Brainerd Lakes Business Traditions

S2

January 15, 2015 · January 16, 2015

brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch • pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal

Jackie Clark, left, and Alicia Elson, sisters and owners of Norway Ridge in Ideal Township since 1982, feel they are stewards of the landmark restaurant, which will open for its 67th year in April.

PHOTO BY JODIE TWEED

Sisters continue 67-year tradition at Norway Ridge Supper Club

Penny and Karl Skog, owners of Crosslake Sheetmetal.

Karl and his dad, Frederick Skog.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Family-owned Crosslake Sheetmetal has served lakes area for 40 years Traditions, loyal employees cited as reasons for longevity

BY DAN DETERMAN Echo Journal Staff Writer

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Dan Determan can be reached at dan.determan@pineandlakes. com. Follow him at facebook.com/ PEJDan and on Twitter @PEJ_ Dan.

46 Years

48 Years

Marine Sales & Service…

A Family Tradition Since 1956

SERVING THE CROSSLAKE AREA SINCE 1967

40 Years

Exclusive Jayco Dealer

www.ccboatworks.com

Downtown Crosslake Phone 218-692-2711

218-765-3291

001195242r1

DAN CHISHOLM STUCCO emilygreens@tds.net www.emilygreens.com

001193377r1

(218) 763-2169

14611 Birchwood Trail Merrifield, MN

765-4022

001192877r1

1mi. west of Emily on Co Rd 1

001193327r1

Metal Stamping • Fabrication • Weldments & Assemblies

• Mobile Service for All Makes & Models

30 Years

Shopping Us Last Since 1975

36685 County Road 66 CROSSLAKE (218) 692-3752

CLOW STAMPING COMPANY

• New & Used Units

Take your kids camping!!!

001184606r1

218-692-3570

32 Years

Sales & Service, LLC

Serving the lakes area since 1974.

• Rental Trailers Available

001193735r1

001192776r1

218-692-2777

41 Years

45 Years

Jim’s Camper Sales

Your hometown choice providing local customer service and support since 1925 PO Box 70 Crosslake, MN 56442 800-992-8220

See NORWAY RIDGE, Page S8

14 Years Your area Pharmacist since 2001

23103 County Rd. 3 Merrifield, MN Phone (218) 765-3111 Fax (218) 765-3904

HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING

Bonded & Insured

218-692-2177 1-800-692-2177

001193038r1

59 Years

feel that they have their hearts in the business and are not just here for the paycheck. They like what they are doing. ... and we do whatever we can to stay on the cutting edge.”

The Skogs currently have no plans to change anything in the foreseeable future, but are willing to expand their business if they see a demand to do so.

For now, they - along with their 19 employees - will continue installing and servicing furnaces, air conditioners and heat pumps for area homes as they have for the past four decades.

“We have been serving the area since 1974, and we greatly appreciate the customers,” Karl said.

“Without them, we wouldn’t be who we are today.”

Customers have remarked that when they step inside Norway Ridge Supper Club, they feel as if they’re having dinner at a home of co-owners and sisters Jackie Clark and Alicia Elson.

In a way, this is true.

The sisters pride themselves on creating a warm, home-like atmosphere with a hint of nostalgia in the fine dining restaurant, soon to start its 67th year. It’s a place where families return every year to celebrate milestones and couples spend their anniversaries. It’s where old friends go to meet up for dinner and drinks. They know many of their customers by name.

The restaurant, overlooking Kimble Lake in Ideal Township, is open from April through October and seats 140 guests.

Norway Ridge has a lengthy history in Ideal Township. It opened in 1948 on Kimble Lake as part of a 10-cabin resort, Norway Ridge Resort, owned by, ironically, two sisters Evelyn Thompson and Bess Newman. The resort dissolved and the cabins were sold off in the 1970s, but Norway Ridge remained in operation, changing hands every seven years by various owners until Clark and Elson became the fifth owners in 1982.

Clark and Elson had always enjoyed going out for dinner at Norway Ridge when Elson would come up north from Ham Lake to visit Clark and her family.

“We would end up here four of the seven nights I was up,” Elson recalled of her trips to Norway Ridge.

Clark called her up one day in April 1982 to tell her that their favorite restaurant was for sale, and they immediately decided to buy it,

even though neither of them had any restaurant management experience.

At the time they both sold and were managers for Tupperware. Elson and her family decided to make the move north, too.

“We loved this place, and it sounded like a great thing to do,” Clark said of purchasing Norway Ridge.

They took ownership of the restaurant on July 1, 1982, the height of the busy summer season. While it was a crazy time to learn how to run a restaurant, they learned quickly and the restaurant thrived.

One of their first changes was to make it a two-fork restaurant, said Clark. Servers worried that dishwashers couldn’t keep up with the addition of a salad fork, but it all worked out.

“We dressed things up, although a lot of the décor is original,” Clark said. “We had to get rid of deer heads that were falling apart.”

The original knotty pine furniture, pine floors and double fireplace gives the restaurant its up north feel.

The restaurant has about 30 employees, and both Clark and Elson have had their children and grandchildren working alongside them.

