I want to add a statement about Carlson Resort to start out. Carlson Resort is NOT one of the resorts that have come and gone. IT IS STILL UP AND RUNNING and you can still rent cabins at this picture perfect spot Up North. The link to their website is:
http://carlsonresort.com/Home.html
Without a doubt one of my favorite resorts on Leech Lake. August and Mettie Carlson started this resort in the 30's. One cabin was actually on the beach and the lodge was built back off the lake a bit. My dad told me that they took horses and moved the cabin on the beach up on top of the "hill" a four foot climb. I can't imagine that sight, but I'll bet it was interesting.
Through the years they added Cabin #2 in the back and the beach cabin was originally used as a storage space for the boats during the wintertime. It used to have a big door on the side and the boats would go in and they rented the cabin out during the summer. It was always my favorite of the Carlson cabins. It was built in the days when you could build a cabin eight feet from the water. There was always a breeze from the lake, well most of the time anyway, and sometimes a gale force wind!
My grandfather owned the cabin just to the south of the Carlson Resort and shared a harbor with the resort. We shared the beach at the resort as well. I remember many years when we used to take a 2 week(yes 2 weeks in the old days) vacation at the lake. Of course when you have a cabin to stay in for free, it is a little cheaper. We would run around from dawn to dusk and I remember the Van Wereden and Otto kids running around with us.
We loved August and Mettie, both very, very, nice folks. August started out as a fishing guide at the lake and then owned Carlson Resort from the 30's to the 70's. The Van Werden and Otto families bought the resort in the 70's and August and Mettie ran the resort until their death. The Van Werden and Otto families still run this beautiful resort to this day.
I have an especially strong bond with this resort as they bought my grandfather's cabin in the late 70's and it became a part of Carlson Resort. As we grew up, got married, had kids, and started our own lives, we continued to visit the resort and rent Grandpa's cabin after he sold it, and for a period of time we would go up for a week and rent the whole resort of 4 cabins. My children got to experience some of my childhood memories in person! While times change and Carlson Resort has changed with the times, it is still the same.
I honestly can't imagine a more picturesque setting period. The resort faces west so you can watch the sun set every night. As a kid, we rarely took the time to watch the sun set, but as I grew older, we watched the sun set from the beach fire every night we were there. We often would sit late into the night at the beach fire and discuss anything that might come up in our family group.
I could go on for ever about this resort. My fondest childhood memories are of my grandpa's cabin and Carlson's Resort. And some of my fondest memories as an adult and father are of this little slice of heaven up north near Brevik, Minnesota. My Grandpa's cabin is the tan one on the right behind the harbor in the picture below. It is so packed with memories!
If I can talk my brother Pete into being a guest blogger for me, he can tell you a lot more about the history of Brevik and the area than I can. He worked at the resort for two summers in the 70's and learned a lot of history from Mettie while he worked there.
