In 1980, we began looking for a family cabin. We looked at one on Tulaby Lake, east of Wauban, Minn., but it wasn't big enough for our growing family. Disappointed, we were leaving when the neighbor happened to be present. He said his place was bigger. Did we want to take a look? We did, and loved it! It was a resort lodge (Balsam Beach Resort) that had been converted into a family cabin. It was out of our price range, but after a call to my brothers we bought it together.
The original lodge was built out of logs by the Modern Woodmen of America, a fraternal society, in 1929. It had a grocery store, a bar, a barber shop, six cabins, a gas pump and a bait house. We've tried to keep the rustic look by leaving the original bar and fireplace, but updates were necessary. The kitchen needed insulation. We found 1934 calendars used as insulation in the walls. The floors in the great room had been carpeted. We had the oak floors underneath restored. The porch on the lakeside literally fell off, so we had a new one built.
Not all our days at the cabin have been pleasant. In 1995, straight-line winds went through our area, uprooting and tipping 14 trees in our yard, with one just missing the cabin. We were without power for two weeks and had a lot to clean up. We learned to appreciate the neighbors' "powder room" (outhouse), and a beautiful rock garden resides where one of the big oaks fell. Also, there is a crawl space on both sides of the upstairs that the bats think is their home. We had an exterminator help us get rid of them. That lasted 10 years, and now they're back. Many stories are told about Grandma with her tennis racket at night! She'd whack them, put them in a plastic bag and let them go the next morning. The grandkids all know why a tennis racket sits by the side of the bed. The cabin has been perfect. We've grown to love it and have made many memories. We've had wedding receptions; dances; a variety of parties, from ones for teenagers (when parents were gone) to birthdays; class reunions; yearly deer hunting, July 4th and holiday gatherings; and an engagement. Our family is blessed to call this cabin ours. It is a cabin for all seasons and holds a special place in all our hearts and lives.
Susan Baumann, Wauban