Norway Ridge is known for many of its original recipes, sauces and dressings that have been passed down from each owner for six decades.

“They are fresh and delicious – you can’t get them anywhere,” Clark said with a smile.

Their signature home-smoked ribs, along with roasted duck, handcut steaks and homemade sourdough appetizers, are popular house specialties. Their chef is Dewey Albrecht, a seasoned chef well-

3 Years

7 Years

35762 County Road 3 Crosslake, MN 56442 Steve Kappes

Registered Pharmacist Crosslake Town Square • 218-692-2502

13631 East Shore Road Crosslake, MN

218-692-6650

(218) 820-3800 (218) 692-4521

www.jaginteriorsolutions.net

001193367r1

was such that a house would get started in the summer or fall, but once the frost hit, there was no more digging or building,” Karl said. “Now they can punch holes and the building can go up right through the winter.”

So how have the Skogs maintained the business amidst these changes? By sticking with the beliefs and philosophies of the founder of Crosslake Sheetmetal.

“We have always had the attitude that the customer is always right,” Karl said. “We will do everything to make a customer satisfied. Our philosophy has always been that good news travels a lot faster than bad news, so we will do what it takes to make a happy customer.”

Karl said the business has been able to stay around thanks to the ability to maintain a quality staff that does good work.

“We have a tremendous crew of employees,” Karl said. “I really

Correspondent

001193447r1

90 Years

Crosslake Sheetmetal, owned by the Skogs, has spent 40 years building a loyal customer base.

BY JODIE TWEED

001186775r1

For more than four decades, Crosslake Sheetmetal has been an industrial mainstay in the area.

The company has stayed prominent for so long by keeping with traditions.

Frederick Skog founded the company in 1974. The Pequot Lakes native spent a number of years working in sheet metal along with heating, ventilation and air conditioning - in Minneapolis before bringing his family to his homeland.

“He was very talented and very driven,” said Karl Skog, Frederick’s son. “He could make anything. He was smart in electronics and in sheet metal fabrication. When it came to special fittings, there really wasn’t much he couldn’t do. He came to the area with a lot more knowledge of fabricating that material than many others had at the time.”

Frederick retired from the industry in 1990 - when Karl and his wife, Penny, assumed ownership - and he still lives in the area.

Karl has been working at Crosslake Sheetmetal since he was in junior high school. Since that time, he has seen a lot of changes, especially to the community.

“The homes are much larger on the lakes,” Karl said. “It seems the income levels and the homes being built are much, much larger than back when we started.”

Other changes have come from technology and a crew’s ability to construct a building without worrying about the seasons as much.

“In the early days, construction

Clark, Elson bought Ideal Township restaurant in 1982

001184725r1

PHOTO BY PETE MOHS

S3

January 15, 2015 · January 16, 2015

brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch • pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal

A new building housing Mattson Lumber Company’s office, show room and sales area was built in early 2005.

PHOTO BY NANCY VOGT

Mattson Lumber has been a staple in Nisswa for 29 years

Family business appreciates longtime employees, customers

BY NANCY VOGT Echo Journal Editor

When Bill Mattson landed a part-time job after graduating from high school in 1962, little did he know it would lead to a longtime career in the lumber business.

“I decided rather than ask my mother for 2 bucks to go into town, I’d swing into Nisswa Standard Lumber and get a part-time job,” said

Mattson, owner of Mattson Lumber Company in Nisswa for 29 years.

Mattson Lumber is tucked just off of Highway 371, across from Gull Lake’s Hole-in-the-Day Bay, on 10 acres. The bulk of business comes from local builders and contractors, though jobs also come from the Twin Cities and Canada.

“We cover a pretty good

range,” Mattson said.

He credits his 11 employees - including his son, Bill Jr., and daughter-in-law, Lori Mattson - for the company’s longevity.

“One of our blessings is low turnover,” he said, noting his son was 14 when he bought the lumber business and has worked there ever since. “We can’t run this business on high turnover employees.”

Mattson took over the former Gull Lake Lumber on April 1, 1986. It was a bold step to buy the business, which had existed since around 1970, he said, proudly

<HDUV

Mattson Lumber Company is just off Highway 371 south of Nisswa, across from Gull Lake’s Hole-in-the-Day Bay.

PHOTO BY NANCY VOGT

noting he never missed a contract-for-deed payment.

Mattson grew up in the area, on Lake Edward Township property his grandfather homesteaded in 1896.

He’s now the third generation to live there. He attended Nisswa Elementary School and graduated from Brainerd High School. He then studied business at Brainerd Junior College for two years and attended the University of

Minnesota School of Business for a year.

Mattson then served in the Air Force for four years, from 1966-70, and upon returning to Minnesota he worked for Standard Lumber in Mankato.

He finished his four-year degree in business at Mankato State University, and in 1972 moved back to the lakes area to work for Standard Lumber in Brainerd. After about a year, he was asked if he want-

ed to be a manager at the Standard Lumber in Ely. “I was trying to climb the corporate ladder, if you will,” he said, noting he worked for 3 1/2 years in Ely. “If I had been there a year or two more or if I wasn’t so rooted here, maybe I would have stayed.”

