70 Year History

First 50 Years
It all started when Bert Pfeifer came from
Casselton, ND during the depression
years of the 30’s to work for his great
uncle Theodore Wegmann. Theodore had
homesteaded on Lake Itasca in 1893 and
established a landmark store to serve
Park visitors, neighbors and VCC, CCC
and WPA camps. Bert met a one room
school teacher,Alice Lundberg of Detroit
Lakes, who also worked for Wegmann
during the summers. They decided to
marry and Dallas Savage suggested they
purchase the 40 acres he owned on the
road to Squaw Lake. As money was
scarce in those days, Theodore Wegmann
offered to purchase the property with the
understanding Bert and Alice would
work for him to pay for it. They were able
to do so by summers’ end 1939 and now
owned the property which would become
known as Bert’s Cabins.
The property had not seen many people
as it was homesteaded in 1898 by Hank
Drews; then sold to timber companies
which logged the marketable timber
leaving a barren property with a few
young pine trees and tall spindly jack
pines. The road leading to it was an
upgraded trail having been rebuilt in the
30’s with picks and wheelbarrows.
It had two unfinished cabins, log garage,
outhouses and a tavern, The Bow and
Arrow, which was situated 1/4 mile
further down the road. The one cabin was
immediately rented (Cabin #1), the other
became the home. The tavern, which was
built from balsam logs from the property
in 1937, was moved to its present
location, closed as a tavern and became a
rental cabin (#4). Cabin #2 and #3 were
framed up and an icehouse to store ice for
refrigeration and a lumbershed were
added. A severe ice storm downed many
Alice and Bert Pfeifer, 1943
Alice, Judy, Fern and ?, “first home (#6),” 1940
Bow and Arrow Tavern, 1939
jack pines which provided lumber for the
cabins. Also a family was started and the
first daughter, Judy, was born in 1940.
This hard work was starting to bloom
into a business, Parkview Cabins in the
early years, and shortly after changed to
Bert’s Cabins as everyone always said
“just go to Bert’s”.
Then WWII came and there were few
visitors to the Park. After the War, Cabin
#2 and #3 were finished and another
building was added SW of the house. It
was for Dad’s brother, Joe, who had
returned from the War and worked in the
Park for Roy Hemmerick. The next year
it was moved to behind the house and
became Cabin #5. The driveway came
from the south along the west side of
Cabin #4 and angled up to the house and
down the cabin line to #5, #1 and #2.
A new modern home was built (Cabin #7)
in 1948 allowing for the conversion of the
first home to a cabin (Cabin #6). The
cabins had lanterns for light, woodstoves
for heat, gas stoves for cooking, iceboxes
for refrigeration, outdoor toilets and a
hand pump to pump your own water.
There was a gas generator so the house
had lights and later some of the cabins
had lights but the lights went out early as
the generator was turned off at 10 or 11
p.m. That was touristing back then!
The 1950’s brought change: a second
daughter, Pat, was born. Rural electric
(REA) came in 1950 and brought vast
improvements to the cabins, lights and
refrigeration plus a deep water well for
running water and toilets. Also added was
a laundry room and shower house for men
and women with hot and cold water! The
laundry room was furnished with a
wringer washer and rinse tubs which are
still in use to this day and now 60 years later
would probably be known as “going
green”. Eventually all the cabins were
updated with hot and cold water, showers
and electric refrigerators and now became
fullymodernhousekeepingcabins.
Bert became a fire warden in the 50’s
which allowed him to have a phone
using the forestry line, but you could
only phone when the operator was on
duty. Bell Telephone laid cable for
regular phone service in 1960.
Second home, 1948
Because the resort was not on a lake,Alice
suggested a
swimming pool
be built. The
pool was built in
1961, one of the
first in Northern
MN. Until into
the 90’s, the pool
was filled using
an old pump jack
at the hand pump
Pumpjack,
wellbythepool.
1961 – 1990’s
Vacationing at #3, prior 1950
Alice Foley guest leaving Cabin #1, 1954
Business card, 1950’s
Swimming pool, Pat, ?, Alice, June 1961
Swimming pool, August 1961
F IRST 50 Y EARS
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F IRST 50 Y EARS
CONTINUED
...
