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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlansI ou d3- 117- -- - ----- - - /�%. - - / - - — .'^.�-"'-- - - - -' s•lf lelsnd IFk.,�<fwigo- 1 --- - — // ' $10 ISLAND 38 PLAT /f"IJjl Ause {'ems ss`II — " t i --fir-- yy ----- irt 41 ( , c�i7 ��.,�' �d ..N .. nyd? n h n ; 1-HIND , 41-- c c'] r �.l , \� -�y�n=\Zj �a'.'-'CI\!1 r/1 I s ncxJ "LA ❑ /y — — 1➢NRWAY YAr s.11� i4 s'� L� � `• 'PAIL t.»+w+� Cj ut, rrfp Qj/ SYAW ©CAI L 'u L �• rNci I '� ��r�7-,` 7�t,•� ya U 1 ` 1 \ t' (7� ice. III I trI^" 1Ci !I T �••'�-L rc��� • � t, t ��r — j _ _ _. tILNnA•IUN On 'd.M rYLL.o� - IMFK i,EMrtssi0N td110U1 I— i �C$ <JE„'- (?,`. F. �._ _�7T_'' e� ��• N 1 W !WLPK'.OIAri. COLOR SSION CON' .. _._---___-_ MPP011MATt CONrW Lr / ..I: �Q ..i e� J � � - � ~ E j`� C; •.. � PUILUING Y 1 01 •ISI.B 5PO' P CrA'10N sEt€`tr l�l d� O � cuLrLn � LIIL 7+ i'OLI -n11 [a fl«. o..a.6.. Ie,1Ne•+eueLK.+N•R!R n�I1 iI` W ORACI CON'Ra POINT (f m e ;.n 1,� 0 t • `r ._' -L.. c. +�I m2c arim LM'POL POINT '® # 1 3 8 5 .O..d.. «..r6. I.nl vb 1 " Nd--4..... w Z. •.ten. I..Ne, .{u. lin. e.a .Lll 1 ., •.y:..M. aP bR.l w..,...d e.lw» WI ceR ..-r....,- SCHOELL St MADSON, INC. ENOINEEAR • "FIVEVORR PLANNER$ + SOIL TEB 10e50 YYArSATA U.YO.TINO YIMN3ITONK A,YN. eea.a fete) e.e-recl X— K«10G L Ii7 Q �vn I I lyw i~ I I I �I i .+m M 6ip .a `4-_�i I wnwmw�a�r•n'»n ..Y'. ".. OI VKY"iY.• .. `I Nr « �, _ N-51. lode Pork Seib: —Week of Julr 1a 1966 Vet's camp a lifelong love affair for manager Camp reopens, but volunteers needed for renovation effort By Tom Ratiloff Mark Peterson is shrouded in shadows inside the mess hall at Big Island Veterans Camp. Around 1 m are duslcovered reminders of the boyhood vacations he spent on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. In those days, the large auditorium echofYll with the sounds of life. Children's giggles and squeals, raucous laughter and shouts from Late -night potter games, and Isle relaxed, reflec- tive sighs of vacationing veterans and their families fled the room. uoo Today, the mess hall is quiet as a tomb. Its windows and doors are board- ed up to discourage trespassers. Sturdy oak tab le and benches ere pushed Ina comer and a long -abandoned wooden wheelchair sits next to a dusty ping- pong table. All are emblems of a time when the camp was a summertime haven for ftusands of vacationing Minnesota .eterato. But walk outside the mess hall at I one quickly learns that fun and fellowship have returned to Big Island Veterans Camp. Dozens of veterans and their families attended rededi ition ceremonies July 10 to celebrate the reopening of the camp, which had been closed since 1984. The facility will initially operate as a day camp for picnicking and other recreational activities. The site will pro- bably be ready for overnight tent campers in a few months. The camp's board of governors, which consists of representatives from veterans' groups, hopes that long-range improvements such as construction of picnic shelters and handicapped -accessible tabus will restore the camp to its former glory. Peterson, 35, is the new ^amp manager and caretaker. Together with a corps of volunteers, he is helping spearhead the renaisance on Big bland. Peterson's love affair with the veteran's camp dates back to 1953, when he went here as an infant with his family for a summer vacation. Although It is located only one mile north of Excelsior's municipal docks, he said the island's quiet woods, meadows and leaches harbor an at- mosphere usually found only in less - populated outstate regions. "The camp is so close, yet it seems so far away. I just love the quiet, the stars and the cool lake breezes," said Peterson, who lives on the island in a renovated cabin. "I love Ibis camp. It's like a second home to me, since I've spent most of my life out here." O O O As a child, Peterson learned about the history of the camp, which was formed in 19M as