"I really wish we could find a cabin where I could hunt grouse out the back door and fish out of the front"— the words of my husband as we searched for a cabin in the late 1970s.
He got that wish! Our haven on Roosevelt Lake in northern Minnesota became our sanctuary in 1980. It's a place where we raised our two sons, where family and friends gathered, and where memories were made. My wish was to find a cabin close enough to town to get the kids to church on Sundays. That wish came true, too.
Ice cream cones at Owls N' Things became a favorite tradition after church.
We still enjoy our times at the cabin. You can still catch the aroma of bacon sizzling on a summer morning. The old rope swing still sways in the breeze across the lake, and the old worn-out "hillevator" was replaced. Campfires still draw folks for happy hour. We still check out the stars and full moon at night off the deck, and life continues to grant us peace and tranquillity in the woods just north of Outing, Minn. Fish stories are retold and the grouse get bigger with each tale shared year after year.
Our sons are grown, with families of their own. It does my heart good to watch the grandkids enjoy cabin life. Must be in their blood.
Sadly, my husband died in our cabin on fishing's opening weekend in May 2000. He always said, "If I have to go, I hope I'm at the cabin when it happens." He got that wish, too, along with 20 years of happiness at the cabin he loved. We're grateful for the life and times we've shared on Roosevelt Lake.
Kathryn Runman-Zimney, Edina
