7.9.2023

As we have seen a few times, a resort owner may have owned more than one resort in Itasca County, although usually not at the same time. Rees and Peggy Williams built and established the Pine Grove Resort on Sand Lake in 1925.

Two decades later, the Williams began receiving guests at Sand Lake Lodge also on Sand Lake.  Rees aka “Steamboat Williams” was a professional baseball player. His career in baseball had come to a natural end, and at the relatively young age of thirty-three, Rees wasn’t ready to retire, and owning a resort kept him active.

The lore that passed from one resort owner to another is that Rees actually lost Pine Grove Lodge in a poker game. Leonard Hultman, the lucky card player, took over “on September 5, 1945, exactly 20 years after we had signed the original lease.” [Rees interviewed by Stan Johnson 3-13-1976]

Rees and Peggy Williams ~ late 1940s-1967

In the early 1940s Rees and Peg had the opportunity to purchase land that they had leased from Arthur Nelson, a former mayor of St, Paul. This sixty-eight acre tract of land was on a point about a mile east of Pine Grove Lodge and perfect for hunting duck and deer.

There was nothing more than a few trails, but Rees decided it would be a great location for their new resort. The biggest challenge was constructing a road in. It took two years for Rees, Ludwig Haataja, and a couple other men Rees had come to rely on to clear the land. “We started building the lodge in 1947, and then four cabins. Instead of log, [as at Pine Grove] the buildings were all frame construction.”  [3-13-1976 Interview]

Rees and Peg had an established clientele who enjoyed spending time with them as much as they appreciated the fishing experience on Sand Lake. So, it is probable there were “guests” staying with them as soon as the lodge was completed, and Peg could cook for them. Officially though, according to the local paper, the resort opened in the spring of 1951.

­Rees Williams Again in Resort Business ~ 5-15-1951 Deer River News

“Rees Williams, who formerly owned Pine Grove Lodge on Sand Lake, was in Deer River the last of the week.  Mr. Williams reports that he is in the resort business again after having sold his former resort and that he has the start of a fine new resort on Sand Lake.

His new resort is known as Sand Lake Lodge and he has four cabins in addition to the main lodge, and a full complement of equipment for conducting a comfortable resort.”

There isn’t much information available about the resort in the early years – no brochures or postcards – and this could be because the Williams did have a faithful clientele and were updated with the Christmas holiday postcards they were known to send.

John Perkins, a summer resident down the shore from Sand Lake Lodge, shares some of his recollections. “My grandparents and my uncle first took me up here to their cabin when I was six years old, when it would take three days to drive here from Chicago (with stops at the relatives along the way.)” That was over seventy years ago, and John has only missed a few summers since then. John is, among other things, an accomplished songwriter and musician. “Are We There Yet,” is a song he wrote about coming to the lake as a kid. It can be heard by following this link. https://soundcloud.com/johnfperkins/are-we-there-yet-41722-41722-135-pm?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

“When I was a kid, we’d frequently go to Sand Lake Lodge because my grandfather was friends with a man named Mr. Olson. He was a guest at the resort, whose vacation usually overlapped with ours, as did some of the amenities the Lodge had to offer.” John’s family could store their daily catch in the large freezer Rees had for guests’ fish. “Rees had these banana popsicles in the freezer, and, if you were a good boy during the day, you got to have one when you put your fish in the freezer. Those popsicles were really good!”

For many years, the only way to get to John’s family cabin was by boat. Rees made wooden boats for his resort and others in the area.  Although there are probably none of his boats in the annual Sand Lake Boat Parade today, fifty years ago many folks on the lake had one made by Rees.

As family owners passed away, John had an opportunity to call the land his own. After nearly fifty years of vacationing at Sand Lake, John constructed a house that would withstand the Minnesota winters, if he ever has a desire to do so. At this point, John and his wife Sandy are here from early spring until just before the snow falls.

Another Rees story comes from Willy and Marilyn Fredricks who were friends with Anne Haataja. Her parents, Ludwig and Gladys, were friends with Rees and Peggy during the years they had the Sand Lake Lodge. According to Anne, her father cut Rees’ hair and her mother did housework for Peggy. She also did Peg’s ironing, including her underwear! “Peg was a very prim and proper lady who had a real fear of dying in wrinkled clothes.” [Willy Fredrick https://link2ourpast.com/Williams%5D

It is believed the Williams sold the resort in 1967 when they were in their seventies. Peg died in 1972 and Rees in 1975.  They are buried at the Olivet Cemetery in Deer River. 

