Thank you, Longville

   It was mid-December, 1986, and I was snowmobiling with my Maple Grove neighbor and his brother in the Longville area. My neighbor’s in-laws had a cabin on Little Boy Lake and I was looking for lakeshore property in the area. We were crossing Broadwater Bay on Woman Lake, looking for a property that was listed for sale. The property was on a small point down the shore from Chippewa Lodge and had a small cabin on it. It had snowed the previous night and, as we crossed the bay, we could see the snow covered branches of the tall red pines along the shore, with the small white cabin nestled between them. As we stopped near shore, my neighbor’s brother said, “Bill, if you don’t buy this, I will!” My wife and I closed on the property the following February.

   Almost 36 years later, I think back to that time and all the years since. Chippewa Lodge is no more, nor is Woody’s Drive-in, or Ron’s Hardware, and the Musky House has moved north of town; but, importantly, the One Stop, Tabaka’s Grocery and Frosty’s still are, and Arrowhead Hardware opened to keep two hardware stores in town (there can never be too many hardware stores in cabin country). There are still about as many churches as bars, but probably a lot more real estate agencies; and I really didn’t miss the golf course because, for me, a good day for golfing was a better day for fishing. We raised 3 kids, and humored 6 grandchildren (the youngest now 14), who anxiously looked forward to the long weekends “at the cabin”; and “up at the lake” became my every-other weekend escape from a stressful job in The Cities.

   In 2005, we had the old cabin torn down and re-built a “home” that could be heated year round (so I wouldn’t have to re-square the front door every spring). In 2016, we returned to Minnesota from St. Louis, and our lake place became our legal residence (although, now aged over 70, we rent in the Cities for the coldest and snowiest winter months). 

   I’ve now come to realize that the biggest reason I can cherish these memories is because of the people who have helped us over the years. They’re mostly those who grew up in the Longville area and live here year-round – the everyday workers who keep a community alive – the store workers, plumbers, electricians, the propane truck drivers, lawn care folks, tree cutters, and now, at my age (with an all-wheel drive vehicle that is NOT 4 wheel drive), those who plow the road to our place.

   Too often us seasonal city folks, even if we eventually retire and spent much more time here, think we know what is “best” for the community (and maybe sometimes we do because we know how much better it is than the city), or because we no longer have children to care for, don’t like paying higher property taxes to support schools or other community needs. But we need to recognize the real reason we so cherish this area is because of those who have built the community, not because of those of us who just use it, so:

Thank you, Longville!

Bill Pilacinski,

Longville