But he was called back home to be manager of the Standard Lumber in Nisswa in the fall of 1977.

99 Years

91 Years

88 Years

See MATTSON, Page S12

78 Years

77 Years

69 Years

Quality Sporting Goods

25451 MAIN ST. NISSWA, MN 56468

www.grandviewlodge.com

829-6507 Nisswa, MN

69 Years

64 Years

59 Years

25532 Murray Rd. Nisswa, MN 56468

25673 Main Street Nisswa, MN 56468

218-963-2234

001195142r1

Serving The Brainerd Lakes Area

001193303r1

SUBMITTED PHOTO

001193378r1

Mattson Lumber’s main office in 1993.

(218) 963-2265 www.SchaefersFoods.com Schaefer’s Corner Hwy 371, Nisswa Open Daily 7am-10pm

23521 Nokomis Ave Nisswa MN 56468

218-963-2341

001193105r1

SPORTS SHOP

Fax: (218) 963-4402 sales@nisswamarine.com www.nisswamarine.com

001194521r1

Phone: (218) 963-2292 North End of Gull Lake on CR 77

(218) 963.2568

wdraves@tds.net 25807 Main St. Nisswa

www.barharborsupperclub.com

Hwy. 371, Nisswa

800-322-3525 | info@nisswadock.com

001194373r1

www.NISSWADOCK.com

218-963-7645

218-963-0085

North end of Main Street

001195229r1

35 Years

36 Years

50 Years

51 Years

218-963-9946

33 Years

001193738r1

001193379r1

24238 Smiley Road Nisswa, MN 56468

001188367r1

Upscale Casual Dining

29 Years

The Company for Women.

19 Years

28 Years

stromgieseke@gmail.com www.youravon.com/sstrom

218-963-7470

1026 BIRCHWOOD HILLS TRAIL 963-3400

22386 State Hwy 371 S

7 Years

9 Years

13 Years

MARKETING AND ADVERTISING, INC

“Better Boards, Better Service”

001194659r1

001193734r1

Member FDIC

218.963.3901 Toll Free 877.963.3901

001184656r1

www.vikinglabel.com

001193186r1

001195147r1

218-963-7333

PO Box 1382 Lake Hubert, MN 56459

blackridgebank.com

800-247-6573

23590 Smiley Rd., Nisswa

Independent Sales Representative

001184662r1

218-963-2575 Nisswa, MN

SANDY STROM-GIESEKE

Nisswa

5 1/2 Years

“Your Lakes Area Custom Goldsmiths”

JEWELERS

Boating Season:

Gull-Love Lake Marina: 19571 Love Lake Rd, Brainerd

Snowmobiling Season:

4758 County Rd. 77, Nisswa - Right on the trail system!

& SPA 24463 Hazelwood Drive, Nisswa, MN

Store: 218-961-PETS Spa: 218-961-7389

24400 SMILEY RD #9 NOR THLAND CENTER NISSWA, MN 218-961-0095

001184757r1

23930 Smiley Rd. Nisswa, MN 218-963-7488

001195224r1

218.963.3306

001184802r1

001192852r1

25545 Main St. Nisswa, MN

001195221r1

@ Love Lake

Celebrating 20 years in May!

001191807r1

218-963-7700

BEER - LIQUOR - WINE

963-7908

5445 City Hall Street Nisswa (across from City Hall)

Boats • Jet Skis • Pontoons Snowmobiles Fish Houses

S4

January 15, 2015 · January 16, 2015

brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch • pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal

A-Pine Restaurant celebrating 50 years in business Beyers have owned restaurant for 30 years

BY JODIE TWEED Correspondent

41 Years

The A-Pine Restaurant has been a landmark at the corner of County Road 16 and Highway 371 since 1965. Rick Beyer has owned the restaurant for the past 30 years.

PHOTO BY JODIE TWEED

37 Years

Jenkins

with a smile. “We liked the area and decided to take a chance.”

On Sept. 1, 1984, they officially rented the A-Pine Restaurant and hoped to one

day own the place. Those first few years were tough, he said. They both worked long

95 Years

50 Years

47 Years

A PINE t Restauran -

800-432-3777

www.breezypointresort.com

33 Years

IdealBoardingKennels.com idealboardingkennels@yahoo.com

218-568-8353

35062 County Road 39 Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

www.ApinePlaza.com

31 Years

218-543-4215

4285 W Lake St, Pequot Lakes, MN

(218) 568-8521

www.pineandlakes.com 001184775r1

30 Years

30 Years

31067 Front Street Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

25 Years

25 Years

HARLAN V. JOHNSON AGENCY, INC.