As sometimes happens with resorts with a long history, there is often little information on the owners during the in-between years. It is not known who owned the resort between 1967-1980, but during that time, another cabin, with three bedrooms was built.

Tom and Carol Pfeifer ~ 1980-1997

Tom and Carol both loved to fish and decided a fishing resort would be a good place to raise their three younger children. After considerable research about good fishing lakes and available resorts in northern Minnesota, the Pfeifers decided to purchase Sand Lake Lodge. They didn’t have experience running a resort, but learned as they went, as did their children Randy, Carolyn, and Cheryl. It was truly a family fishing resort run by an enthusiastic family. The Pfeifers lived in the lodge at the resort year around, and the kids attended school in Deer River.

Tom and Carol loved to greet their guests with coffee and a homemade roll or cookie, and to catch up with those who reserved the same cabin for the same week year after year. They shared where the fish were biting and where berries were ripe. Most of all, they encouraged their guests to enjoy the woods and the lakes during their visit.

Gerlitz Family ~ 1997-current

Sand Lake Lodge is now owned by the second generation of Gerlitzs, Brent and Jennette. “My folks and my brothers an sisters and I had been coming up to the Pine Grove Lodge, here on Sand Lake from the Twin Cities for years,” Brent explained. “About the time I graduated from high school they learned Sand Lake Lodge was for sale. It was a big career change for them, but one they didn’t regret.”

Wayne and Shelly Gerlitz relished their role as resort owners.  They liked the fact that it was relatively small and that four of the cabins were ones built by Rees Williams. The resort also had a well-established clientele, and many of the guests still come from the Twin Cities, southern Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. As it has been since the Williams built it, the resort is seasonal – fishing opener through bird hunting in the fall.

The Gerlitz family updated and remodeled the cabins as needed but wanted to keep the original tongue and groove paneling and the wide board ceilings. The work that Rees and carpenter Ludwig Haatala had done, was left untouched. The floors, of course, got the most wear and some of them have been covered with linoleum or paint.

Brent, a musician, moved to New York City, where he lived for fifteen years. In 2013 he married native New Yorker Jennette Rivera. After the birth of their daughter Violette they relocated to Steamboat Springs, CO where both worked in entertainment and hospitality.

When Wayne and Shelly were edging up on the twenty-year mark as resort owners, they began considering their options for retirement. About the same time, Brent and Jennette began tossing around the idea of moving to Minnesota to raise their family. After their second daughter, Ondine was born, they made the move they haven’t regretted.

2023 marks the third summer that Brent and Jennette have owned Sand Lake Lodge. “Our girls love it here,” Jennette said. “When families return with children their age it’s almost like they have cousins to play with and there are plenty of families.” Some that have made it a tradition to come for three and four generations.

A favorite spot of the Gerlitzes and resort guests is Listening Point. There is a handmade sign, bench, swing, and, of course, a view of the lake. Listening Point is for solitude, but the screen porch is a gathering place. It is unique in that the table and chairs are handmade, and the walls adorned are with memories.

As time permits, minor updates continue to be made but nothing to change the ambience. “There’s something special about the small family resorts, like this one, and I don’t want them to go away,” Brent said. “I’m going to fight tooth and nail to keep our resort the way it has been as much as we can. The small resorts are different than the big ones.”

Jennette nodded. “You can hear a screen door bang and the laughter of kids from anywhere in the resort.”

6.11.2023

This is the twenty-fourth Resorts with a History column I have done since I began them in 2017, and the first for this summer. All the resorts featured started early in Itasca County’s tourist industry and are still in business today. Camp Jack The Horse, started in the late 1930s by the Lars Johnson family, is the only resort located on Jack the Horse Lake north of Marcell. Johnsons owned the resort until 1959, and it has stayed in the family of the second owner for sixty-four years!

