Sweeney Resort, ca 1950
Steve Briggs, from Eagan, Minnesota, is a postcard collector with a special interest in Clearwater Lake in Minnesota. He has generously contributed fifty cards to the “Shared Photos” section of this website. Most are associated with early resorts, and many are over 100 years old. Click here to view these postcards, or play the video slide show below.
In 1953, Steve’s maternal grandparents, Art & Maude Hoese, bought a cabin on Clearwater Lake. They, their children, and their families would meet at the lake each summer for almost twenty years. Steve and his three brothers “couldn’t have wanted a better vacation—pure fishing!” A log book was kept detailing their vacation adventures each year, until the last entry on July 21, 1972. It read: “Stopped in Annandale to close the sale of the cabin….Moved out our clothes, food, and other things that did not go with the cabin…it was a sad day….The last chapter—Dad.”
Most resorts on Clearwater Lake have vanished. Two of the brothers and their families have been taking annual fishing trips to Clearwater Lake for the past 6 years. They have rented from the Maple Hill Resort and from private cabin owners.
My thanks to Steve for sharing his collection for all of us to enjoy.
Wonderful discovery to remind me of our annual trips to Beecher’s Resort in the 1950s.
For a week we enjoyed cabin life, taking a boat out to fish on the lake, the amenities in
the lodge like getting a fudgesicle in the lodge each afternoon, evening bingo games,
and the fun kid’s pirate games each day. Later, our family tent-camped while exploring the “lower 48” states. But Beecher’s was easy cabin life for our parents while we were kids, and we had daytime adventures. Thanks for the memories!
I am trying to recall a bar on Clear water lake back in the 70s we went to by boat on the southwest side. Thank you.