CROW WING AUTO BODY & TOWING

TROPHY TIME TAXIDERMY & Antler Reproductions LLC

29281 State Hwy 371 Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

Tim Hidde Master Taxidermist 33488 State Hwy 371 Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

Mick Justin, CPA Judith Moravec, CPA Stephanie Murray, CPA Susan Schiessl, CPA Jane Erickson, CPA

Complete Sharpening Service

Chris Wohlers 218-562-4107

218-568-4856

21 Years

23 Years

Certified Public Accountants

Current Owner of 7 Years

www.trophytimetaxidermy.com

218-568-5242

mjustin@mjustincpa.com www.mjustincpa.com

29641 Aspen Lane, Breezy Point, MN 56472 001194289r1

19 Years

24 Years

Mathias C. Justin, Ltd.

SHARPENING

001195263r1

218-568-4343

24 Years

IDEAL

Preserving a lifetime of memories since 1990

001193739r1

001195315r1

Harlan V. Johnson, LUTCF

24 Years

Pequot Lakes, MN

www.TimRoggenkampCPA.com

19 Years

Pequot Lakes, MN

218-568-4473 Crosslake, MN

218-692-4478 Baxter, MN

Pequot Business Center | 4325 W. Woodman St. P.O. Box 90, Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

218-822-4480

18 Years

17 Years

001184761r1

29 Years

218-568-4695

www.merrittjewelers.com

001193774r1

www.probuild.com

pequotlakesphysicaltherapy.com

001193033r1

218.568.4630

OPEN AT NOON DAILY

218-568-5666

001195246r1

Make a trashy phone call today!

001195271r1

218-829-2891

001195253r1

001193743r1

218-568-4040

401 S. 8th Street, Brainerd

001184747r1

“Working for You, Not the IRS”

Brainerd Lakes Market

4326 E. Sibley Street, Pequot Lakes

218-568-4900

Owner Elaine Bilben

HWY. 371 & CR 16 Pequot Lakes

218-568-5559

218-568-8664

31113 Front St. Pequot Lakes, MN

Pet Boarding

...and our business is still picking up!

VFW NORTHERN POST 3839 Kitchen: Tues., Thurs., Fri., Sat. 5-8pm, Wed. 5-7pm

43 Years

001194293r1

9252 Breezy Point Dr. Breezy Point, MN 56472

See A-PINE, Page S11

IDEAL KENNELS

001184864r1

served as a restaurant manager at 21. He worked at the Perkins corporate office in Burnsville for seven months but felt the desire to run his own restaurant.

Beyer’s father-in-law saw an ad in a Twin Cities newspaper about a restaurant for rent in the Jenkins area, and they drove north to check it out.

“I was 24 years old, had no money and a baby, and we came up here,” Beyer recalled

001184443r1

Back in 1965, Mick and Rose Bilyard opened a seasonal drive-in restaurant, recognizable with its A-frame roof, along Highway 371 at the County Road 16 intersection in Jenkins.

While the concept of drive-in restaurants fell out of favor in the 1970s, that iconic A-frame restaurant still flourishes as the A-Pine Restaurant 50 years later.

Rick and Leah Beyer purchased the restaurant 30 years ago from its former owners, Rodney and Karen Anderson.

The Bilyard family had owned the restaurant for a few years and after Mick Bilyard passed away, his wife and children continued to operate it. The A-Pine had been closed for a number of years before it was purchased by the Andersons, who added on a seating area in 1977, Rick Beyer said.

The restaurant was purchased in 1982 by a dentist, Byron Hoffman from International Falls, and his son ran it for a year before the Beyers purchased it in 1984.

Rick Beyer’s grandfather bought a hotel and grocery store in New Ulm in 1911, a family business that his father also took over and ran until 1972. Beyer was too young to work in the family business, but he also found his interests and talents were found elsewhere. He got his first job at age 15 cooking at a Country Kitchen, a job he held for five years.

After he and his wife were married, he opened a Perkins restaurant in New Ulm and

hours at the restaurant and lived in a mobile home behind the restaurant. Soon, they not only had a son, Andy, but also a daughter, Katie.

The restaurant hours were expanded to include breakfast, open from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, except for Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Breakfast can be a busy time of day, but they also get a lot of carryout orders for dinner.

They used to do more catering, including pig roasts and dinners in the 1980s and 1990s on the former Clamshell Queen riverboat on the Whitefish Chain.

Back in the early days, traffic along Highway 371 would slow down considerably between Labor Day and Memorial Day. People would often drive their snowmobiles right down the highway during the winter, Beyer said.

The railroad tracks have long been removed and replaced by the Paul Bunyan Trail, but long ago when the trains would travel along this route, they would often stop on Sunday nights right across Highway 371 from the A-Pine. The train engineer and employees would walk over for dinner.

A PINE press -

Ex

30960 Government Drive, Pequot Lakes

218-568-5555

001193561r1

001184402r1

31089 Front St Pequot Lakes

w w w.t hi n k gi ovan n i s.com

2 1/2 Years

2 1/2 Years

2 Years

Mon Fri 6am Mon-Fri 6am-5:00pm 5 00pm Sat 7am-5:00pm Sun 7am-2pm 31039 Cty Rd 112 Pequot 218-568-5550

4484 Main St. Pequot Lakes, MN

Featuring Irish Specialties 218-568-4177 On Government Drive

001195159r1

218.568.4770

r veyi

, ng

30176 Old Hwy 371, Suite 2 Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

218-568-4940

Located next to Wild Daisy & Across from Leslie’s

218-568-5454

in the Mayson’s Grille Building

001193587r1

218-568-8288

32224 Northwoods Lane Breezy Point, MN

30849 1st St. Pequot Lakes, MN 218-568-5025

001194338r1

c.