I have known of Jack the Horse Lake my entire life because the road is the way to my grandparents’ cabin where my siblings, cousins, and I spent carefree summer days. Much later I learned at least one story of how the lake got its name. I was fairly certain it was the only lake in Minnesota by that name, but I was wrong. According to the MN DNR, there are twenty-three lakes with the name Jack in them. Five are in Itasca County. Jack the Horse is flanked by Jack the Horse North and Jack the Horse South. Near Alder is Big Jack Lake, and near Nashwauk is Jack Lake.

1933-1959   Lars & Marion Johnson

Lars Johnson was born in South Dakota in 1890 to parents who had immigrated from Norway. He was working the farm with his stepfather on the western border of Minnesota by the time he was fifteen. It didn’t take him long to decide he wanted to do something different with his life. By the time he was twenty, he had attended business college, had married Elizabeth, a seamstress, and was a storekeeper in North Dakota. A personable man who didn’t mind being on the road, Lars soon began his lengthy career as a traveling salesman for office supply companies. When his wife died, leaving five children, Lars married Miss Marion Fleming, a schoolteacher. It is unknown if his sales territory included Minnesota, or if in his travels he learned of the burgeoning resort industry. At any rate, by 1935 Lars, Marion, and eight had children moved to Marcell.

In 1935, a local newspaper article highlights Jack the Horse Lake by explaining the name and the new resort located on the southeast shore of the lake.

Lake Named When Logger Loses Team ~ 8-9-1935 Itasca County Independent

“One of the most fantastic names given to any lake in Itasca County is regarded as that of ‘Jack-the-Horse,’ near Marcell. It is a beautiful, long and narrow sheet of water, divided into four distinct groups or sections which teem with pike, northerns, crappies, and bluegills. It is a lake generally overlooked by the angler because of its isolated location due to the absence of good roads. Early day loggers cast millions of logs into its water every winter to drive them out in the spring and send them to the lumber mills.

How the lake received its name was related early this week by a visitor at the L.M. Johnson summer camp. ‘It appears,’ said the visitor, ‘that before the lake had received a proper designation a bunch of loggers were crossing the ice with a heavy load when the ice broke and down went the team and several men. The men and one horse were rescued. The owner of the lost horse was a Finn named Jack Humola, short, stout, and powerful – a miniature giant. Lacking one horse to pull his load Jack, himself, stepped into the harness and piloted the logs over the ice and snow to the camp where his exploit was cheered. Thereupon the loggers decided to name the lake in Jack’s honor and Jack-the-horse was the title they selected. The name has stuck ever since.

Mr. Johnson’s is one of the few homes along the lake. He has 35 acres of shoreline. Last year he and his son, Martin, constructed a spacious six-room one-story log cabin. Martin does most of the work alone. It is one of the handsomest and most comfortable homes on the lake and is occupied winter and summer. Martin is a young bachelor, less than two dozen years of age, a most desirable matrimonial prize. Mr. Johnson, pater, is a traveling stationary salesman with headquarters at Fargo. He manages to spend a couple days of each month at the lake.

Six cabins for visitors will be built by the Johnsons this fall and next year they will enter the tourist hotel business.”

Marion Johnson was the one who ran the resort. Lars continued as a traveling salesman and, although the adult children lived in the home, most worked in jobs off the resort premises. In 1940, Richard 11 and Marion 8 helped with outside work and the needs of the fishermen. Alice helped her mother with the garden and the cleaning of the cabins. There were seven, including one which was a converted chicken house!

According to information passed down from the Johnsons to the next owners, the cabins were equipped with two burner hotplates, wood stoves and nearby outhouses. A large woodshed was constructed to store firewood for the cabins and water was secured by a hand pump and carried to the cabins. The pasture had a vegetable garden and cows.

Records in the Itasca County Historical Society (ICHS) archives indicate that in the 1940s the housekeeping cabins at Camp Jack The Horse were $15-$25 a week, that the cabins were fifty feet from the shore, and that there were eight rowboats available to fishermen.

Harold Boege remembers 1955 the summer he worked at Camp Jack The Horse. “One of my friends had told me that working for Mrs. Johnson would be no picnic, but he was wrong.” Boege (now 83 years old) said. “Sure, she had lots of chores for me. I had to do lots of yardwork and gardening. And I painted all the cabins. But she’d come outside every couple of hours and bring me something to eat and drink. I didn’t mind working there at all.”

