Appreciate your locals and businesses

   I want to acknowledge Bill Pilancinski for his letter to the editor in the July 26th issue. My letter begins very much like his, except for the year and circumstances. 

   It was mid-December 1985 when I was sitting with my parents in their home in “the cities” as they signed the closing papers on a small resort on Hand Lake. They bought the resort with five cabins and a winterized home on the property. They gave me and my adult siblings each a cabin to enjoy with our children while they moved into the home. (I think Mom was mostly interested in having her grandchildren come “to the cabin” on weekends.) And that is exactly what took place. Grandchildren and eventually, great-grandchildren, learned to swim, water ski, fish, kayak, canoe all while grandma and grandpa watched adoringly each summer weekend. 

   Mom and Dad are gone now, but their legacy continues as each of us have winterized and updated our cabins. Some of us have retired fully “up north” and some part-time. We all treasure the lake, the loons, the sunsets and all that cabin life offers. I echo Bill in recognizing and appreciating the local folks who live here year-round and have created the businesses that we need. And I agree with Bill about hardware stores in “cabin country”. We have patronized Godfrey’s more often than we can count. So thank you to all of you who have lived and continue to live here permanently. My husband and I always say to ourselves, “shop local.” 

Susan Hagen

Pine River, MN