Old BWCA Logging Camp Revisited

Ted Young, Gunflint Trail-The other day Julie Collman- Cook County Deputy Sheriff; John Jacobsen -Grand Marais; Ashley Jacobsen - student at Superior State College and I retraced a trip into an old logging camp on Vance Lake that Julie had visited more then twenty years before with her parents. When first visited by Julie, much of the original camp was still intact. She recalled that there were twenty-four old building on the site at the time of her first visit.

Our quest to find the old camp began with a canoe trip across the east end of Brule Lake then over the portage to Echo Lake, down Echo to near the east end where we beach our canoes. We then bushwhacked about a half mile through thick “blowdown” north to Vance Lake and then to the east end of Vance where Julie recalled the camp was located.

Upon reaching the east end of the lake, our first discovery was the remains of small log building by the shoreline with a culvert buried in the ground that we speculated might have been the camp’s water source or maybe a small boathouse. Searching the area further we found the remains of a large log structure build into a side hill. There were trees growing out of this building. This build was large enough to have been the camp’s mess hall. We also came across many cleared areas that we presume were the sites of other structure and of course we found lots of rusty tin cans. But the other buildings Julie had previously seen were gone.

One unexpected fine located on the site was a test pit or mine. The pit was located about one hundred feet north east of the remains of the large log structure. The pit was filled with water so we could not tell its depth. Around the pit were many pieces of jasper that appear to have come from the hole. We can only speculate that at sometime prospectors must have taken up residents at the camp.

It was likely that the camp was in operation sometime during the 1940-50s. During this period it would be likely that the logs were trucked out in the winter through a frozen creek-lowlands passage lying just north of the camp. This creek flows east about one and a half miles to the northeast corner of Brule Lake. From there the trucks could travel across Brule Lake over an ice road. The High hills and steep cliffs surround most of Vance Lake would make this one of the few places trucks could have readily travel to and from the camp.

A similar ice road across the Brule was used to haul the timber cut at the Davis Lake Logging Camp east of Winchell Lake. The Davis Lake camp was in operation from 1948-52. (see “North Star Timber Company and the Davis Lake Timber Sale” by Robert Lee, Iron Mountain, and MI. May 2005)

However, John Lyght, life-long Lutsen resident, former county sheriff and who trucked timber across Brule Lake for the Davis Lake Timber sale felt the Vance Lake Camp was operating in the 1920’s. The deterioration of the two remaining building in my mind would certainly indicate this. If this were the case then logs were hauled to the railhead of the Alger-Smith Logging Rail Road. The railroad had spur lines going into the Brule and another line into a logging camp on Swan Lake and possible as far as Vernon Lake just east of the Swan Lake camp. Somehow logs would have to have been hauled to one of these two railheads.

After exploring what remained of the camp we retracing our route out across Echo and Brule Lakes and home.

We can only speculate when the camp was in operation and who were the many folks that lived and worked there. Why was there a test pit or mine at the camp? And what were these prospectors looking for? Our trip only raises more questions then it answers. We would like to know more about the Vance Lake Logging Camp.

Therefore if anyone has any additional information about history of this camp we would very much like to hear from you.

Editors note- Since we were unable to find the twenty four structures Julie had previously seen on her earlier visit, I can only speculate that the Forest Service burn these structures just as they had burned the Davis Lake Logging Camp, Benny Ambrose’s cabin and other historical structures in what is now the BWCA. The explanation I have heard from Forestry officials for burning these building was that these building were in a “wilderness area” where people were not suppose to have lived. However this goes without say people have lived there for thousands of years. Other Forest Services officials have told me unoccupied building in the BWCA would be vandalized. To me burning these old building and pretending that these buildings and the people that lived and work there never existed is the ultimate form of vandalism.

Thankfully, the Forest Services policy of trying to destroy the past by burning it has been changed and they now recognize that maybe historical structures within the BWCA should be allowed to remain.

Charlie Boostrom's Caribou

Clearwater Reindeer-At Clearwater Lodge, Hallie Carter Congleton (later a teacher at the Maple Hill School) and Minnie Larson seem fascinated by Charlie Boostrom's reindeer

Editor's note: Woodland Caribou were once native to Cook County, but survive now only in geographic and business names. But reindeer made a brief comeback, too, thanks to local entrepreneur Charlie Boostrom.

