Bernie Paulson and his twin brother Bruce had a blast firing cannons and making them for historic sites and reenactors. Bernie is being remembered for his good cheer and deciation to craftsmanship

Bruce Paulson (left), his son Bernie, center, and Bruce's brother, Bernie, at right)

Bernie and Bruce Paulson were born to work with their hands. As teens, the Wisconsin twins invented a mechanized bean picker, and an advertisement claimed with enthusiasm that it could outwork 100 laborers.

The lads made other farm products, but their hearts – and hands – eventually focused on full-time production of artillery ammunition, gun carriages and parts for reenactors and government-operated parks.

It was a great fit, given they had been fascinated by the Civil War since childhood.

“We would make toy guns out of wood and arm all the kids … and play in the neighborhood,” Bruce said of their years in Clayton, Wisc.

Making huge guns kept Paulson Brothers Ordnance Corporation busy for decades. But now, sadly, the business in Clear Lake will be largely shutting down. It’s the proverbial end of an era.

Bernie, 85, died last month, of a likely heart attack, family members say.

“Bernie always said he would die at PBO. That’s pretty much what he did,” said his nephew Bernie. (The twins named their sons after each other).

Now, Bruce is navigating life without a sibling he worked with his whole life. “I knew him like I know myself.” While Bernie came into the business nearly every day, Bruce had slowed down a bit. 

He is ready to retire.

“We are still selling online. I am trying to sell off a lot of the inventory, if I can,” Bruce told the Picket in a recent phone call. Bruce’s son will continue to make ammunition and use the company website.

The identical siblings -- who dressed in matching green work clothes -- were renowned in the field for their craftsmanship and attention to detail.

Exterior of PBO in Clear Lake, Wisc. (Courtesy Bernie Paulson)

I spoke with Bernie in 2024 after the U.S. Army turned to experts when an unusual artillery shell – believed at first to possibly date to the Civil War -- was found on a training range at Fort McCoy, Wis. It turned out to be a replica made and fired by the Paulson brothers decades ago.

Thomas Bailey, who operates Historical Ordnance Works in Woodstock, Ga., participated years ago in Midwest gun firings with the Paulsons. Some might say his company is a competitor of PBO, but Bailey calls it a “working partner relationship.”  

Bailey drove to Wisconsin last week to reminisce with the Paulson family and purchase a wagon and gun carriage parts.

A few artillery pieces sit in front of the one-story facility not far from where Bernie lived. Their operation is about an hour east of Minnesota’s Twin Cities. (At right, a traveling forge in the facility, courtesy Bernie Paulson)

Bailey, 69, who was born in Pittsburgh during the heyday of American steel, said the restoration work requires blacksmith, carpentry and painting skills.

Many of his cannon barrels and carriages are made for the National Park Service, including the Vicksburg and Shiloh sites. “The reenactor segment is pretty much dying off,” he added.

Bailey said a tool and die maker from Toledo, Ohio, provided services for him for about 15 years.

He mentioned the craftsman in a way that evokes the work of the Paulson brothers.

“How do you replace somebody like that? You don’t. When we die off, a lot of skills will go away.”

Zinc in shell fired at  Army fort provided a big clue

Stephen Osman, retired site manager of Historic Fort Snelling in Minneapolis, was among those contacted by the Army after the July 2024 mystery find at Fort McCoy. Could this be an authentic Civil War shell, as first believed? That seemed unlikely since the fort began operations in 1909.

The shell found at a Wisconsin training range (Claudia Neve/U.S. Army) and Bruce and Bernie (right) Paulson
on the set of "The Blue and the Gray" miniseries in 1981 (Courtesy Stephen Osman)

“There was no Civil War battle around here, no training from that era, so it left us wondering: how did it get here?” said garrison archaeologist Ryan Howell, according to an Army news release.

Osman took a look at the photos and determined the round was non-ferrous and – most importantly – was made by the Paulson brothers and fired by them at Fort McCoy, back when the Army allowed certain groups to use the site.

The siblings were known for using zinc, an element used postwar.

Two years ago, while working on that post, I contacted Osman, who has it turned out had been pards with Bernie and Bruce Paulson for 50 years. They traveled in the 1970s to historic sites around the country, setting off cannons and having a good time along the way.

“They’re just characters. I spent a lot of time with them,” said Osman, who served with the twins in the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry reenactment group.

He described them as exuberant and a force of nature, barging into a museum or military site with a host of questions. (Bruce, at left, and Bernie at their shop. Courtesy Bruce's son Bernie)

Their inquisitiveness, creativity and resolve made them leaders in the field of replica artillery, according to observers. Bernie was the more garrulous of the pair.

A relative said he will be remembered for his passion for history and craftsmanship. "He also love the excitement of shooting cannons at many different sites and sharing this unique hobby with family and friends," Carrie Paulson wrote on Facebook.

'There has to be absolute discipline'

The replica 10-pounder shell fired at Fort McCoy was an early prototype when the Paulsons were still figuring out how to make quality reproduction weapons. The shell either never made firm impact or the fuse popped out upon landing.

Bernie, then 83, told the Picket he and Bruce were making these in the 1970s and before they found drawings that helped them improve design and construction.

“You talk about crude,” he said of their fuses in the early days.

The Paulsons went to the West Point foundry and a New York library to dig deep into Civil War artillery, including the work of Alfred Mordecai and a muzzle-loading cannon and ammunition created by 19^th-century inventor Robert Parrott.

Since then, the brothers made or finished thousands of rounds and were well-known in the re-enacting community.

The important thing, Bailey recently said, is to know what you are doing and be safe -- attributes he claims the Paulsons had.

“They didn’t just build the gun carriages. They were historians. That is part of it. If you have never seen an original carriage, what do you do?”

Making artillery components and firing pieces requires common sense and a devotion to safety. 

A Paulson mortar being set up for Fort Sumter 150th event (Picket photo)

Bruce Paulson said he and Bernie had a perfect safety record when firing on ranges. Before 9/11, some military installations allowed trained outsiders to use the ranges, often to teach new soldiers about the evolution of artillery.

At those ranges, unlike public events, crews could fire live rounds.

“Follow the manual. When you are operating a cannon, go by the manual,” said Bruce. “Count off. Each man has a responsibility to do the job. There has to be absolute discipline … by doing that, you will be safe.”

Twins were fixtures in the community

Bernie Paulson is being remembered for his outgoing and unforgettable personality.

“They did everything together. I worked for them a few years,” said his nephew Bernie, 60, who does maintenance for an area school district. “They were like a married couple. They would get in their arguments. Five minutes later, it was like it never happened.”

Bruce recalls the brothers starting three businesses. They worked at farm equipment makers Pixall and Oxbo before working full time at PBO. (Newspaper ad about their green bean picker, left)

“I am generally the guy who takes care of the book work, the purchase orders and paying the bills.” Bernie was more of the online guy.

“That is what I am learning to do right now,” said Bruce.

He said the long-term goal is to sell their building once the inventory is gone. That includes a traveling forge, caisson, 20-pounder Parrott, a Rodman and more weapons and parts. All the cannon tubes are original.

“If you happened to visit the PBO shop you needed to be prepared to be there for several hours,” says Bernie's obituary.

The twins served as the “chain gang” for many Clear Lake football games with Bernie manning the down marker, the obit says. “They also traveled to California to be the cannon team experts on the TV show “Junkyard Wars.”

Bernie S. Paulson is survived by his wife, Heidi, son, Bruce (Annie), and grandson, Willie.

A celebration of his life is set for Oct. 3 at the Barn Again event center in Clayton.