St

Located on Main Street in the JACK PINE CENTER, Pequot Lakes MN

Su

001184917r1

001192775r1

d

001195152r1

pequotlakessupervalu.com

Health Food Store

o

nema

Open 7 Days a Week

by Appointment

Escrow & Title, Inc.

rk

218-568-5001

Seeds of Sommer

n

Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

5 Years

La

30503 State Hwy 371

Showroom

34010 2nd Avenue, Jenkins, MN 56472 218-568-5225 or 218-820-1469 anniez1@tds.net 001194281r1

5 Years

5 1/2 Years

( Don’t Drive To Us / Let Us Drive To You )

In

218-562-4140

001195154r1

218-568-8812

001194451r1

Chris & Brenda Greer

8 Years

9 Years

Design Service • Cemetery Lettering Veteran Memorials • Benches Precision Graphics • Home Appointments

Open May through November every year, Wednesdays thru Sundays – 10:00-5:00.

31099 Edgewater Farm Drive Breezy Point

www.ApinePlaza.com

30671 State Hwy 371 Pequot Lakes, MN 56472 218-568-8223 www.lonesomecottage.com info@lonesomecottage.com

218-562-4771

Seasonal Business

Owners/Contact:

001195261r1

9 Years

9 Years ANNIE’S ATTIC

4657 Engen Road, Pequot Lakes

218-568-8448

001194278r1

11 Years

HWY. 371 & CR 16 2 MILES NORTH OF PEQUOT LAKES

001195156r1

14 Years

JeffU@HeritageHouseofMN.com

001184259r1

218-692-4700

001184407r1

35280 Cty Rd 3, Crosslake

001194349r1

Pequot Lakes, MN

218-568-4673

218-568-8323

29279 State Hwy. 371 Pequot Lakes, MN 56472

30839 Old Hwy 371 Pequot Lakes (218) 568-8771 www.saloncouturemn.com

001184862r1

www.pequoteyecenter.com

S5

January 15, 2015 · January 16, 2015

brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch • pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal

The current First National Bank of Walker building was constructed in the early eighties. Today the First National Bank of Walker owns the building and carries on the tradition started by the Backus State Bank.

PHOTO BY TRAVIS GRIMLER

Backus State Bank survives complicated history Name has changed, but community bank is still strong Echo Journal Staff Writer

PHOTO BY TRAVIS GRIMLER

• New Homes • Remodeling Additions • Cabins • Commercial Buildings

15 Years

001193267r1

218-675-5373

www.bearpausetheater.com

001194459r1

PINE RIVER COMMUNITY BOWL

Hackensack

218-587-3100 OPEN YEAR ROUND Come on in and have a ball!

001191819r1

12 Years

STONE WOMAN

HERBALS

Vitamins Herbs Health Essentials

218-587-5900 209 Barclay Ave. Pine River, MN

DOWNTOWN PINE RIVER

218-587-2588

2 Blocks Off Hwy. 371, Downtown Pine River

Open Mon-Sat 9-5

Call Ah Quick ead & Ea Take O sy ut

Hwy 371 • Hackensack, MN

One Block East of the Paul Bunyan Trail

218-675-7777 ATM

6 Years

PINE RIVER

SEAMLESS GUTTERS LLC

BAKERY

“A Step Above the Rest”

215 BARCLAY AVE PINE RIVER

GUARANTEED Clog Free Gutters

218-821-1800

stonewomanherbals@gmail.com stonewomanherbals.wix.com/stonewomanherbals Facebook: Stone Woman Herbals

7 Years

Jeremy’s

Movie Hotline

21 Years

Downtown Pine River

13 Years

7 Years

On County Road 5 just 1 block East of Hwy 371, Hackensack

306 Front St S., Pine River • (218) 587-4762

001193083r1

www.BlackBearGolfComplex.com

PINE RIVER

001191793r1

License #BC601175

Cottage Cafe

PEQUOT LAKES

001193618r1

001191771r1

30699 Minnesota 371, Pequot Lakes • (218) 568-5440

www.kevinlarsonconstruction.com

001193251r1

8 Years

001194740r1

001193582r1

218-675-6164

NISSWA

001193272r1

218-587-4038

www.SchruppExcavating.com

218-587-8800

218-587-2558 1361 St 84 SW Pine River, MN

25312 Smiley Rd, Nisswa • (218) 963-2163

(218) 675-5700

001193376r1

MONDAY-FRIDAY 10-5

001192774r1

218-587-2900

Hackensack, MN 56452

Kevin Larson Construction Inc.