In January 1928, Cook County seemed headed to a new economic venture --reindeer! N.H. Dimond and P.A. Mullen, who had a Santa Claus reindeer show in Duluth and a reindeer ranch north of Duluth, had decided to move it north of Grand Marais.

Utilizing the 3,000,000 unoccupied acres in the Arrowhead country, it was figured that 10,000 families could live on this industry alone! According the math, each reindeer required 3 acres and was worth $60.00--an asset of $60,000,000 was projected!

While this venture did not materialize, on Clearwater Lake Charlie Boostrom had already gone into the reindeer business.

Beatrice Ogren, in her book Gunflint Trailblazers, writes about his experience. Another import from Alaska was the purchase of five reindeer for $7.00 apiece. They came crated; he had to pay $57.00 apiece freight. Just like horses, they were difficult to break, but, once trained, they were kind and gentle. Later he purchased four more and a sleigh; during the holiday season, he dressed as Santa Claus and toured around the country.

One reindeer was white and he had her trained so that when he laid his hand on her head, she would shake her head vigorously from side to side until he scratched it and then she would contentedly nod her head slowly up and down. He used this trick to make people think she was saying "yes" or "no" and he worked up an act in which the animal would apparently answer questions, such as whether a child had been good or not. He amused many school children with this act; he would visit hospitals with his pet reindeer even taking her in elevators.

The reindeer had to be kept in a corral during spring and fall because these were the times the instinct to migrate asserted itself and once loose they were hard to collect. Once a reindeer roundup had to be conducted on Gunflint Lake because they were in the process of migrating. The rest of the time they stayed happily around the lodge. During the depression years, Charlie had to let them all go because he could not afford the feed and they were never seen again.

Article from Cook County Historical Society archives.

Geologist finds Evidence of Ancient Meteorite Impact what Local Stone Mason Already Knew

Ted Young, Poplar Lake-Fallout from a meteorite that struck the earth some 2 billion years ago near Sudbury, Ontario may have been found by geologists near Gunflint Lake but they certainly were not the first to make this discovery.

About thirty years ago I was working for Herb White, a stone mason who live on Road Lake and later in the house which is Loon Nest Gift Shop. While picking rock for fireplaces with Herb I can remember more then once when Herb would pick up a rock and explain to me that the small "spheres" in that rock were from a meteorite.

Well Herb may not have got it entirely right since according to geologist those spheres were actual molten ajecta thrown out into the atmosphere from the meteorite impact and then deposited back on earth many miles away including near Gunflint Lake. At least Herb was on the right track.

Gunflint Lake's Railroads- Iron Ore to Logging

If you are interested in the history of the Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railroad, which ran from Port Arthur to the Paulson Mine, go to- http://members.shaw.ca/padwrr/. The railroad extension into the Minnesota was first to reach the iron ore at the Paulson Mine north of gunflint lake. When this venture met with failure, the Pigeon River Lumber Company constructed a side spur called the Gunflint & Lake Superior Railroad from Little Gunflint Lake, 3 and ½ miles to Crab Lake in 1903. For several years this logging venture succeeded in shipping a rich harvest of timber from the Crab Lake area onto the mills in Port Arthur.

The website by Dave Battistel, Thunder Bay, Ontario traces the history of the rail road from it inception in 1872 through its demise in 1938 and then traces the disposition of the rail line's route and facilities up to 1999. The site also includes many historical and recent images of the rail line.

For additional articles on the History of the Gunflint Trail can be viewed at http://gunflinthistory.blogspot.com/

Gunflint Trail Post Office on East Pope Lake

Larry Wooding- I would like to let you know that my father, Lawrence F. (GUS) Wooding, the long time owner of the Old Post Office on the Old Gunflint Trail, will be celebrating his 90th birthday on March 2nd at his residence in Sarasota, Florida. He purchased the Old Post Office in the early 1950's from George Stapleton and was one of the earliest person on the Old Gunflint Trail.

His address for cards is:

LAWRENCE F. WOODING

2670 SIESTA DRIVE

SARASOTA, FL 34239

Thanks!