a haven for returning World War I veterans. Located on the site of the old Big Island Amusement Park, which closed in 1909, it flourished for decades es a si-mmertime getaway for veterans and ' -ir families. In 1969, Peters— . . . native of Colum- his Heights, was hired as a summer worker at Big Island and spent the next few years helping maintain the grounds and buildings. During its heyday, the camp had more than 70 cabins, a large two-story dormitory, the mess hall, ball fields, a boathouse, staff cabins and :her amenities. Each Sunday, a new group of campers would arrive at the docks to begin a week of rest atd relaxation. R—-^tional activities included soft- ball, volleyball, fishing, swimming and horseshrles. "You meet so many people here, anu they'd keep coming back year after year," Peterson recalled. "If it was the third weep of July, you'd say, "Hmmm, I suppose the Henrys and the Maxwells are coming in. So you'd go out on the end of the dock and greet them. Romance, like calories, also flourish. ed on the island, according to Peter- son's wife, Susi. They first met as children at the camp in the 195..s. In 1981 they were reunited while visiting the camp, and married a short time later. "It's a real Big Island romance," she said. "Two years later we were back with a baby and managing the camp. The thing that is so special about this place is seeing the generations that pass through here. Today my kids are enjoying the same things Mark and I did when we were Gtte." Ll LI L A wistful look flashes> rocs Mark Peterson's face when he Iwlts at the camp today. The old dormitory, holdover from the days when an amusement p,,rk :.food on the island, was recently torn down. Most of the collages and the old boathouse are gone, too. The rarings are part of an ef- fort by the board of governors to make the facility comply with modern-day health and safety codes. The camp fell into disrepair in the late 1970s after the state took over operation of the facility from the board of governors, according to Peterson. It closed in 1964 after it was was con- demned by the city of Orot ,. Stewardship of the camp was return- ed t, the board of governors in 1995, and volunteers have been working ever since to rehabilitate it. It's an awesome and expensive task, according to Peterson. Dependent sole- ly on voluntary contributions from state veterans' groups, the renovation effort needs both manpower and money, he said. Sall Publihhd w ekty By UNNEsm SUBURBAN Nn x CAPERS 71101 B,,h Wr td.. I:hea. MN S.SayS a31-1100 Lee Cr q. Genenl M <r .19 IIhn11lS t>.svlu null MICxF. 'Brm hilt( snnl'tn,u lsfl Muarvt FiLku Nr_ ..k.v ap.�• Ww+ (',nv4lxn M. f.'k U'.I41 AJ•eni•,nr N11 IkM11 a1�(arl U4mW an I.la rtlllleln Mark Peterson boards up a door les,11— Into the condemrh d mess hall at Big Island Veteran's Camp. lie hope- that the : _udb% can evennl9y be renovated and used aesln. This old men hall sill no a knoll above the main docks al Big Island Veteran's Camp on Lake Wmetooks. Built In the 19,V%li sere{ as dining and maesbon hag for Ibouwlds of veteram and tlrlr fanulies. The vdaan's camp reopened let .Ily for day camping and the rannp's board of governors hope to restore the camp to its tomher gkory. (Pbotoa by Pond Ntiddlestaedt) "If I had ^y way, 1'd like to see the aid kitchen a,d canteen renovated and brought up to code," he said. "And I'd like to see people stay'uuttgg in cabins again, too. I think it could be done, but It will take a lot of me], y, hard work and help. But it's certainly worth it." (.harks ILldbeir :(Idhfldd, saluted dur- b%a Oagt+bfug mmomy July 10 markhkg the reopening c( the Big island Veteran's Camp. He Is the sole UUM'Ing W.—ber of the gk p of Marines who relsad dw flax id Iwo Jim. L WVM Wu B. Peesao b I this lImEghtlng rtatkn fi xn m old band, buckets 'ell pbere, of a rglrardW bedflmke. tire s1.t.a1e < AragOo ly bted leaa-logbo- 1 the Big Wand vdcan's Camp to amply with r, coda•