Lars was 69 years old when the Johnsons sold the resort. They returned to North Dakota, where he died the following year. Marion died in 1983. Both are buried in Ellendale, North Dakota

1959-current         Youngdahl – Stadstad – Huot Family

Born near Little Falls, Minnesota, Warren Youngdahl went to live with his brother in San Francisco as a young adult. In 1940, he was employed as a carpenter. Following his tour of duty in WWII, he married Miss Madeline Brandlein. In 1958, Warren, by then a journeyman carpenter, his wife Madeline, and their daughter Linda, moved to Ely, Minnesota where they had purchased a fishing resort with another couple. After two good seasons in Ely, the Youngdahls decided it was the type of business they wanted to have on their own. In 1959 they bought Camp Jack The Horse Resort.

In an interview with Madeline conducted by the ICHS in 2002 she stated, “When we purchased it in 1959 it did not have water to the cabins and had ‘paths to the bath.’ The cabins were heated with wood burning pot-belly stoves and had only two-burner gas plates for cooking.”

The first winter was a challenge as they prepared for May when the fishing season opened. Warren began making improvements to the cabins, one at a time. He enlarged the living space and added indoor bathrooms. The kitchens were modernized with hot running water and stoves (instead of two burner hotplates).

Until all the cabins had hot water, Madeline heated water in a tea kettle on the hot plate to do her cabin cleaning. She was also in charge of the laundry, bookkeeping and reservations. Keeping up with a resort is an ongoing job, and Warren always had a project underway, even though he was also building homes throughout the area.

The resort continued to cater to fishermen and women, some with families and some on their own. “Our goal for our guests,” Madeline had explained, “is to promote the beauty, quiet and relaxing atmosphere we have to offer. Folks come here for their vacation to fish and spend time with family and friends. We let them ‘do their own thing.’”

And the upgrades continued. After the Honeymoon cabin sign had been repeatedly taken and not returned, it was renamed Cedar. A few other cabins were renamed to fit the north woods atmosphere. Youngdahls purchased a cabin from a former resort. They dismantled, moved, and rebuilt it. They also bought a log building which is where guest check-in, socialize on rainy days, and browse the resort merchandise.

“When Warren died in 1995, Linda and Harold Stadstad and their kids took a more active role,” Madeline said. “I like doing reservations and, of course, visiting when guests are here.” Linda and her children Erik and Kristen came from their home in North Dakota every summer to work at the resort. Harold joined them on the weekends. Linda enjoyed seeing families that had been coming for years and helping her mom. There is nothing quite like a family run resort.

In 2000, the Stadstads completed a year-round lake home for themselves on Jack the Horse Lake and continued to manage the resort with Madeline until her death in 2009. About the same time the resort passed into the hands of Linda and Harold, they decided to drop the word “camp,” so the resort name was changed to Jack The Horse Resort. Upgrades have continued over the years adding many conveniences while maintaining the resort’s uniqueness for families that have been coming for generations. There are now eight cabins, each with its own dock, and one which is a new log cabin available year-round. The beach is family friendly, with canoes, kayaks, paddle boards and pedal boats.

The resort is now owned by Kristen and her husband Josh Huot. “I loved that our family moved into Balsam cabin every summer,” Kristen said. “I always thought there was so much to do – swim, fish, kayak, canoe, hike. The possibilities seemed endless. I could be out on the lake, by myself or with friends, and it was so easy and safe. This is a great resort for families, couples and anyone who enjoys the beauty, quiet and adventure of the lake and northwoods.”

Josh and Kristen lived in Montana soon after getting married and continued the tradition of spending their summers at the resort. They served as the on-site managers while Madeline was the owner and again while the Stadstads were owners. Kristen had always dreamed of running the resort someday but didn’t know if all the pieces would fall into place. I guess you could say, Kristen shared with Josh her favorite place on earth and the rest is history.

Kristen and her grandmother Madeline share the same philosophy about managing the resort. “Our guests like that they can do their own thing and we’re available and close by if they need us.”