Road Lake's First Cabin and Dave Clark

The following link is from Dr. Richard Fink, longtime Hungry Jack Lake cabin owner concerning the first cabin on Road Lake- http://picasaweb.google.com/FinkFamilyAlbum/RoadLakeCabin. The cabin was built by Dave and Ann Clark. After selling the Road Lake Cabin to Dr. and Mrs. James Russell Fink, Richard's parents, the Clarks' went on to operate Rockwood and later Borderland lodges.

History of Youngs Island- Poplar Lake

Dorothy Young's Island is a fifteen acre island located near the middle of Poplar Lake on Government Lot 1, Sec 1 (lot with the cabin), and Government Lot 12 Sec 1, T64-2W; Government Lot 8, Sec 6 and Lot 3, Sec 7, T64-1W. It is one of thirty-two islands on the lake. The island's eight-tenth of an acre mainland boat landing is located along the Gunflint Trail west of Windigo Lodge at T64N, R1W, Sec. 6 Government Lots ---------------------------6& 7.

Mature white pine, white spruce and white cedar dominate the island's pre-1999-blowdown forest eco-system. Prior to this storm there were twenty-four large white pines and an uncountable number of old cedars all dating back many centuries. Unlike most of the forest surrounding Poplar Lake, the island, along with the point north of the island and Swensen's Island, were not burned in the big fire that took place in the early part of the twentieth century. This fire produced the aspen-birch forest found around Poplar Lake today. It is believed that Poplar Lake's name is derived from this forest. While the island contains many mature birch trees, there are no poplars. Along the old snowmobile trail north of the cabin, which runs eastward to a point on the island north side, several moccasin flowers can be found. Moose maple is prevalent throughout the island.

The 1999 BWCA blowdown toppled half of the two dozen white pine and many of the old cedars. Among the cedars toppled by the storm was the largest and perhaps the island's oldest cedar. This cedar was located about two hundred yards west of the cabin.
In the open areas created by the blowdown and later storm clean-up, raspberries flourish.

Documented human history on the island can be traced back thousands of years through an exciting find uncovered during the mid-1980s. Ted and Barbara Young's son Joey and a friend were playing in the garden east of the cabin when they came across what appeared to be an ancient rock tool. When the artifact was shown to the USFS's archaeologist, Gordon Peters, he identified it as a scrapping tool used by Clovis people who roamed the area some 8,000-12,000 years ago. Peters went on to explain that the tool came from the ancient rock quarry on Knife Lake.

From these early times on, other native people certainly traveled and camped on the island. While no additional artifacts from these first people have yet been found, their presence in the area is evident by the many canoe routes they opened and traveled.

The next documented evidence of anyone setting foot on the island was when the US government's first surveyors came through the area in the 1880s. The survey crew left behind a hand carved wooden survey corner post on the east end of the island. Ted Young found this dated and signed post several years ago but unfortunately it has since been lost. The wooden post was replaced by a metal corner pole in 19__.

During the late 1880s, prospector Frank Johnson built one of the first known cabins on Poplar Lake, directly across from the island and just east of the Prune Lake Portage. From this cabin Johnson and his prospecting crew traveled the area in search of minerals.

A Certificate of Title was issued for the island along with much of the land around Poplar Lake on December 20, 1917. The Marais Investment Company of Duluth purchased this title on December 27, 1919. Shortly thereafter the land was transferred to William H. Yawkey, a New York City industrialist. At Willam Yawkey's death the land was passed on to his descendants. The Yawkey family controls large mining and timber holdings throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The family also became famous for their involvement in professional baseball: family members owned the Boston Redsox and the Detroit Tigers. Ownership of these lands continued in the Yawkey family until January 20, 1931, when Paul and Jenny Stoltz, owners and builders of Rockwood Lodge, purchased the island land.

On the same day the Stoltzes received title for the island, the title was again transferred, this time to Henry & Leonora Cunnington. The Cunningtons lived in Minneapolis where Henry was a musician with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. The next year, 1932, the Cunningtons hired Paul Stoltz to build a small vertical log cabin on the island. Assisting Paul in the construction of the cabin was Poplar Lake resident Eddy Girous This cabin remains to this day. Paul and Ed have passed on.