The current office/home/garage was
built in 1962 providing another cabin
for rent (Cabin #7). At this time the
driveway was rerouted to the current
road eliminating the curve by Cabin #4.
Updates and renovations continued
through the years including adding a
heater and fence to the swimming pool.
At last Bert and Alice succeeded in
carving a resort out of the wilderness.
Cabin #3, exterior, 1962
Don, Dick, Carol and Lois Sherwood, Cabin #3, 1962
Resort Brochure, 1970’s
Nancy and Tom, ?’s, swimming pool, 1972
During these years of development the
landscape was a foremost consideration
in blending the cabins into the
surroundings. The grounds were
nurtured to establish trees, especially pine,
through clearing brush, selectively cutting
and planting trees and removing dead
trees.Additional acreage was purchased in
the 40’s and 50’s for a total of 280 acres.
During these years the resort bustled with
visitors from all over and many friends
and acquaintances were made. Some of
the visitors especially enjoyed the house
cats as they had an extra digit on their
front paws known as mitten paws or
polydactyl and even one of the kittens
went as far as Louisiana. There was also
another pet that was not quite as popular
as the cats, a white rabbit, named Peter.
He had a bad habit of lifting his tail and
giving the guest a little squirt on their leg!
Business card, 1980’s
Judy with kittens, 1947
Bert and Alice Pfeifer, 1987
Peter Rabbit, Cabin #1, 1950’s
Cabin #6, 1980’s
In the beginning years,Alice continued to
teach in one room schools and then
became the one primarily responsible for
the day to day operations of the resort.
Over the years, spring and seasonal help
was hired. After the daughters moved
away full time summer helpers were
hired and they resided with the family.
Bert, in addition to the resort, did outside
work including logging and working at
Itasca State Park and the University of
Minnesota where he retired from in 1978.
Alice died in 1987 and Bert operated the
resort for two more years untilApril 1990
when their daughter, Pat, and her
husband, Dave Evenwoll, became the
new owners.
Dave and Pat, 1991
Next 20 Years
NEW GENERATION, NEW IDEAS AND NEW TECHNOLOGY
July, 1990
Dave and Pat continued similar
operations of the resort as in prior years
making necessary repairs and
modernizing. Long range planning
indicated on expansion of the resort was
necessary to keep the business viable.
The decision was to add 3 cabins up the
hillside beyond Cabin #3. There they
could be blended into the resort keeping
the landscape intact.
One of the first items was to add a large
storageshedformaterialsforthenewcabins
and to build an access road along side Cabin
#3 and #4. The work began designing,
purchasing materials and contracting
construction;andlikeprioryearsmostofthe
work was hands on. The cabins opened in
the summer of 1992 and were winterized
with additional features of screen porches,
decks,fireplacesandaqueensizedbed.
Cabin #10 site prior to building, 1991
New road construction looking
toward Cabin #3 and #4, 1991
Cabin #10 footings, 1991
Cabin #10 completed, 1992
Layout of road looking from #3 east
toward now Cabin #8 site, 1991
Cabin #10 and #9 under
construction, 1991
Cabin #9 interior construction, 1992
In 1995 Cabin #2 was moved northeast,
using two pine logs as runners and two
tractors, allowing for a road and the
building of Cabin #11. Cabin #11 was
roughed in by a contractor; Dave did the
remaining work, Pat did the interior
staining and Bert the exterior painting. It
opened summer of 1996. Bert continued to
paint cabins and did all the exterior
paintinguntilhewas89in2004.
Carpenters roughing in Cabin #11, 1995
Cabin #11 unfinished(Pat), 1995
Some of Dave’s interior
work in Cabin #11, 1996
Cabin #11, 1996
In 1997 a cabin/
house was built at
the East end of the
resort for the first
daughter, Judy
and husband Ken,
with a garage
addedayearlater.
