My thanks to Cathy Brugger who contributed the following 1950s photos of Pine Cone Resort located on Kabekona Bay on Leech Lake.
According to a 2006 Woodland Resort Newsletter, Pine Cone Resort was built about 1951. Owners in the 1950s were Margaret & J. W. Bunten, believed to be from from Kansas City. A 1956 mimeographed letter stated: “Pine Cone Resort is the newest in the vicinity, and one of the largest and most modern, with a lodge, store, and 16 modern cabins.” According to a 2006 Woodland Resort newsletter, Pine Cone may have been the last resort built on Kabekona Bay.
New to the group, 30 March 2025. Offering insight we’ve learned through researching the history of what’s now called “Kabekona Bay Village estates”. To the best of our ability, here are some un-official highlights. According to a family member of the former Bayview Resort, who worked on the lakeshore property. At some point Pine Cone resort was purchased and absorbed into the adjoining Bayview operation. Everything thereafter went under the Bayview name. The family member started as a dock hand. After college and a brief career this person returned in 1988 to help run / manage things. The owners divorced, which ultimately contributed to a decision to sell the property sometime around the early 2000’s. At that time a realtor / developer purchased the property. The Bayview Resort ceased to exist, the Kabekona Bay Village development was born. The development began with a few Model / Spec homes, which were sold. The great recession of 2008 caused the foreclosure of that corporation. Ironically the family of the former Bayview Resort re-gained ownership of this iconic property. At that time the former Lodge and cabins had already been moved or demolished. The waterfront lots with views overlooking the Bay had been sold, homes built, with corresponding ownership of the slips / harbor. A large capacity shared well and two shared septic systems were in-place to support the HOA. Three “blocks” were already defined, platted, totaling 80 buildable individual sites. Many owners in the development purchased multiple smaller plats to get a site suitable for modern homes with a separate garages. The surviving family of the Bayview Resort stays connected as you would think, doing seasonal work on the unsold plats. To be sure, with the sale of each plat, comes a flood of memories and mixed emotions. It reminds me of the situation my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin encountered during the late 1970’s and early ’80s outside Park Rapids. Their resort expanded between 1973 and 1980. By 1990 it changed hands multiple times. It was eventually purchased and demolished by a person from out-of-state, who had deep enough pockets to build a large single family home. All that remained was the large roll-in style dock. Time marches on, things change. The attraction of sun-filled days on the water is however, timeless.
What a pleasure to find your site, Ren! You may remember me as Jim “Here Comes Trouble” Wright. I certainly exposed my temperamental side during my high school days, 1965-68. I greatly enjoyed you as a teacher, even though I aggravated you at times. Fortunately, I did get a grip on that outrageous temper (almost all the time) and am known as a rather easy-going gentleman, I believe. I married rather late in life and have two daughters in college–becoming a social sciences teacher and a nurse. Despite living in California, Arizona and Oregon over the years, to serve my passion for hiking and camping, I’ve been back in Minnesota for the past 22 years because I fell in love with a beauty who had strong ties to Little Falls. And I’m enjoying a very good life. I hope all is well with you. I’ve just discovered your site and writings, I’m sorry to say, but am now looking forward to immersing myself in their richness.
Thanks Ren, Love seeing all these photos from the past. Brings back a lot of fond memories. Please send more. Thanks!