Hwy 371

Pine River, MN

Dairy Queen

Terry & Kim Kim’ss

001191817r1

(218) 587-3373

001191810r1

Barnum’s Auto Parts

Terry & Denny Aleckson

Roofing Specialist

113 Years

Family Owned for 54 Years

Terry and Kim Have Owned Cottage Cafe 15 Years.

Kim has worked here for 30 years.

A

Lic. # BC586859

See BACKUS BANK, Page S8

40 Years

23 Years

24 Years

DOUBLE AUTOMOTIVE 218.270.0009

218-587-9151

QUALITY BY LANE MARSHFIELD

17 Years

9 Years

10 Years

www.brainerdroofing.com

Hwy. 371, Pine River

3003 36th St. S.W., Pine River

DOWNTOWN PINE RIVER

001193749r1

DownToEarthWood.com

G GARDINER’S F FURNITURE

Gun & Pawn

Lots of quality reasons to shop locally made.

218-587-3696

Fraser–Nelson Post 613

RAYMOND SCHRUPP

218-587-4154

PINE RIVER

HACKENSACK BAKERY

AMERICAN LEGION

FOR ALL YOUR HARDWARE NEEDS

Iron Hills North

GENUINE WOOD FURNITURE REAL OPTIONS

Open year round.

GARDINER’S HARDWARE HANK

STATE CERTIFIED–BONDED–INSURED

18 Years

20 Years

3 Businesses In One Convenient Location

32 Years

309 Barclay Ave Pine River

Mon-Fri 9-5, Sat 9-Noon or by appointment

218-587-2585

Downtown Pine River

MAYTAG • CROSLEY M

38 Years

54 Years

001195335r1

Meetings held 2nd Thursday of Each Month 7:00 pm at the Birchwood Char House & Bar

218.675.9191

www.legionpost202.com Downtown Hackensack

69 Years

Gardiner’s

G GARDINER’S A APPLIANCE

001195235r1

001192779r1

40 Years HACKENSACK LIONS CLUB

“We Serve”

“Where everyone meets to have a good time” Club open Tuesday thru Sunday

001195257r1

www.pineriverstatebank.com

Zaffke. I said, ‘Look, I know you can branch now. I’d be willing to build you a branch in Hackensack, but keep my Cass Company Insurance building in the same building.

You would have the Backus State Bank in the same building.’ We got to arguing so much he said, ‘Chuck, why don’t you just buy the bank from me?’”

Nelson did just that, in

218-587-2545 New Owners John & Julie Sigafus Welcome You.

PINE RIVER MARKET SQUARE A farmers’ & crafters’ market Fridays, 2:30-5:30pm, May 29-Sept 25

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79 Years

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Pine River ....................218-587-4463 Breezy Point ................218-562-4977 Emily ...........................218-763-2666 Pillager ........................218-746-3580 Nowthen ......................763-241-5266

Gizvold, who maintained it for some time until Nelson approached him in 1978 with a proposition. This was when the state changed a law, allowing banks to open branches.

“I had started the Cass Company Insurance Agency just selling insurance,” Nelson said. “I went to Len Gizvold, the guy who bought the Backus State Bank from

Serving You Since 1902 www.fnbwalker.com

82 Years

Your Home Owned Bank with Five Locations

said, ‘Sure, go ahead and open tomorrow.’ It was one of the first banks to open,” Nelson said. “A lot of them never opened again because they were in such bad shape, but it was told to me that Backus was one of the first ones to open after the bank holiday.”

The Zaffke family owned the bank initially, and it was eventually sold to Len

001193769r1

chief executive officer of Pine River State Bank and president of Backus State Bank from 1978-90, said the bank defied the collapse and fought to continue to provide the services its community needed.

“The president of the bank at the time called up the state and said, ‘Our loans are good, so why can’t we open?’ The state banking commission

001193741r1

97 Years

This check is an example of those used by patrons of the Backus State Bank during its time on Front Street in Backus.

001191815r1

Today, a building on Front Street in Backus continues to capture the imagination of residents.

It looks like a brick building from the time of cowboys.

In 1908, it opened as a bank, and it’s easy to imagine wooden booths and wrought iron gates separating tellers from the general public.

Though Backus State Bank is no longer located there, in a way - maybe two ways - the bank lives on in the form of First National Bank of Walker and Lakes State Bank.

Backus State Bank was an average community bank, opened by members of the Zaffke family and maintained through good and bad times.

Sometimes the bank fared better through bad times than others.

In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt declared a bank holiday the day after his inauguration in an attempt to combat the Depression and the collapse of banks throughout the country.

Chuck Nelson, current

spite of a slight hiccup.

“We argued more. I finally bought the Backus State Bank. I became president and didn’t know much about it.

I’ve learned a lot. I didn’t know what I was doing,” Nelson said.

Under Nelson’s care, the bank grew. In the early 1980s, Nelson built at the current location of what is now First National Bank of Walker in Backus, on the east end of town on Highway 87. The building housed several other businesses as well.

