I just found this website and these pictures. They are the exact cabins I used to stay in as a very young girl. But I do remember the cabins and the lodge and the jukebox, and the big bar in the lodge! I remember sitting there with my grandfather and his friend who he called “ Frenchie”. I believe he was from the area. I also remember stories about HAP and Mary. I can’t say I actually remember them, but I certainly remember the names. There was also a couple that lived nearby that used to babysit us. Their names were Red and Ethel. Back in Paola, Kansas we would always call them on Christmas Eve to see if Santa had flown by yet!
My grandparents started going there years before, and my dad grew up going to this resort. He even spent his honeymoon with my mom there. And I was there and have a picture with a Balsam beach resort sweatshirt on when I was about 10 months old! I remember we vacationed there every summer with only running water at the kitchen sink. And used out houses! It was so much fun.! We always booked for two weeks at the end of August.
The fishing was wonderful. We would squeeze the big perch through the cracks in the dock, when we were young, and not allowed to go in the boats by ourselves. Such great memories! What has become of all the property now?
I think this is the same property but some of the details don’t exactly match. My father bought Balsam Beach Resort on Tulaby Lake in maybe 1971-72. I don’t know how long it had been vacant but when we moved in, it had many of the original fixtures such as the jukebox, “Woolworths” style luncheonette counter, long wooden bar, lighted beer signs etc. On the 2nd floor was multiple rooms which served as bedrooms and/or living quarters. There was a circular driveway with a gas station. At the shoreline was a bait house with large concrete live wells. During the summer evenings it would be filled with neighbors, drinking (beer?) and my sister would play ragtime music on the very old, rinks-dink piano left behind. Then around 9 pm, bats would flood the interior of the cabin, which had come into a state of disrepair. All the men visiting, who already knew the routine, grabbed their fishing nets and started chasing bats. My father sold the property to a family friend in the 1980s who remodeled and repaired it. I just saw it last week, and the same family friend still owns it. It looks great!!
It’s fun to see these pictures. My dad was Hap’s (Andrew Christian’s) nephew, and he and my mom bought the resort from Hap and Mary in 1956, and my dad’s parents built a cabin over by Hap and Mary’s house. I was six years old then so the lake life was a blast for me. I remember Connie Langlet very well! She and some other older kids took me snipe hunting when I was a little older, and she often talked about her summer job detassling corn in Iowa fields. I had never heard of such a thing! Joni Meyers and Connie used to jitterbug with me when we played the jukebox in the lodge. I used to catch frogs for bait for my dad, but didn’t start cleaning cabins until he died of a sudden heart attack in 1964. He was 43. I was 14 and my only other sister at home at that point was 16. Our cousin from Washington State came and helped us run the resort for a summer, and we sold it to a man from California who sold it off as individual cabins. After that we stayed in Meyers’ cabin for the summer and bought a house in Waubun in the fall. We have such fond memories of all the great people we met in those eight years!
Ren Holland, What a treasure it is to find your site and see the pictures. My family started coming to Balsam Beach Resort in 1997 when I was 3. We stayed in the cabin at the bottom of the stairs next to the dock. Later years that became the Bait House. For the most part all the years after we were in the big third cabin down. Hap and Mary were the owners and were precious people. In my High School year Bert took over. We always booked it from AUG. 20th – Aug. 30th. We had lots of other friends from other states and would reserve it for those dates. I became friends with Carol Janisch who lived across the road from the Lodge and also Joni Myers who’s parents owned the cabin that we first stayed in that had been moved from where the Bait House went in. Lots of great fishing, swimming, Skiing, jukebox, Saturday night party in Lodge, Sunday noon Fried Chicken Dinners with homemade rolls, butter brickle ice cream cones. Better then Christmas! I have a great picture of Hap and Mary and am looking for others. Thanks for the memories. Connie Langlet Johnson
Hap and Mary Peterson were my aunt and uncle. My father’s sister and Hap was also his first cousin. They had no children. When they lived in Waubun Hap was the postmaster. My sister Charlet lived with them and my Grandma Trinke from 1941 to 1943. Two other sisters worked at the resort for a summer about 1948 and 1951 or 1952. Hap and Mary retired and built a home around Lake Tulaby in the late 1950’s.
