The Gift of a Legacy (Part 4)

Wrapping up a lifetime and a legacy in a single conversation isn’t easily done. For Mr. Chapin and me, ninety minutes flew by like we were old friends rehashing good memories. In this final segment, I’ve included our discussion on the importance of looking back, as well as Sam’s memories of the Warroad Pioneer and the Northwest Angle.

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The Gift of a Legacy (Part 3)

In my conversation with Sam Chapin about his parents’ written legacy and his own early memories of Warroad, Lake of the Woods and the Northwest Angle, we touched on his favorite parts of the Christmas holidays as a boy. Sam has posted a few Christmas odds and ends to the Lake of the Woods Memories and Stories Facebook page over the years and we’ll share one of those here as well.

The Gift of a Legacy (Part 2)

The Gift of a Legacy, continued from Dec. 4^th

I recently spoke with Sam Chapin about his interest in Warroad and the Lake of the Woods area and how he came to be giving this gift of memories back to this small community so far away from his Wisconsin home of more than sixty years. Here is some of his background (paraphrased in places) and a few of his earliest memories of the area. 

The Gift of a Legacy

Sam Chapin was only nine when his family left Northern Minnesota, moving to Stillwater, MN and then later Woodville, WI. On that fact alone, he seems an unlikely candidate to be passing on a legacy of memories about Warroad, Lake of the Woods and the Northwest Angle. But over the past six years, that’s what he’s been doing.

Cultivating a New Kind of Crop

Some new farmers moved to town last year. You might have noticed their first crop lit up in yellow and green along the Warroad River as you cross the Highway 11 bridge. Avis and Bill Kennel, the owners of the house with the palm trees, certainly wouldn’t label themselves farmers, but indeed they have planted a crop, and it will bear fruit. Already has, in fact.

The Little Store That Could

 

On the corner of two gravel roads, across from the northernmost post office in the lower 48, stands an unimposing general store that is open seven days a week, some 360 days a year. Somewhere else, those hours might be utterly unremarkable, but here, in an area that isn’t even a township and has only about 120 full-time residents, it’s a model of good business work ethic and a day-saver for the many customers who find what they need without having to travel to “town”.

Espe’s Keep the Live Christmas Tree Tradition Alive

Linda and Duane Espe didn’t intend to start a family tradition when they planted trees on a piece of acreage that wouldn’t grow any crops. But, seven years later when family friends began asking if they could come out and cut a Christmas tree, that’s exactly what happened.

Now, 34 years into it, a tradition that bonds not only their own but countless other families is alive and well at Espe’s Christmas Tree Farm, located east of Wannaska on the corner of County Roads 4 and 9 near Hayes Lake State Park.

Grooming The Road Less Traveled

 

The road to the Northwest Angle is a multi-faceted character in an epic, cross-genre novel that spans decades. The story has had many narrators over the years, from the original logging and dragline crews, to the hearty stick-pickers and early adventurers, to the Lake of the Woods county folks who’ve matured and maintained it, to the oft-traveling parents, school bus driver and local package carriers who, today, use the road nearly 260 days a year.

To know The Angle is to be intimately acquainted with its road. The only over-land passage in and out, it belongs to both Canada and the US. It sports a tarred toupee for a majority of its winding miles, but the final 18 are gravel, and that is where its bi-polar personality is cemented and made infamous.

Roseau’s Four Seasons Senior Center

Donut Day. Live music. Lefse making. Shopping. Dancing. Fitness and nutrition classes. Cultural day trips. Extended holiday tours.

This is just a sampling of the many different activities going on each month at Roseau’s Four Seasons Senior Center. Into its 40^th year now and after many moves throughout the decades, Four Seasons has been comfortably at home in their current building on Center Street since 1997. During that time, the shingles have worn through, but on the plus side, membership has grown from 120 to 228 (annual + lifetime), and the variety of adventures and educational opportunities available has increased exponentially.

Turns out, having things to do and people to be around is a pretty big deal, especially for Seniors.