Behind the check-in counter there is a large framed painting which has a story all its own. Kristen has helped to clean cabins since she was in grade school. “I remember my mom telling me that in Chippewa cabin the kitchen table was homemade, and that the back of the tabletop was an old sign. When Josh and I upgraded that cabin, we put a new table in and took the old one apart. We were thrilled to see it was a sign for the resort, and I wondered if my grandma had painted it.”

Part of the sign had been cut off, but there were enough of the words to know it read Camp Jack-The-Horse Resort. They cleaned it, put it in a frame, and hung it up. They did not know when or who had painted it. Harold Boege solved part of this mystery. He recalled the sign posted at the resort entrance from his employment nearly seventy years ago!

6.4.2023 [archived ~ originally published 6.9.2019]

In 2017 I started a series about resorts that have stood the test of time. For two summers I visited and wrote about resorts that I found listed on a 1925 advertisement and that were still in operation. This article is number eleven in the series.

Throughout the rest of the summer, I will be featuring four other resorts that got their start before 1930: High Banks Resort, Pine Grove Lodge, Sugar Lake Lodge (formerly Otis Lodge), and Wildwood Resort.

The first resort to be featured is Big Balsam Camp on Big Balsam Lake. Established in about 1927, it is the oldest resort on the eastern side of Itasca County that is still operating. The Davis family has owned the resort for sixty-eight years. Bought by Floyd and Ruth in 1951, it was passed over to Gordy and Jackie Davis in 1993. From the resort docks you can reach seven other fine fishing lakes containing northern, bass, crappie, bluegill, perch, and some walleye.

McCall ~ 1927-1928

According to land documents, John William McCall and his wife Laura purchased the property in 1923. By 1925 the McCalls decided to build a resort and made arrangements with the King Lumber Company to finance over $500 of “materials for the erection of summer cottages.” It is not clear as to whether any cottages were rented out in 1926, but the following year Big Balsam Camp was fully operational.

The first known advertisement for the resort was in a 32-page brochure put together by the Minnesota Arrowhead Association. Resorts and hotels were listed from the north shore and Canadian border to Cass Lake and Aitkin. The only resort listed for Bovey was Big Balsam. The description is short and to the point. The rates are similar to other resorts in the region.

Big Balsam Camp ~ “J. William McCall, proprietor. Located nineteen miles north of Bovey on Big Balsam Lake. Near King, Hunter, Spring and Brandon Lakes. Roads marked to resorts from Bovey. Telephone. Bass and great northern pike fishing. Free camping accommodations for motorists. Accommodations for twenty guests. Furnished cottage and main dining room system. $15.00 per week per person. Room in lodge, meals included, $3.00 per day, $18.00 per week per person. Boats $1.50 per day. Guides $5.00 per day. Motor boats, $3.00 per day. Season May 15 to Dec 1. Good fishing and hunting.”

Pettit ~ 1928-1944

At about the same time the McCalls were building the resort, they also homesteaded on a couple acres nearby and were granted the land patent in March 1927. It may be that John and Laura never intended to be long term proprietors but saw the development of the resort as a good investment. In April of 1928, they sold the Big Balsam Camp to Harry and Maude Pettit.

The Pettit family came from the Twin Cities. According to the 1900 United States Federal census, Harry was a grocery salesman. By 1910 he had his own grocery store in Minneapolis, and in 1920 owned a home and grocery store in Minnetonka. At the time Harry bought the resort both he and his wife were in their early fifties. It is possible the family had previously vacationed at Big Balsam with their young daughter, or that Pettit responded to an advertisement in a Twin Cities newspaper. Maybe Harry thought running a small resort would be more satisfying than a busy retail business.

The resort business seemed to agree with the Pettits and it is believed that the lodge was built under their ownership. On the 1940 census, when they are almost seventy, Harry is still listed as a proprietor. Their daughter Carol is married to John Plank whose occupation is an entertainer in show business. The Planks are residing at the resort along with a young couple who are helping run the resort.

Short-Term Ownership 1944-1951

In November 1943, John, Harry’s son-in-law enlisted in the army, as did many other young men from the area. Without help to keep the resort going, and not knowing when the war would end, Harry and Maude decided it was time to sell. John and Beulah Benston bought Big Balsam in May 1944. John was employed as a postal clerk in Rochester and it’s possible the family of six had previously spent a vacation at or near the resort. It was not a good fit for them, and within a year they sold it to Norman and Gertrude Anderson from Chicago. Apparently, it was more work than the Andersons thought it would be as well. In 1948, Max Unger bought it. Max was a local man who worked in the mines near Bovey. Max and his wife Pearl ran the resort for a couple years and it was during this time that the Davis family became familiar with Big Balsam Camp.

