to 1944. Those small books promoted Westwood and Paul Bunyan Pine Products and made Paul and his companions Babe the Blue Ox, Sour Dough Sam, Brimstone Bill, Johnny Inkslinger, Big Ole, and Sport the reversible dog into national household favorites, helping establish an American mythology. In 1946, the Walkers sold the mill to Fruit Growers Supply Co., which continued operating it until it shut down in 1956. In the last publication of Paul Bunyan and his Big Blue Ox in 1944, Paul was quoted as saying, “I’m not saying goodbye, I’m still on the job for Red River and maybe I’ll be serving you again some time in the future.”