Sunday, June 23, 2013

Chippewa Lodge

Chippewa Lodge is located on the southeast corner of Leech Lake.  It is a very old resort that was owned by the Campbell family for many years.  Ray and Mildred Campbell ran the resort starting sometime in the 30's or 40's.  I'm not sure if they built it or bought it and added to it.  At any rate, the Campbell family made Chippewa Lodge one of the best resorts on Leech Lake.  Their son Bud Campbell and his wife Beverly ran the resort up through the late 80's when it was sold.  It is now run by the Anderson Resorts.

My earliest memories of Chippewa Lodge were of Bud and his mother running the show.  They have a huge harbor there and a very beautiful lodge.  Bud was a great mechanic and I remember him working on my Grandpa's boat there as well as storing it for Grandpa during the winter.  Bud and Beverly were always friendly people and always had time for us, even as children.  We stayed there a couple of times after Grandpa sold his cabin.  My Dad was good friends with Bud as was my Grandpa.

I sometime around WW II Ray sold the cabins on the north side of the harbor and it became Safe Harbor Resort.  It operated as a separate resort until sometime in the 80's when Bud bought the property back and it became a part of Chippewa Lodge again.  The picture I posted here is of the Safe Harbor resort, now a part of Chippewa Lodge.  Those cabins that were Safe Harbor Resort are still there.  They were for sale in the late 2010's but I'm not sure if they sold or not.

Bud and Beverly's obituaries are listed here.

http://brainerddispatch.com/stories/022403/obi_0224030009.html  Bud

http://brainerddispatch.com/stories/031401/obi_0314010029.shtml  Beverly

Chippewa Lodge was a great resort and I will always have good memories of it.

I would love to hear anybody's stories or see their pictures about their time at Chippewa.

I'm not sure when Bud took over for his dad.  I'm still trying to narrow down the years of the map that I'm getting this information from.  

From the late 1950's early 60's Chamber of Commerce map:

Chippewa Lodge - Modern and semi-modern houskeeping cabins.  Protected harbor, launching facilities, good boats, store.  Fun for everyone.  Write for information.  Mildred and Bud Campbell, Longville, Minn.  Tel. VE 6-2437, Walker



1 comment:

  1. My brother Pete found this video on youtube. Just amazing! I can't believe the number of fish they caught in the video. Before limits obviously! Take the time to watch, even if you never stayed at Chippewa.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atd-IatKuHY

    I would love to talk to whoever posted those on YouTube. Very cool video. Thanks.

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