The Cunningtons used their cabin as a summer home. The cabin was equipped, as were most of the cabins on Poplar Lake, with a wood cook stove, kerosene lights, kerosene stove, an icebox, and an outhouse. It was rumored that when guests came, rather than cook on their wood or kerosene stove, the Cunningtons would have meals catered in by boat from Rockwood Lodge.

On September 3, 1946, the island was purchased by Alma and Louis Grewe. Louis owned Grewe's Granite Works in St. Cloud. Shortly after the Grewes purchased the island, Louis died and Alma became the island's sole owner. After Louis's death Alma changed her last name to Olsen, probability by marrying someone named Olsen. But she remained sole owner of the island. During the Grewe's ownership the island was used very little. The forest crept in, engulfing the cabin, and maintenance was neglected. The old "Grewe's Island" sign remains in a shed on the island.

On Memorial Day weekend in 1952, Dorothy Young, her husband Edwin, and their three children, Ted, Tim and Nancy, came to the Gunflint Trail looking for property to purchase. The family stayed at Dell Kloek's cabin, now the Bridgemans' cabin, on the mainland. Van Johnson, a Grand Marais realtor, showed them several properties around the area. None of the properties shown by Johnson interested the family. On the second day of looking for property, Edwin ran into Darwin Noyes at Rockwood Lodge who had two islands for sale on Poplar Lake: Grewe's Island and Ode Island, now Swenson's Island. Edwin, the children, and Darwin went out by boat to view the islands. After returning to Dell's cabin the family decided that they would like to purchase Grewe's Island. Edwin informed Darwin and a deal was struck to purchase the island for $3400.

As a side note, the reason the Young family stayed in Dell's cabin was that Dell was interested in selling his cabin and had invited the Youngs to stay there in hope they would purchase it. Many years later, after the Youngs had purchased the island from the Grewes, Dell told Ted that he wanted to sell his cabin in order to purchase the island Grewe owned. Unfortunately for Dell, it was Ted's family that ended up purchasing the island the weekend they stayed at Dell's cabin. Eventually Dell bought another island next to Young's Island. In relaying his early misfortune to Ted, Dell stated that "he now was happy how it all turned out and greatly satisfied with the island he ended up purchasing."

During the winter after the island had been purchased by Edwin and Dorothy, Edwin died, leaving Dorothy with three young children, a home in the Minneapolis suburb of Morningside, a recently purchased island, and little money to pay the island's monthly mortgage. The next summer, Dorothy rented her Morningside home and took her children to the island. They stayed until the fall. Over the next several summers the family would again return to their island for the summer, moving back to the cities each fall. Dorothy had a job that enabled her to take much of the summers off.
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During this period the cabin was equipped and furnished much as it was when the Cunningtons owned it, with a cook stove, kerosene lighting, and an outhouse. Running water was whoever went to the lake to fetch it. The Young family crossed the lake to and from the island in an old wooden boat with an even older three-horse Sea-King outboard motor. More often than not, the
Dorothy with daughter Nancy in front of island's wood cook stove- mid 1950's

motor did not work and the family ended up rowing.

One family story recalled from this period was the time during a hot July day when Dorothy sent her sons, Tim and Ted, off with fifty cents to purchase a block of ice from Rockwood Lodge. The children got the ice from the resort's ice house and loaded it into their boat. But rather than return to the cabin with the ice, they spend the next several hours playing with their friends. Needless to say by the time the kids returned the fifty-pound block of ice had melted to about five pounds. And mother was not happy!

The island was a busy place during the summer. Relatives and friends were always welcome, and if they stayed overnight, Dorothy always made room for them in the small cabin. The social life of the family took place at the island, at neighbors' cabins, or at the nearby resorts of Rockwood, Northwoods and Balsam Grove (now Nor'Wester). The Youngs' boat was docked at Rockwood Lodge, and later when Ted's college roommate and friend Carl Brandt Jr. purchased Balsam Grove from his mother, the boat was moved there. As Dorothy's children reached their mid-teens they worked at resorts in the area. Ted worked first as a dock boy at Rockwood and later served as a fishing guide. Tim worked at Northwoods and at Echo Ridge, a small lodge now the Perusses' cabin, and Nancy worked as a cabin-girl at Balsam Grove.

