Fond Minnesota memories went up in smoke when Lutsen Lodge burned
As news was breaking Tuesday morning of a devastating fire at the Lutsen Lodge on Minnesota's North Shore, the Star Tribune asked its readers to send their own memories of a place that for decades hosted tourists both near and far to one of the state's jewels. Here's a few:
"How do you sum up a place that has meant so much? I was there as a kid, then on my 10th wedding anniversary in 2009, came back two years later with my now 19-year-old daughter, made another trip a few years later with both of my daughters. Finally, the four of us visited during July of 2020 during the pandemic ... I'll never forget sitting on the beach with the fam, eating, drinking and skipping rocks with our new puppy. Does it really get any better?"
— Don Beauclaire, Minnetonka
"Our family memories go way back. My parents honeymooned there in 1952 ... Growing up, Lutsen was always a favorite stop along the North Shore. Later, in the 1980s, my husband and I developed an annual tradition of staying at Lutsen Lodge over a fall weekend when there were few people around and the waves were often wild ... We'd have dinner in the cozy lodge — in those days there was a fire in the big stone dining room fireplace and Swedish dishes on the menu."
— Gloria Gunville, Afton
"This lodge touched so many over the years so I know I'm not alone. From falling in love with the North Shore while attending [University of Minnesota-Duluth] almost 40 years ago ... It was the fanciest place for dinner after an annual canoeing trip in the [Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness]. Since then booking one of their two amazing corner room suites was always such a special treat on Labor Day! I'm sure they will rebuild something amazing but we can't replace such amazing history."
— Scott Weilage, Mankato
"My mom, Mae Contos, worked at and ran a ski bus from the Continental Ski Shop parking lot in Duluth up to Lutsen a few times a winter when I was a kid. We of course would park and get on at the little historical marker parking lot at the Ryan Road and Highway 61 ... One time when the bus was overbooked my sister and I rode up and back laying in the luggage racks above the seats."
— Lori Stroner, Minnetonka
