Dutch and his wife, Irma, oversaw further development throughout the several decades that included adding outdoor and indoor pool complexes, winterizing the resort and acquiring two adjacent properties. At first they did everything themselves, from painting to sewing the curtains. In the late 1990s, Dutch and Irma built the 45-hole world class golf course at Cragun’s Legacy Courses. The Craguns have no children and the Legacy Courses are a way to leave behind something of lasting value. The Audubon Signature Sanctuary Course designation of the Legacy Courses certifies high standards in wildlife-habitat management, erosion control, water testing, wetland protection and more. Today, in addition to the 61 cabins, Cragun’s offers a 185-room hotel, complete conference and meeting facilities and 4500 feet of shoreline. Since Cragun’s opened in 1940, an estimated 3 million people have been guests.
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area today are golf groups, wedding parties and guests, family reunions, those looking for eco-friendly experiences, scrapbookers, snowmobilers, people on holiday packages and more. It is not only the resorts that are passed down through the generations. It is also the vacations themselves. Families spanning generations, some for over 40 years, continue to return to the resorts where they vacationed with their family years ago, even if now they make reservations on smartphones. Multi-generational family vacations at multi-generational family resorts!
Cragun’s
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Trends & The Future
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One important advance over the years has been the extension of the resort season to accommodate both conference groups and winter vacationers. Vacationers in the lakes
photo by Joey Halvorson
Carolyn Corbett
Prior to playing with words for a living, Carolyn Corbett taught elementary school for 14 years. At 35, she resigned and sailed off into the sunset. Literally. Along the way she became a contributing writer for a number of sailing magazines. Today, as a freelance writer/editor, she has over 200 articles published in cruising, parenting and general interest magazines. Her web site is at www.carolyncorbett.com
2012 | generations in business
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