Davis Family ~ 68 Years and Counting!

“My dad first came up to the resort in the late 1940s to go deer hunting,” Gordy Davis explained. “He owned a small over the road trucking company in St. Paul, and one of his drivers was a cousin of Max Unger. Dad and some of the other guys came a couple more times to hunt and fish. Dad decided he’d like to move his family out of the city and that he’d like to own a small resort. He even looked at one on nearby Hanson Lake. Learning of my dad’s interest, Max said to him, ‘well why don’t you just buy this one.’”

Gordy was nine years old when a deal was struck in early March 1951. His parents Floyd, whom everyone called “Davy” and Ruth moved the family of six to Big Balsam Camp as soon as school was out. There was quite a bit of work that had to be done in the first couple years to bring the resort into compliance, more than Davy was aware of, but they worked hard to put in the necessary updates.

As noted in the 1927 description, the cabins were still the “American Plan” and the meals were prepared by Ruth and served in the lodge. “We raised 600 chickens every summer,” Gordy said. “And had a banquet on each Sunday night. On Saturday we would butcher seventy-five chickens, everyone got a half chicken on their plate.” Within a couple years, as the cabins were updated to include a kitchen, meals were no longer made by Ruth and Davy.

Gordy enjoyed growing up at the lake, but in 1960 when he graduated from high school, he moved to Minneapolis to attend Dunwoody. In Minneapolis he met Jackie, and they started a family of their own, always coming north for working vacations of course. In the early 1990s Davy and Ruth were in their 80’s and asked Gordy and Jackie if they wanted to buy the resort. In 1993 they did and built a new home for Davy and Ruth to live in, but it was not until the year 2000 when they both retired from their jobs in the Cities before they could move up north. For the 7 years from 1993 to 2000 they both worked full-time jobs in the Cities and drove up to the resort for a 3-day weekend to catch up on as much work as they could. Davy and Ruth stayed in their home at the resort until they died, within three short months of each other in 2007.

Like many northern Minnesota resorts, Big Balsam boasts families that have been coming up for generations. “We have one family that has been coming since the second year my folks had the resort, that’s sixty-seven years!” Gordy said. Jackie added, “We have another guest who has been coming with her family since she was a young girl, they now have every cabin when they come in August. In fact, she painted the picture hanging there on the wall.”

The painting of a lake, loons and a cabin was a perfect north woods tranquil scene. It was signed by Mary Pettis and was marked as print number 12. Jackie explained that the cabin in the picture was cabin twelve at their resort. It is the oldest building and one of the originals built by John McCall. “Mary has painted eight north woods outdoor pictures and every one of them has cabin twelve in it. And we own the number 12 print of each one!”

Ms. Pettis is indeed an established and well-known painter and shared with me that even though she painted the series in the mid-1990s, she first painted her “favorite cabin” about 20 years earlier. She looks forward to the annual trip north and said, “I will be bringing my paints again this August and will paint some nieces and nephews and maybe a few favorite scenes…maybe the cabin!”

The Davises have always managed the resort, with the help of family, just as Davy and Ruth did. “You have to be a jack of all trades,” says Gordy, “You have to be able to fix everything. We have ten cabins and twelve camping spots.” As the years are catching up with them, Jackie and Gordy do employ help. “Especially on Saturdays.” Jackie says. “That is our change-over day and very, very busy.”

As far as the future of Big Balsam Camp is concerned, the Davises hope is to keep it in the family. In fact, there will be plenty of family at the resort in September for the wedding of a granddaughter. Perhaps the event in such a peaceful location will inspire another generation. No doubt it is what their guests are hoping for.

“Our guests are the most important part of our resort,” Jackie said. “So many of them come to stay with us the same time every summer and are more than guest, they have become our friends.”

