Lake Breeze Farm, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
The Barn and Milk House at Lake Breeze Farm
When I grew up, I spent my summers in Minnesota with my Grandparents on their farm and resort on Lake Melissa. There Grandpa taught me how to mow lawns, lay cement block, care for horses, wire electricity, trim trees, clean beaches, make beds, plumb, haul garbage, clean sewers, and other skills important to operating a farm and home.
Lake Breeze Farmhouse
Later in life, I wrote two of my books at Lake Melissa. And now, the state of Minnesota is recognizing the farm. Here's what Aunt Sally wrote:
Lake Breeze Farm Barn
LAKE BREEZE FARM IS BASKING IN FAME!
The Minnesota Farm Bureau and the Minnesota State Fair are planning to recognize Lake Breeze Farm as an official Minnesota Century Farm during a ceremony at the Becker County Fair in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, on the evening of Saturday, July 31st, 2004. Aletha Evans Olson will be the proud recipient of the commemorative certificate, signed by Governor Tim Pawlenty, the president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation and the president of the Minnesota State Fair. An outdoor sign signifying the Century Farm designation will also be presented. Information on all 2004 Century Farm families will be available during the 2004 Minnesota State Fair on August 26 through September 6.
Lake Breeze Farm Barn and East Field
The Minnesota Century Farm program began in 1976 and, as of the Summer of 2003, has recognized more than 7,900 Minnesota farms. Qualifications for the program are : 1) the farm must be at least 100 years old according to authentic land records; 2) the farm must have been in continuous family ownership for at least 100 years; 3) the farm must be at least 50 acres.
Lake Breeze Farm West Field and old horse-drawn implements
Thanks to the faith, ambition, ingenuity, and foresight of Charles Stone Olson, Lake Breeze Farm was purchased in 1897. After immigrating from Sweden when he was just 16 years old, Charles Olson worked at carpentry and carefully saved his earnings in order to buy the 120 acre farm as a Minnesota home for the rest of his family, who were still residing in "The Old Country." John and Wilhemina Olson's family immigrated to Becker County and set up housekeeping on the farm's rolling landscape just south of beautiful Lake Melissa. After the deaths of John and Wilhemina, Charles and Ella Lindblad Olson occupied the farm until their retirement in 1947. Harold (son of Charles and Ella) and Aletha Olson, along with their three daughters, Sue, Ellen Jane, and Sally, then took over the ownership of the farm and completed the Development of Riverside Place, a beautiful family resort on Lake Melissa.
Lake Breeze Farm Grainery
Aletha Olson and her family wish to invite you to join us next July to share in this historic event! In addition to attending the Century Farm presentation at the Becker County Fair, we are also inviting you to an Open House at Lake Breeze Farm on Sunday, August 1st, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. In late spring we will be sending you more details about this occasion. Mark your calendars and let's celebrate together! If you wish to communicate with us the following contact information is provided for your convenience.
Kindest Regards!
Shakespeare, the Lake Breeze Farm wash house and bunkhouse
RIVERSIDE PLACE RESORT
Sally Olson Tuck
My good friend, Bob Hatlestad, once said that while he was growing up in Detroit Lakes all his friends whose folks owned summer resorts were NEVER available to get together with him for fun during the summer months. Well, that’s the truth!
The planning and work started early for the Riverside Place Resort with my folks making a trip to the bank for a short term loan to buy new mattresses, put in new appliances….whatever was most needed to maintain the resort cottages. Then my dad, Harold Olson, would spend days in the field right behind the silo on our family farm, Lake Breeze Farm, scraping and repainting the dozen or so white and green wooden rowboats. Each of our family style cottages was built on a large, landscaped lakefront lot, with a dock and a wooden boat for fishing, rowing, or taking a slow motoring trip around Lake Melissa.
Meanwhile, my mother, Aletha Olson, would call up Mabel and Gladys Lindblad to come over and help her clean the winter dirt out of each of the six large cottages. Of course, each new season required an inspection of the condition of the curtains, rugs, towels, dishes, pots and pans, etc. and many new sets of café curtains were sewn to coordinate with the décor of each cottage. At that time, Mother was still using her Maytag wringer washer out in the old woodshed turned washhouse named “ Shakespeare “. Day after day the clotheslines were filled with blankets, sheets, rugs, curtains, cleaning rags, bedspreads…all being “fluffed up” for the on coming season.
The winter collection of weeds and debris on the lake beaches had to be raked and the debris hauled away. The long wooden docks had to be put back in the cold lake and the yards had to be raked and weeded and mowed, with new shrubs and flowers placed in perky spots throughout the resort setting. The location where Lake Melissa flows into the Pelican River and The Mill Pond is right in the middle of our Riverside Place Resort property. Daddy kept a spear hidden in the tall grass next to the bridge and would often take a break from his spring beach and yard cleanup (meanwhile keeping a watchful eye out for the Game Warden) and spear some unsuspecting fish swimming through the channel!
In early June the first resort customers would show up and off we would go. Because Daddy was a genius in the department of “Fun Creation”, our customers were treated to many unusual experiences. For instance, for several years our family had a beautiful St. Bernard named “Wee Willie of Riverside.” Daddy assembled a Willie Cart in which he would take small customers on cart rides with good ol’ Willie patiently pulling them around our farmyard! We also had a Model T Ford for wild rides through various woods on our property. Our grandparents’ buggy was hitched up to one of the horses for even more adventures. Lassie, our unpredictable horse, provided horseback rides and quite a few “free bucking bronco” experiences to the customers and to us owners. We could never offer such wild rides now, but those were the days before litigation mania!
My sisters, Sue, Ellen Jane and I were kept busy supporting our family business. I remember my first cottage cleaning assignment was cleaning all the bathrooms.
Subsequently, I graduated to assisting in all aspects of cottage cleaning as well as the weekly lawn mowing for the resort and farm. Sunday was the BIG cottage cleaning day when the old customers left before noon and new ones were in by 4 p.m. Believe me, many a Sunday there was panic over at Riverside Place as we hurriedly cleaned, trying to “beat the clock” before our new guests arrived. Invaluable early customer service experience was gained by all three of us kids because we were required early in life to quote rates, be a trouble shooter when the toilet stopped up, and greet and meet customers anytime day or night.
Apparently our family did a great job of dealing with customers because we had a steady
flow of repeat clients, year after year. One family, the Bertil Olsons who own the Minneapolis Floral Company, came to Riverside Place 62 of the 65 years that our doors were open for business (the first cottage was rented in 1938 and the resort was sold in the Fall of 2003.)
Despite the 24-hour on duty reality of summer resort ownership, us kids did have fun. Many an afternoon was spent swimming in Lake Melissa with friends. Early morning fishing trips were frequent in which we caught up to 100 blue gill and sunnies an hour! Horseback riding entertained us as well as lazy afternoons lounging around upstairs in the farmhouse, reading Nancy Drew mysteries. One summer I said, “Mother, I want to go to summer camp.” Mother replied, “You are at summer camp!”
One of the essential aspects of maintaining a successful summer resort business was the quality of the lakes. During the early 1950’s the water quality in Lake Sallie and Lake Melissa was deteriorating. Because community conservationists at that time took aggressive action to find ways to clean up the water, not only did it save the area resorts, but it also provided the lake property owners of TODAY with a pleasant lake experience and a hefty increase in lake property value. Thank you to those leaders who thought ahead!
Like all family owned businesses, owning a summer resort has its good and bad moments. Bob is right about not having had loads of free time to cavort with our pals. However, I, for one, believe the experience of growing up at Riverside Place was unbeatable!