Building
site, 1996
(Pine bark
beetle trap)
Bert painting peak! 1997
1997
N E XT 20 Y EARS
CONTINUES
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N E XT 20 Y EARS
CONTINUED
...
The next expansion was in 1999, a redo
of the office, with the addition to the
main home providing a dedicated
registration area.
Office addition, 1999
That same year the grill shed was built,
behind the laundry, using the original
logs from the homestead. They are
tamarack logs dating back to George
Washington’s era. This was the third
time they had been used as they were
part of the original garage when the
property was purchased.
Dave burying electrical to Cabin #12,
2001
Bert in front of registration
counter used from 1949 – 1962, 1954
Maggie
Cabin #12 interior
construction, 2001
Grill shed built reusing the homestead
logs, 1999
Registration table 1962 – 1999 (Table
was part of original property in 1939)
Registration table 1999 – present
In 2001, a site was chosen for Cabin #12
and construction completed by summer
2002. The interior pine and spruce vgroove paneling was made from trees
from the resort. The cabin was
completed with “Thanks for the Help”
from the neighbors as Dave had had a
heart attack thatApril.
Lumber drying for Cabin #12,
v-groove paneling, 2001
Site for Cabin #12, 2001
Cabin #12 completed, 2002
During these years other projects continued on the original
cabins, residing and enlarging some, updating all kitchens and
baths and adding decks. The infra-structure was also reworked
burying electric lines, updating sewers and adding a well.
Adding deck to Cabin #6, Dave and Foxy, 1995
Cabin #1 prior to 1997
Working on Cabin #1 addition, 1997
Cabin #3 interior renovation, 1994
Burying
electrical
to Cabin #7
and storage
shed, 1995
New siding Cabin #7, Bert, 1996
Burying sewer lines on hillside, 1998
N E XT 20 Y EARS
CONTINUES
. . .
N E XT 20 Y EARS
CONTINUED
...
Energy conservation and technology
added to the changes. All electric
furnaces have been placed on load
demand and fluorescent bulbs were
installed in 2002. Technology brought
the internet for communication and
wireless internet service was added
in 2008.
During these 20 years Itasca Park
conducted three prescribed burns across
the road from the resort. They were done
to reduce the fuel load and to open the
forest for pine regeneration. A wind
storm in 1995 and drought years led to
the pines being stressed resulting in an
attack of pine bark beetles. In
conjunction with Itasca Park, pine bark
beetle traps were placed throughout the
Park and here to reduce infestation.
The history of the resort would not be
complete without the mention of the
resort mascot dog, “Foxy Lady,” who
arrived in 1992. She was an English
Pointer full of energy and fortunate to
have the resort for her run. She was the first
to greet guests and first on cabin cleaning did great floor work! She was also a
photo hound appearing in many guest
photos over her lifetime of 16 plus years.
Lighting the perimeter burn, ?, Bert and Dave, 1996
Prescribed burn, 1996
For the resort operation, part-time help
has been relied upon as well as continuing
the tradition of hiring a live-in summer
assistant. Being a small family business
many of our employees have become a part
of our family. The resort has been both a job
andvocationfullofmemoriesforthefamily.
And although there have been many hours
of work, many more hours of enjoyment
and fun have been had by the guests.
Foxy, 1994
Foxy, “Anticipation”, 1998
Dave and Pat, 2008
The Landscape
THEN AND NOW . . .
The “landscape” kept changing over
these 70 years. At first the property was
quite barren with brush, small trees and
spindly jack pine. The trees then were so
short Bert & Alice could look out of the
south window of Cabin #6 over the tree
tops across the road into the Park. To the
east of the resort it was open enough for
Wilderness Drive 1/4 mile west of resort (note tree height and openness), Gene, 1941
Judy and friends in the ’40’s to see the
sunrise without the trees blocking and
watched the eclipse of the sun using a
smoked pane of glass.