In 1972, Tim, Ted and Nancy, whose married name was now Olmem, and their spouses purchased from Matty Mattis a lot near Windigo Lodge to use as a boat landing. The lawyer handling the transaction for the three families filed the ownership deed with the following information: Ted and Barbara Young having a 1/3 ownership interest, Nancy and Terry Olmem with 1/3 ownership interest and Timothy and Lois Young with 1/2 ownership interest.

Ted and Barbara Young, in May of 1974, moved from Chicago to the island and became year-round residents. In October of 1975 their son Joey was born. The family raised chickens, goats, duck, geese and pigs on the island. They eked out an existence by doing odd jobs, guiding and working at the resorts on the lake. One memory from this period was young Joey running down from the garden screaming and holding up his diapers with the geese biting him in the behind as he ran.

In the winter the cabin was heated by wood. While some of the firewood was cut on the island, most was hauled in by snowmobile from the mainland.

Sled dogs were brought to the island in 1975 and a dog sled touring business was started shortly thereafter. The business, first called "Young's Dog Sled Freighting Service", would become Boundary Country Trekking.

Phone service at a cost of $25 was installed on the island in 1979. An addition was added to the cabin in 1980. The addition added an another bedroom and a new kitchen.

Shortly thereafter Arrowhead Electric Coop ran electric power to the Island. In preparation Ted cut-open the right-away on the mainland and island where the line was to run. And he recalled the cold-snowy-very windy day the power-company ran the lines and brought the transformer across the lake. According to Ted, "dragging the power line from the point on the mainland across the channel went pretty smooth. But bring the transformer across was a different matter. We tied two boats together loaded the heavy transformer aboard and started across. The waves were pretty big. We were lucky to get the across without tipping the boat and loosing the transformer in the lake It was a pretty hairy experience!"

The island cabin was converted into a B&B in 1983 and ran until 1992.

In a ceremony during the summer of 1986 honoring Dorothy, and attended by many of the her
Poplar Lake neighbors, the island was formally dedicated as "Dorothy Young's Island." A
Bronze plaque affixed to a large rock in front of the island's cabin testifies to this event and her
desire that the island should someday be passed on to her grandchildren. Dorothy continued to
return to the island until her death in 1987. With her death, the island was passed to her three
children and their spouses.

Joey grew up and left the island to follow his dreams" in 1998. He had attended school in Grand Marais, catching the school bus on the Gunflint at the mainland boat landing. Rarely did he ever miss school because of ice conditions. In the winter he often was able to bike to the bus stop using the frozen snowmobile path as his bike trail.

Following the 1999 blowdown the Young family responded with an ambitious program to clear the down trees littering the island. A logger was hired, and in February of 2000 the logger and his son brought a skidder and log forwarder over the ice-covered lake. The loggers went to work clear the down trees, salvaging what they could by dragging them across the lake and piling the rest to be burned. Due to the early spring, this equipment had to be removed by mid March. Additional clearing, piling and later burning was continued throughout the summer by hand. That summer the family held a tree-planting weekend on the island and over a thousand red and white pine seedlings were planted.

Ted and Barbara moved from the island in April of 2000 to the Bed and Breakfast they were building on Little Ollie Lake. With their departure the island reverted to its original use as a summer home.

Terry and Nancy Olmem were the island's main occupants during the summers. Since Nancy was a schoolteacher in Duluth she was able to spend much of the summer there. During the summers of 2006 and 2007 the Olmem's replaced many rotting timbers beneath the cabin and rebuilt the sagging dock.
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On July__ 2007 the Young and Olmem families, in order to perpetuate the continued use and administration of the affairs of the island by their descendants, established the Dorothy Young's Island Limited Liability Corporation (LLC). Members of this new LLC are Tim Young, Nancy Olmem and Ted Young. It is the Corporation's mission to continue the Young family's heritage by passing on the island in the future to Dorothy Young's direct descendants, thereby fulfilling her wish that someday her grandchildren would inherit the island. .