5.21.2023 [archived ~ originally published 8.11.2019]

“Where the Big Pike Lie and the Wild Ducks Fly!” was the motto Ingwald Nelson used in advertising the High Banks Resort. It is believed that in 1929 he leased land from the U.S. Forest Service and built a lodge which would accommodate a handful of sportsmen.  In the ninety years since then, the High Banks Resort has catered to fishing and hunting enthusiasts and vacationing families year around.  The catch phrase of the current owners, Rick and Kim Leonhardt is “Spectacular Sunsets Guaranteed.” This is absolutely true because the resort is located on the east side of Winnibigoshish, with an expansive view of the western horizon. 

The lodge is still the focal point of the resort. The grand staircase to the upstairs accommodations hasn’t changed, and the banister shines from the thousands of hands who have touched it through the years.  Guests taking a break from preparing their own meals can eat in the dining room.  The original split rock fireplace built by a local man details his artistic touch as well as his craftsmanship with the head of a deer worked into the design above the mantle.

Ingwald and Emma Nelson ~ 1929-1947

Ingwald Nelson was born in Norway and at about the age of seventeen he came to the Iron Range of northern Minnesota.  He worked in the mines for a while but, for some years prior to the resort, Ingwald owned a pool hall in Greenway.  About the same time Ingwald decided to build the lodge on Winnibigoshish, Melvin Olson, who knew Ingwald from the mines, started Little Winnie Resort.  In an interview with Mel conducted by Stanley Johnson, Mel explained why Ingwald was called Nancy.  “He was a great guy to shake dice and when he’d shake dice, he’d always say, ‘come to Nancy,’ and so they nicknamed him Nancy.” [12/30/1975]

It is believed that when Ingwald started High Banks he was single.  Before long, he returned to Greenway and married Emma Besser.  Together they ran the resort which soon consisted of four log cabins in addition to the rooms in the lodge.  Twelve rowboats built at the Cass Lake Boat Works were ready in time for the fishing opener of 1933.

Ingwald was a good businessman and used advertising to his advantage.  He had business cards with resort information on the front, and a map of how to get there on the back.  He purchased colorful custom-made souvenir notepaper for guests, and the first known brochure, circa 1933, is in full color.

One of the most interesting points brought up in the brochure was: “Invest in Health! The invigorating air of this far back north woods and the healing fragrance of the great pine forests bring comfort and relief to a great extent to asthma and hay fever sufferers.”

Lydia Krinke, a sister of Emma Nelson spent time helping her sister cook and clean cabins.  Lydia and her son Roger were at the resort in the late 1930s and early 1940s. In a letter to the current owners, the Leonhardts, Roger recalls working at the resort as a young boy.  “I remember the huge icehouse and shoveling sawdust around to keep the ice covered so it would last through the summer. We had a big flock of chickens that needed daily feeding which was an easy job for a six- year- old.  The tourists could eat fish only so many days and then they were fed the chickens.”

Roger is well aware of his uncle Nancy’s fondness of gambling and has one of the slot machines from the resort in his home.  It is rumored that some of the machines, possibly containing $20,000, are still buried somewhere on the property.  Slot machines and other games of chance were illegal in Minnesota in the late 1920s.  The headlines of the July 11, 1929 Deer River News stated Slot Machines Are Banned in County. But according to a report to the Minnesota legislature in the early 1940s, many slot machines were operated in resort areas with little interference from local law enforcement. Carson and Caden Leonhardt have searched but have not found them yet!

Postcards of resorts have been around almost as long as resorts have, and High Banks has some that have come back into their hands after they were sent by guests.  These are the messages on two during the time the Nelsons owned the resort:

~ “We’ve been up here now a little over a week.  We are having a lot of fun!” [7-24-1939]

~ “We arrived here at 5 am.  Had a nice trip. Jenny and Richard behaved so good.  It is too windy to fish here today and cold, but we keep warm in the cottage.” [7-2-1945]

In March 1947, Ingwald and Emma sold the resort and moved to town by the time their son was ready to start school.

In Between Years 1947-2004

For the next fifty-seven years there were at least eight different sets of owners of the High Banks Resort.  This includes but is not limited to James C “Lucky” and Howard Helfrich, Bill and Ann Molzen, John Whitesell, Wally and Della Barnett, Lloyd and Nona Paulson, John and Robin Tully, Charles and Gail Evans, and John and Pam Humphreys.