Our dad had nine children and for one week every summer we would make the 360 mile drive from Jackson, Mn to Balsam Beach resort until 1949. Our grandma Trinke died in 1950. We have lots of wonderful memories of fishing. After the resort was sold we used to go up north even after I was married in 1963.
Mary and Hap used to go to California to stay with my sister Charlet and her husband Dan (who was from Waubun) in the winter. Later they stayed with my parents in the winter.
After Hap died Mary spent winters with our parents in California. Lots of memories, Nine of ten of us are still living aged 70 to 92. Glad there are others who remember Hap and Mary.
This photo looks alot like the cabins where my parents took me fishing on Tulaby Lake when I was a child…I remember the owner at the time was named “Hap”….could this be the same place ?
Thank you,
Ron Eggleston
Phoenix AZ
Yes, you remembered Balsam Beach Resort correctly. This lodge was 16 miles east of Waubun and was once owned by the Woodman of America Insurance Co. It was purchased by Hap Peterson around 1930 and became part of Balsam Beach Resort. In the 1930s it had four housekeeping cottages with a small store and advertised Indian guides. The resort had an artesian well that was open for use by neighborhood residents. In the 1940s Mary Peterson was listed as co-operator with Hap. In the 1950s Burt Peterson was listed as a co-owner. He operated it until 1964. It is no longer open.
Dear Mr Holland,
Sorry for such a long delay but I have not checked this site back to see your response and didnt see an email notifying me….I appreciate the information. I have old 8mm movies of the cabins and dock…I think there is even video of Hap in one of the scenes. Brings back many wonderful memories….we went to Tulaby Lake fishing many times when I was 9-12 yrs old range….I remember catching mostly yellow perch and my parents caught northern and walleye. Thanks again for your response
Ron E
I just found this website and these pictures. They are the exact cabins I used to stay in as a very young girl. But I do remember the cabins and the lodge and the jukebox, and the big bar in the lodge! I remember sitting there with my grandfather and his friend who he called “ Frenchie”. I believe he was from the area. I also remember stories about HAP and Mary. I can’t say I actually remember them, but I certainly remember the names. There was also a couple that lived nearby that used to babysit us. Their names were Red and Ethel. Back in Paola, Kansas we would always call them on Christmas Eve to see if Santa had flown by yet!
My grandparents started going there years before, and my dad grew up going to this resort. He even spent his honeymoon with my mom there. And I was there and have a picture with a Balsam beach resort sweatshirt on when I was about 10 months old! I remember we vacationed there every summer with only running water at the kitchen sink. And used out houses! It was so much fun.! We always booked for two weeks at the end of August.
The fishing was wonderful. We would squeeze the big perch through the cracks in the dock, when we were young, and not allowed to go in the boats by ourselves. Such great memories! What has become of all the property now?
I think this is the same property but some of the details don’t exactly match. My father bought Balsam Beach Resort on Tulaby Lake in maybe 1971-72. I don’t know how long it had been vacant but when we moved in, it had many of the original fixtures such as the jukebox, “Woolworths” style luncheonette counter, long wooden bar, lighted beer signs etc. On the 2nd floor was multiple rooms which served as bedrooms and/or living quarters. There was a circular driveway with a gas station. At the shoreline was a bait house with large concrete live wells. During the summer evenings it would be filled with neighbors, drinking (beer?) and my sister would play ragtime music on the very old, rinks-dink piano left behind. Then around 9 pm, bats would flood the interior of the cabin, which had come into a state of disrepair. All the men visiting, who already knew the routine, grabbed their fishing nets and started chasing bats. My father sold the property to a family friend in the 1980s who remodeled and repaired it. I just saw it last week, and the same family friend still owns it. It looks great!!