Resort entrance (note narrow gravel
road and opening to the east), mid 1950’s
Resort entrance, December, 1999
Looking west from north side of
Cabin #7 (Note the distance you can
see to west on the horizon), Pat, 1951
Wilderness Drive, 1936
Same view ~ Bohall Trail
Wilderness Drive, 2003
Cabin #6, Pat and Elroy, 1951
Cabin #6, 2009
L ANDSCAPE
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L ANDSCAPE
CONTINUED
...
The following photos depict the
growth of some of the trees at the
resort relative to the buildings which
have remained unchanged.
A
Spruce at Cabin #7,
Judy and Bert, 1948
Spruce west of Cabin #4, 1959
Cabin #4, 1943
Cabin #4, 1997
Spruce west of
B Cabin #4, 1966
Spruce at
Cabin #7,
1964
A
Spruce west of
Cabin #4, 1990
B
Norway at
laundry,
1961
Norway at laundry, 2009
Spruce at Cabin
A
#7, 2009
Spruce west of
Cabin #4, 2009
B
B
The 1940 photo of Cabin #1 illustrates the ungroomed yard with
small Norway trees. By the mid ’50’s the yard was established
and the trees had grown. The last two photos show additional
tree growth as well as the 1st and 2nd expansion to the cabin.
These photos illustrate some notable changes at Itasca State Park.
Mississippi Headwaters . . .
1937
Norways by
Cabin #1, 1940
C
D
2004
Norways by
Cabin #1, Mid 50’s
C
D
Mississippi
River at
Headwaters . . .
1936
2009
Norways by Cabin #1, 1990
C
D
Squaw
Lake
1936
Norways by Cabin #1, 2009
C
Squaw Lake
(Ozawindib)
2009
D
L ANDSCAPE
CONTINUES
. . .
L ANDSCAPE
CONTINUED
...
Some changes have been man made while others not. Many pine
and spruce trees were planted including the grove behind the
swimming pool. One spruce tree planted in front of Cabin #7 in
1960wassoshortPatcouldjumpoveritandtodayis55plusfeettall.
Planted spruce at Cabin #7, 1960
A
In addition to the trees growing, there were several storms, two
notable ones are: In 1940 a severe ice storm broke off most of the
spindly jack pine made vulnerable from the early years of logging.
A windstorm in 1995 with winds clocked at 120MPH for 20
minutes fortunately spared the resort site but did damage to the
remaining property and local area. Downed trees from the storm
were piled 20 feet high in places, and when the resort walk trail was
put in, it took Dave and Pat a day of chain-sawing and hand labor to
cut a swath 10 feet wide by 20 feet long! Itasca Park and the
surrounding area had major storm damage and the Park was closed
for two days to allow for tree removal and clean-up. Snowplows
wereusedonHWY200toopentheroadandremovetrees.
In time the pines flourished and grew, the spruce spread out and up,
theaspenregeneratedfrombeingloggedoffandthewoodsfilledin.
1994
Planted spruce at Cabin #7, 2009
A
People
THE REASON FOR THE RESORT
Fishing, early 1940’s
Skiing, 2008
At first people came for much the same
reasons as today – for recreation and
sightseeing of the Headwaters of the
Mississippi and Itasca State Park. In the
early years popular activities included
fishing, picnicking, watching pageants
and blueberry picking. Over time
people have stayed for, besides the
obvious reasons, –
- as a get-away for peace and quiet
- to visit friends and family
- to write books and music
- to teach a class
- for anniversaries, weddings and funerals
- to tape a TV documentary
- to paint a picture
- to go to school
and some for just because . . .
Fishing, 1970
Still fishing 32 years later, 2002
Swimming, 2000
P EOPLE
CONTINUES
. . .
P EOPLE
CONTINUED
...
In the beginning people would drive in to rent a cabin without a
reservation either by chance or having heard by word of mouth.
In the 50’s and 60’s it was not uncommon for people to come as late
as 1 or 2 a.m.
looking for
a place to
stay. When
reservations
were made,
they were
first by mail
and then by
phone. Today
people still
learn of the
resort by
word of
mouth as
well as print
and internet.
In 70 years, there has been approximately 65,000 guests which
have arrived via walking, auto, motorcycle, bicycle,
snowmobile and even chauffeured in a limousine. They have
came from Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa, South America and
every state in the Union as well as Canada and Mexico.