Eight wood framed cabins were added in the early 1950s.  However, cabin six was destroyed by a fallen tree and never rebuilt.  All the cabins were moved when a major shoreline restoration and stabilization project was done in the late 1990s.  When the buildings were moved, they did not stay in the same chronological order but, the Humphreys, owners at the time, did not re-number the cabins.  Most guests want to stay in the same cabin as they had for previous years as it is an important part of the tradition for their family!

One of the most interesting stories that happened during this time was that the state record muskie was caught off the resort.  Art Lyons, a fishing guide for High Banks, caught the 54-pound fish on August 28, 1957, but it wasn’t considered a record-breaking catch until nineteen years later. This entire story will be in the Reminisce column on Sunday August 18, 2019.

Leonhardt Family 2004

Rick and Kim Leonhardt always knew that they wanted to live in northern Minnesota, and eventually decided that home would be a resort.  “We had been looking for resorts for two years,” Kim said.  “All over Minnesota, Canada, even some out of state, but none had all the things we wanted.” Rick had been ice fishing with his friends at High Banks and knew a little bit about the area.   When the resort came for sale in November 2003, the Leonhardts drove north.  “Coming down the driveway, there was snow on the pines, it was like a winter wonderland.” Everything fell into place and it was theirs less than six months later.

In addition to the spectacular sunsets, Kim explains that the night sky is also incredible.  “The stars, northern lights, winter blood moon, everything is magnified because there is no light pollution.”

One of the goals Rick and Kim had when they bought the resort was to incorporate more family activities.  “When we bought it there was such an emphasis on fishing and fishing only.  Now we have a nice balance of fishing and family.”   There are lots of activities for children (who get to stay free!) and sometimes there are guests that don’t fish at all.  High Banks also offers short term stays to accommodate the changing needs of families.

Their sons Carson age 13 and Caden age 11 have been at the resort since they were born, and the lifestyle seems to be in their blood.  Both boys enjoy conversing with the guests, gathering fishing reports, helping with the docks and in the lodge.

In addition to the work at the resort, the boys enjoy spending time with new and returning friends.  Activities geared towards families and children of all ages include scavenger hunts, naturalist program (bats, owl pellets, fish prints, water cycle, animal tracks), bingo, and crafts.

The oldest building on the property is the lodge.  The upstairs has been renovated and instead of individual rooms, the entire floor can be used to accommodate a group of twelve.  “When we were remodeling the upstairs of the lodge,” Kim said. “we found a whiskey bottle.  We had removed the bathtub surround and there was an old, old empty whiskey bottle, still in the box!” They decided to carry on the tradition.  They replaced the bottle with a newly emptied one which will be discovered during the next bathroom update.

All of the cabins are the originals.  There are four log ones built in the early 1930s and six frame cabins constructed in the 1950s.  The Leonhardts added a 20-site seasonal campground in 2007.  High Banks was the first to offer sleeper ice fish houses on Winnie in 2005, which has become very popular for ice fishing.

High Banks has a wonderful collection of vacation photographs.  The Molzen family, owners during the 1950s and early1960s, carefully documented the photos before turning them over to Kim.  She has contacted others with a connection to the resort and has received letters (i.e. Roger Krinke) and even a visit from Bernie Nelson, son of Ingwald and Emma.  An unexpected addition was a recent grouping of photos from the 1930s.  Kim said, “In March I received a phone call from a woman who told me her dad had stayed at High Banks in the 1930s when he was a boy. She said he talked so much about it, that she decided it was time her family, and her children come up.”  In June they stayed in cabin eight, the same one her father’s family did.

The Leonhardts are invested in the community in more ways than the resort.  They buy locally and believe in paying it forward. Rick volunteers as head coach with the Deer River pony league football team. In addition they host fundraising events such as pancake breakfasts, pig races, crayon drives, and support the Deer River Athletic department.  They also promote and sponsor events for those who have served.  They have offered a 50% discount for veterans in August and most recently put together care packages for soldiers in the United Arab Emirates.

Rick, Kim, Carson and Caden take pride in providing memorable vacations for all their guests. The Leonhardts are truly honored to carry on the High Banks Resort tradition and legacy that began 90 years ago.