Letter from Edna Richmond (owner of CWC from 1946 - 1969) on January 10, 1994, to Connie Converse (owner of CWC from 1987 -2001)
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We bought CWC in 1946 from 2 couples who kept it 1 season. Prior to that, it was closed during the war for several years. Before that it had been a girl's summer camp. There was the lodge much the same as it is now. There were 8 small cabins, one of them was near the stone bridge. It was a cute cabin, but no one wanted to stay in it as it didn't face the lake, so we moved it up with the others on the lower level (I think it would be where #3 is now).
The REA {rural electric association} was not in when we bought. We had a light plant to furnish lighting only. Ice was cut from the lake and we had an ice house up the road back of the cabins on the hill.
There were ice boxes in the cabins and outdoor toilets by the cabins. Hand pump furnished water. Cabins had screen porches, nice wood stove furnished heat, and Marvin kept a pile of wood beside each cabin. REA came in the second year, so then we modernized the cabins and re-built them into 2 and 3 bedroom cabins with showers, water, etc. There was no siding on the ones on the hill, just tar paper.
The lower ones were finished in brown wood to match lodge. Then as time went by, Marvin built #5 #11 and #12.
#1 was the BQ building for awhile but later was made into #1. He built a BQ building off the porch in front of lodge. We lived in the lodge from 1946 to about '59 when he started building the house (where yours is now). It took 4 years to build and was so beautiful. It featured in the St. Paul paper 1 1/2 pages. Sad to say, it burnt down several years go. I guess the people were careless. The place changed hands 5 or 6 times before you bought. Guess each one thought it would be fun to run but we know differently.
It's a lot of work. I get good reports about it now. I had 12 Christmas cards from guests and local residents this year. We had built a recreation building down by the beach for ping-pong, pool, etc. It originally was in lodge, but it cluttered up the lodge, especially when we served meals. Meals were mostly for our own guests, but sometimes we accepted reservations from outside. I think this was made into a house after we left.
The fish cleaning house was on the water's edge, back of the garage. My studio, where I had the classes was at the end of the path leading into lodge.
The last time I saw it, it had been made into a workshop or something. When we built it it looked like another cabin, with window boxes out front. There also was a public bath, showers, etc. and laundry in it.
I am enclosing an article about the house. There was 1 1/2 pages in the St. Paul paper, but I don't have an extra copy of that.
After we sold, we bought 4 lots near Pequot Lakes. We built a house on the lake lot and a red barn gallery across the road.
We thought we'd have a few years of retirement, we had 20 years. I am almost 87 and still paint and go into a few shows a year.
Guess that's about all. I hope it helps.
Thanks for the beautiful picture of CWC. It made me home-sick. We surely loved that place. Hope the enclosed pictures will help you.
Keep in touch.
Love, Edna
P.S. I miss Marvin so much but keep very busy. It's almost 3 years now since he passed away."
