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LAKE <br />MINNETONKA <br />LANDING <br />STAIRS <br />BIG <br />ISLAND <br />N <br />S <br />EW <br />YOU AREHERE <br />CABINS <br />CABINS <br />SWIMMINGBEACH <br />CABINS <br />BOATHOUSE <br />DOCKS <br />BERGHALL DININGHALL <br />Where Campers Gathered <br />for Food and Fun <br />Standing on this spot in the 1950s you would have seen the <br />daily rhythm of activity around the mess hall. This is where <br />meals were dished up three times a day, and campers gathered <br />in the evening, making it the social center of the camp. <br />Pictured here in the 1950s, the mess hall sat on the same hill as <br />the Big Island Park water tower. Its wide open interior could seat <br />more than 100 campers. This building replaced an earlier hall, <br />which burned in 1924. This one also burned, intentionally in 2006, <br />several years after the camp closed. <br />Da <br />r <br />e <br />l <br /> <br />a <br />n <br />d <br /> <br />L <br />a <br />V <br />e <br />r <br />n <br />a <br /> <br />L <br />e <br />i <br />p <br />o <br />l <br />d <br />A young camper joins the lunch line with longtime <br />camp employee, George Mexes, in 1966. The camp was <br />originally established to serve injured former servicemen, <br />mainly from World War I. Eventually, it became a family <br />destination open to all Minnesota veterans. <br />“The food is served cafeteria style in the mess <br />hall three times a day. A big ship’s bell calls the <br />guests at mealtime. Since this is a Veterans <br />Camp, breakfast is served at the unholy hour <br />of 7:30 in the MORNING. So we always miss <br />that meal of course. . . . In the evenings after <br />swimming and supper, we sit around the lodge <br />and either play cards, sit and talk with some of <br />the interesting people staying there, or read one <br />of the hundreds of books available.” <br />Ursula Kozak , camper, September, 1965 <br />Su <br />s <br />a <br />n <br /> <br />D <br />. <br /> <br />L <br />i <br />s <br />e <br />l <br />l <br />Big Island Park <br />1906–1911 <br />Big Island Veterans Camp <br />1921–2003