Minnesota Find Brings Back Childhood Memories

by Brenda McDaniel August 25, 2019

So I just acquired this Land of 10,000 Lakes Greeter's Guide 1928, that was published by the Hotel Greeters of America. It got me to reminiscing about our childhood trips to our grandparents. Every summer, in the late 70s we would go for a week long visit.

My maternal grandparents lived in Minnesota, between Walker and Cass Lake. Their names were Bert (Whitey) and Eva Myers. I remember the tall Pine trees, the huge mosquitoes, the sandy roads, the trip to Bemidji for a fair, buying turquoise rings or bracelets every year when we would visit Cass Lake and Walker. Visiting Itasca State Park, the location of the Headwaters of the Mississippi River.

If you grew up in this era too, maybe you can relate. They had indoor plumbing, but it could only be used for number 1. And absolutely no toilet paper could be put in the toilet. Number 2 had to be done in the outhouse. Which you certainly didn't want to have to visit in the middle of the night.

My grandpa Whitey was a leatherworker. He made small moccasin coin purses, tooled leather belts, purses, and I'm sure there were more things that I just can't remember. Every summer he would go to bible and scout camps with his leather crafts for the kids to work on stitching or tooling.

As much as we dreaded leaving our friends in the middle of the summer, we always had a great time once we arrived. I wish these kind of trips for my own grandchildren. The days before wifi and the internet. The days of innocence!