Japanese girls with “their catch,” 1998
H.K.
Mankato, MN
1955
Mrs. R.P.L., 1952
“Walking Tourist,” 1946
Motorcyclist, 2000
As for the guests they are from all walks of life, some for a night, some for an extended
stay and some only once. Many are repeat guests, some for as long as four and five
generations. Some guests have came continuous for 50 years, others have came back
50 years later to celebrate where they honeymooned.
Rich Trittabaugh cutting his cake
celebrating 50 years of staying at
Bert’s cabins, 1998
Howard and Edith
Kittelson celebrated
their 50th Wedding
Anniversary driving
here in the same kind
of auto (a 1916 Model T)
as 50 years earlier and
staying in their
honeymoon cabin.
(Howard completely
restored the auto.) 1996
The guest names from the very early years include
Seaberg, Naramore, McNeil, Marble, Wright, Sing,
De Sain, Carsburg, Trittabaugh, Pavek, Lambrecht,
Sherwood . . . and so the guests continue on making
our resort today!
A new generation begins, 2005
Anecdotes
A history would not be complete
without some mention of the unusual
happenings over 70 years. Some guests
may recognize the stories.
~ One spring in the 40’s a women drove
her car down the wilderness drive past
middle west cabin off the road down
an old logging trail into the woods and
proceeded to get stuck. She spent the
night in the woods and at daybreak
started walking out when fortunately
she was found by Dad’s brother, Joe.
She was quite terrified and it took
some doing to get the car out.
~ Then there was this wedding party that
stayed here. All the individuals had
left to attend the ceremony except the
bride who was forgotten! Fortunately,
another guest was able to get her there
on time to save the day or was it the
marriage?
~ A few tricks were played on guests
who were either family or friends.
They included short sheeted beds,
strange noises in the cabins at night,
playing a tape of howling wolves
under the deck of the cabin and a few
angleworms in beds and ice cubes!
~ And of course there are a few dog
stories, like the time Foxy literally ran
down a toddler and another time she
took the legs out from under a woman
as she rounded a corner. And we know
of at least two occasions where Foxy
stole a steak from a guest, not to
mention all the food she stole from the
kids! She was a playful thief taking
shoes that guests left by the door or
items from a vehicle as they unloaded.
If no one pursued her, she’d just drop
the item and we’d eventually find it.
him and said they had found a wallet at
the other end of the lake and left it at
the boat landing. And yes it was his,
all intact, but wet!
~ And yes, there is a mouse story. A
guest was packing to leave and
somehow a mouse got into the car
trunk. They tried everything to get it
out and left the trunk open for quite
some time in hopes it would exit.
Finally they decided to finish packing
and get on the road. As they drove by
the office we saw the mouse jump out
of the vehicle!And yes we did call to let
them know the mouse stayed with us.
~ A honeymoon couple registered in and
he was asked if he had ever stayed
here before as the name was so
familiar. The bride was quite
inquisitive at this and the groom
replied “No”. Later when they
returned to the office to get matches it
was discovered his brother had
honeymooned here just two years
earlier unknown to either of them.
~ A guest loved fishing but dearly hated
mosquitoes, this meant his fall fishing
was done when the snowflakes were
flying and never once did he mention
being too cold to fish!
~ There was a group of women who
planned to do some quilting while
they were here. They stoked the
fireplace and got the cabin just a bit
too hot and ended up quilting in the
semi nude!
~There have been numerous
honeymoons and anniversaries spent
here and at least three marriage
proposals and one where the
swimming pool was the site of the
proposal.
~ Occasionally guests have thought we
had the swimming pool open in the
winter, and this one time they brought
their bikinis only to find the water a bit
too hard. Anyway it sure brought a lot
of attention when the bikinis were
strung out on the cabin clothes line!
