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.
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!