Category Archives: EDGE OF ITASCA stories
Early Logging around Lake Itasca
My thanks to Wayne Ostlie, who has donated the following photos related to early logging around Minnesota’s Lake Itasca. These historic photos (ca 1910) reflect the hardships early loggers faced in cutting the timber that was floated on the Mississippi … Continue reading →
And Then There Were None
Recently I had two opportunities to take pleasant steps into the past. One was by visiting my favorite sites at Itasca State Park; the other was to look for the site of an early resort near Park Rapids. The occasion … Continue reading →
Radio interview
I was recently interviewed on Your Best with Kathy Weckwerth. On Kathy’s radio show we discussed her family’s purchase of a historic resort cabin, my books, and how Minnesota’s resorts are changing from the early era of smaller resorts with rustic … Continue reading →
A Cold Welcome
It’s January; the calendar has a new year, and my birthdate is printed on the front page. At this time of the year, when the weather can be dangerously cold, I think of my mother, telling about the year she … Continue reading →
Hunting for the old Jefferson Highway
On a frigid January 6 morning, Frank Mitchell and I met with Itasca State Park Naturalists Connie Cox and Sandra Lichter at the Brower Visitor Center in Itasca State Park. (The temperature warmed to minus 20º F for our 10 … Continue reading →
Guess Who Turned Ninety
On July 21, I was at the Minnesota Fishing Museum in Little Falls to help celebrate Al Baert’s 90th birthday. Al is the museum’s founder and continues to be an important part of its operation. (He was also one of … Continue reading →
Guess Which Resort
On a hot July 18, in the basement of the cool Hubbard County Historical SocietyMuseum, I showed a few slides of unidentified local resorts as part of the museum’s noontime Brown Bag Lunch Series. We met in the recently refurbished … Continue reading →
Itasca State Park Presentation
I recently had the pleasure of presenting a program and book signing at Itasca Park’s Brower Visitor Center. Shown in the photo is Itasca’s Lead Interpretive Naturalist Connie Cox introducing me. The program with slides covered early tourism and resorts in and … Continue reading →
Presentation at Itasca State Park
On Saturday, October 6, from 7:30–8:15 P.M. I will present a short program and slide show at Itasca State Park’s Jacob Brower Visitor Center. You can learn about early history, tourism, and resorts in and near Itasca from both of my … Continue reading →
Don’t tell Henry “This isn’t a resort.”
Schuldt’s Resort was one of the many small resorts with under five units that didn’t fit the definition of “resort” used by by the Minnesota Department of Health. It operated on Little Mantrap Lake, near Park Rapids, from the late … Continue reading →