“When I worked at Backus from ‘83 to ’90, we housed the Cass County Housing and Redevelopment Authority offices downstairs,” said Jay Cline, former Backus State

001188370r1

BY TRAVIS GRIMLER

www.prmarketsquare.wordpress.com 218-838-6058 Vendor Mtg: Apr 28. 6pm

S6

January 15, 2015 · January 16, 2015

brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch • pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal

It began May 19, 1950, when seven men joined for the first official meeting of the Crow Wing Cooperative Rural Telephone Company, which was later to become Consolidated Telecommunications Company. Today CTC services the areas of Sullivan Lake, Randall, Pillager, Outing, Nokay Lake, Nisswa, Motley, Mission, Lincoln, Leader, Freedhem, Little Falls, Brainerd and Baxter with local phone service, high speed Internet and now digital TV with all the latest features. To compliment its service offerings, CTC also offers I.T. support to local businesses in need of professional and timely service with their computers, network setups and troubleshooting.

PHOTO BY STEVE KOHLS/BRAINERD DISPATCH

CTC builds on history of communication

BY RENEE RICHARDSON

Brainerd Dispatch Senior Reporter

SUBMITTED PHOTO

St. Francis Catholic Church

Park United Methodist Church

001193069r1

142 Years

9th and Juniper

106 Years

112 Years

114 Years

113 Years

ST. JOSEPH’S MEDICAL CENTER

Brainerd Elks Lodge #615 Tara A. Hemsing

(218) 829-2861

Brainerd 829-8781 Baxter 828-5191 Aitkin 927-3794 Member FDIC

106 Years1/6/15

9:05 AM

106 Years

Aerie #287

93 Years

Phone 829-9674

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92 Years

93

The Parker Building Downtown Brainerd

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702 Industrial Park Rd, Brainerd

218-829-2344

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124 Front Street, Brainerd

817 Juniper St.

tara.hemsing@thrivent.com

98 Years

95 Years

701 South 10th Street Brainerd, MN 56401 001195298r1

84 Years

92 Years

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215 South 9th St. • (218)829-2643 BrainerdElks.org • email info@brainerdelks.org

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523 N. THIRD ST • BRAINERD, MN

Logo 1.6875x2.indd 1

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115 Years

115

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crowwingcountyfair.com

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2000 13TH STREET S.E., BRAINERD, MN 56401

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133 Years

144 Years

125 years

CROW WING

See CTC, Page S10

ANDERSON CLEANERS “Come Clean With Us”

416 South 8th Street Brainerd, MN 56401 218-829-5269 www.andersoncleaners.com

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131 Years

erative.”

The cooperative is owned by its members who vote for a board of directors. CTC serves Sullivan Lake, Randall, Pillager, Outing, Nokay Lake, Nisswa, Motley, Mission, Lincoln, Leader, Freedhem, Little Falls, Brainerd and Baxter. Services went from the telephone exchanges to private lines with rotary phones to touch tone phones.

Early beginnings and a fiber optic ring It all started when the Bell companies didn’t see the cost effectiveness of serving

001193011r1

more bandwidth than other broadband technologies and at a lower maintenance cost.

Fiber converts electrical signals to light, sending the signal on transparent glass fibers the size of a human hair.

Consolidated Telecommunications Co. now connects rural homes, cities, clinics and schools through fiber optic cable and offers much more than a phone line with digital television, digital video recorders, high-speed Internet and information technology services to meet the growing demands of both the smart home and businesses.

“We have a tremendous amount of technology at our fingertips,” said Kevin Larson, CEO at CTC. It all began in the spring of 1950.

“It was May 19, 1950, when seven men joined for the first official meeting of the Crow Wing Cooperative Rural Telephone Company, which was later to become Consolidated Telephone Company,” CTC notes on its website. “After obtaining personal loans, the seven directors started selling memberships to residents as part of the new coop-

001189335r1

133 Years

A Consolidated Telecommunications Co. crew works to set up communication cables.

001193071r1

Instead of the expected party-line conversation, a clinking sound came through the phone lines.

The sound of moving metal in the distance.

Somewhere on an 11-mile stretch a phone receiver was off the hook.

The only clue was the distant, irregular sound of clinking metal. Finding where the sound originated and where the exchange was off the hook would be a time-consuming effort. For half a day, Consolidated Telecommunications Co. (CTC) lineman Jerry Palm climbed telephone poles along the line before narrowing down the culprit - a phone off the hook in a barn. The clinking sound?

Cows in the stanchions.

Palm, now a member of CTC’s board, was one of 10 workers at the cooperative telephone company in the summer of 1968. He witnessed the incredible changes in technology from telephone wire strung on wooden poles in rural areas maintained by farmers eager to be connected to the outside world to touchtone phones to the Internet.

“Quite a change,” Palm said of the technology in play from those days to today. The world went from 10 people on a party line who could listen to each other’s conversations, to homes with a nearly unquenchable thirst for bandwidth for smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, even smart crockpots.

Now, instead of climbing poles for half a day, technicians can use computers to search for the problem, find it and even correct it all without leaving the office.