~ It was a warm sunny day and a woman
was bringing a male friend from India
to the cabins as her husband had
already arrived a few days ahead of
her. On the trip here the gentleman
complained that it was quite warm in
the car. She continued to turn up the
air conditioning but it seemed he was
still very overheated. After quite some
time and discussion on being too
warm they finally realized he had
accidentally bumped the heated seat
button on in the car!
~ A guest took the excursion boat ride
from Douglas Lodge and found he
had lost his wallet overboard. Later
that day, while discussing the incident
in Douglas Lodge, a party overheard
~ One twenty below winter night, a
guest arrived for their cabin and said
their friends were just behind them in
another CAR and would be here
shortly. However, they did not arrive
until much later. Just before the resort,
they took a wrong turn onto the
snowmobile trail, which they mistook
for the resort road, and drove over a
mile until luckily it crossed the main
plowed road and from there were able
to find the resort. Fortunately they did
not meet any snowmobiles or get
stranded as who would have been
thinking to look for them on the trail.
~ A guest went fishing at Squaw Lake
(Ozawindib) and when they went to
leave their pickup would not run as the
fuel pump had quit working. Not to be
stranded, they rigged up a gas can
from the boat and put it on top of the
pickup and ran the gas line down to the
carburetor. One drove, the other held
the gas can on the roof and pumped
the primer valve all the way to the
resort! What a scene that was!
~On more than one occasion music was
made special. A young guest
composed a song for us and played it
on her violin. Other guests have
graced us with “taps” at 10 PM.
~ Many years ago, before cell phones
were common, we were quite
surprised to get our first call from a
cabin. Somehow the door mechanism
had failed and the lady was locked in
her cabin. We were able to get it
undone and luckily for her, she had
our phone number and cell phone
service.
~ Foxy was a tease and one time a
retriever got off his leash and
proceeded to chase Foxy, who ran
toward the office. This all happened
just as Bert was slowly pulling up to
the office in his car. Foxy, as she was,
managed to slip by the car but the
retriever couldn’t miss running into
the car. Luckily he was not hurt.
~ You know there is always a guest who
comes fully prepared for the week no
matter what; like the one where all
you could see through the back
windows of the auto were rolls and
rolls of toilet paper.
~ Then there is the story of the blind
leading the blind. An elderly couple
checked into a cabin with the male
driving the car but having a little
difficulty parking properly by the
cabin. The next day, his wife took over
driving and when they returned to the
resort took a left instead of a right to
their cabin. We watched in awe as she
proceeded past the storage shed, down
to the woodstove, through the trees
behind the swimming pool and garage
finally working her way to the back of
the house and across the lawn on the
south side over to the driveway. Later
we learned the husband was legally
blind and trying to tell his wife how to
get to the cabin!
~ We have had our own mishaps at the
resort. Dave went to vacuum out the
soot from the oil burner in Cabin #7.
He had the vacuum running and a
flashlight to help see into the oil
burner. He didn’t realize immediately
it was getting dark in the cabin and
when he looked around he couldn’t
see anything as the filter had came off
the vacuum and he was filling the
cabin with black soot. Now we really
had a cleanup job!
~ Another time Pat was merrily washing
clothes using the wringer washer and
rinse tubs. She didn’t realize the water
was leaking out of the rinse tubs as the
drain hose had fallen down and the
water was running on the floor. This
wouldn’t have been so bad except the
dirty sheets, which were bagged for
the linen service, had soaked up most
of the water. Now besides the regular
laundry there was a pile of dirty sheets
to be washed also!
~ Alice had asthma and frequently
would take a rest after lunch. This day
she was sucking on a Slowpoke
Sucker as she laid down. She fell
asleep and someone came to the door
and she got up and promptly took care
of the matter. It was not until after that
she realized she had placed the sucker
on her upper bodice when she fell
asleep and there it hung very neatly in
the stripes of her dress!
~ After Dave & Pat bought the resort,
Bert continued to help. Dave had
spread gravel by the office and Bert
thought he would help by packing it
down. He spent quite some time going
back and forth with his car doing a
very good job of packing. That was
until he came to a sudden stop when
he got too close to the south and
backed into the pine tree crunching
the rear of his car.
And so the stories go on . . .