It’s fun to see these pictures. My dad was Hap’s (Andrew Christian’s) nephew, and he and my mom bought the resort from Hap and Mary in 1956, and my dad’s parents built a cabin over by Hap and Mary’s house. I was six years old then so the lake life was a blast for me. I remember Connie Langlet very well! She and some other older kids took me snipe hunting when I was a little older, and she often talked about her summer job detassling corn in Iowa fields. I had never heard of such a thing! Joni Meyers and Connie used to jitterbug with me when we played the jukebox in the lodge. I used to catch frogs for bait for my dad, but didn’t start cleaning cabins until he died of a sudden heart attack in 1964. He was 43. I was 14 and my only other sister at home at that point was 16. Our cousin from Washington State came and helped us run the resort for a summer, and we sold it to a man from California who sold it off as individual cabins. After that we stayed in Meyers’ cabin for the summer and bought a house in Waubun in the fall. We have such fond memories of all the great people we met in those eight years!
Ren Holland, What a treasure it is to find your site and see the pictures. My family started coming to Balsam Beach Resort in 1997 when I was 3. We stayed in the cabin at the bottom of the stairs next to the dock. Later years that became the Bait House. For the most part all the years after we were in the big third cabin down. Hap and Mary were the owners and were precious people. In my High School year Bert took over. We always booked it from AUG. 20th – Aug. 30th. We had lots of other friends from other states and would reserve it for those dates. I became friends with Carol Janisch who lived across the road from the Lodge and also Joni Myers who’s parents owned the cabin that we first stayed in that had been moved from where the Bait House went in. Lots of great fishing, swimming, Skiing, jukebox, Saturday night party in Lodge, Sunday noon Fried Chicken Dinners with homemade rolls, butter brickle ice cream cones. Better then Christmas! I have a great picture of Hap and Mary and am looking for others. Thanks for the memories. Connie Langlet Johnson
Hap and Mary Peterson were my aunt and uncle. My father’s sister and Hap was also his first cousin. They had no children. When they lived in Waubun Hap was the postmaster. My sister Charlet lived with them and my Grandma Trinke from 1941 to 1943. Two other sisters worked at the resort for a summer about 1948 and 1951 or 1952. Hap and Mary retired and built a home around Lake Tulaby in the late 1950’s.
Our dad had nine children and for one week every summer we would make the 360 mile drive from Jackson, Mn to Balsam Beach resort until 1949. Our grandma Trinke died in 1950. We have lots of wonderful memories of fishing. After the resort was sold we used to go up north even after I was married in 1963.
Mary and Hap used to go to California to stay with my sister Charlet and her husband Dan (who was from Waubun) in the winter. Later they stayed with my parents in the winter.
After Hap died Mary spent winters with our parents in California. Lots of memories, Nine of ten of us are still living aged 70 to 92. Glad there are others who remember Hap and Mary.
This photo looks alot like the cabins where my parents took me fishing on Tulaby Lake when I was a child…I remember the owner at the time was named “Hap”….could this be the same place ?
Thank you,
Ron Eggleston
Phoenix AZ
Hi Ron,
Yes, you remembered Balsam Beach Resort correctly. This lodge was 16 miles east of Waubun and was once owned by the Woodman of America Insurance Co. It was purchased by Hap Peterson around 1930 and became part of Balsam Beach Resort. In the 1930s it had four housekeeping cottages with a small store and advertised Indian guides. The resort had an artesian well that was open for use by neighborhood residents. In the 1940s Mary Peterson was listed as co-operator with Hap. In the 1950s Burt Peterson was listed as a co-owner. He operated it until 1964. It is no longer open.
More information on Tulaby Lake can be found in my book, The Early Resorts of Minnesota.
Ren Holland
Dear Mr Holland,
Sorry for such a long delay but I have not checked this site back to see your response and didnt see an email notifying me….I appreciate the information. I have old 8mm movies of the cabins and dock…I think there is even video of Hap in one of the scenes. Brings back many wonderful memories….we went to Tulaby Lake fishing many times when I was 9-12 yrs old range….I remember catching mostly yellow perch and my parents caught northern and walleye. Thanks again for your response
Ron E