Connecting people, information, services Broadband connects people with the Internet with a high-speed transmission and may even be more recognizable to end-users as high-speed Internet. To borrow an often used visual, if broadband is the pipe linking people to the Internet, bandwidth is the size of the pipe. Bandwidth measures how much data can be sent over a specific connection in a certain amount of time.

Fiber optic cable has the ability to deliver

rural areas, so cooperatives got together to fill the void. Farmers sold memberships in the coops to finance the work to get telephone lines.

“They couldn’t get service otherwise if they hadn’t done that,” said Andy Isackson, CTC marketing manager. Isackson said what has evolved in the last 60-plus years is the installation of fiber optics so those rural areas once without phones now have voice, Internet and television with better digital service than most metropolitan areas.

Later, CTC expanded service into Brainerd and Baxter. Larson said in the early 2000s service issues in the two cities had the Brainerd School District earmarking money for technology infrastructure in the bond for Forestview Middle School in Baxter. The plan was to put a fiber optic ring around Brainerd and Baxter to connect the schools.

The plan called for 37 miles of fiber optics around the cities with an extension to Nisswa Elementary School. In February 2004, CTC was a successful bidder and by Nov. 1 it was in place and operational. With the agreement, CTC built the line and would maintain it for 25 years. The project involved six partners Essentia Health, cities of Brainerd and Baxter, the school district and CTC. “To maintain it they offered us to use half the fiber to take services to other entities around Brainerd and Baxter,” Larson said.

“And ever since 2005 we have been trying to build out from that core ring to other businesses and other residents with fiber optics.”

80 Years

SHIPMAN

829-4721

www.good-sam.com 218-829-1429

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AUTO PARTS

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1711 Southeast 13th St. Brainerd, MN 56401

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S7

January 15, 2015 · January 16, 2015

brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch • pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal

First National Bank of Deerwood Bank builds on tradition

Committed employees, consistent service lead to success

BY RENEE RICHARDSON

Brainerd Dispatch Senior Reporter

The First National Bank of Deerwood in 1910. In the last 105 years the bank has grown to include eight branches and about 75 employees in central and northern Minnesota.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

59 Years

59 Years

62 Years

60 Years

SERVICE DRUG

Prescriptions Our Specialty Most Insurance Plans Covered Free Delivery In-town

506 Laurel St., Brainerd

218 W. Washington St. Brainerd, MN 829-3664

829-0946

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58 Years

58 Years

54 Years

16603 State Hwy 371 North

BRAINERD INDUSTRIAL PARK

46 Years

45 Years

Borden, Steinbauer, Krueger & Knudson, P.A.

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42 Years

424 S. 8th St. Brainerd

218.829.5982 800.605.5982 RANGEDELIVERS.COM

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42 Years

41 Years

218-829-2619

TREK & ELECTRA BICYCLE BURTON/ROSSI SKI CENTER

4805 Ojibwa Road Brainerd, MN 56401

SALES • SERVICE • RENTAL

415 Washington St. Brainerd, MN

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302 South Sixth Street P.O. Box 411 Brainerd, MN 56401 218-829-1451 (main) 218-829-2946 (fax) www.brainerdlaw.com

40 Years

2014 S. 6th Street Brainerd, MN

SINCE 1972 001195485r1

• New! Propeller Sales •

Family Owned for 46 Years

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43 Years

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Brainerd/Baxter

44 Years BOB’S HELIARC WELDING

218-829-3307 WWW.AUTOIMPORTVW.COM

Marketing, cross-media services, design, print, fulfillment, mailing and more.

(Just North of the Pine Beach Rd)

218-829-3624

22 WASHINGTON ST. BRAINERD, MN

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829-2020

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46 Years

schroedersappliance.com 2020 South 6th Street Brainerd, MN

AUTO IMPORT, INC. 001184654r1

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1717 13th Street S.E. Brainerd, MN 56401 001184439r1

829-1976 800-950-4707

Your Area Volkswagen Dealer Since 1959

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56 Years

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7837 Excelsior Road Suite 100 Baxter, MN

56 Years

Das Auto.

24-HOUR SERVICE

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56 Years

RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL

— 1/3 MILE TRACK — 5 miles South of Brainerd on Business Hwy 371 www.racencs.net

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711 Washington Street Brainerd, MN 56401

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(218) 829-3585

R Restaurant

Since 1940 830 Brook Street • Brainerd, MN

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Brainerd, MN 56401

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309 NW 3rd Street

“Serving our members since 1940”

Sales & Service

65 Years

69 Years

70 Years

Brainerd BN Credit Union

Brainerd Campus 501 West College Drive, Brainerd (218) 855-8000 or 800-933-0346 Staples Campus 1830 Airport Road, Staples (218) 894-5100 or 800-247-6836

74 Years

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218-829-2496

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Beth & Curt Watson 509 Washington St Brainerd

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Don’t Be A Heel, Save Your Soles!

See DEERWOOD BANK, Page S9

75 Years

75 Years

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Lighting the lives of 37,000 members Since 1937

77 Years

local economies doing well,” he said.

Ohlin said the economic climate is looking positive, much better than it did five years ago.

In the last century, Ohlin said some of the biggest changes are the increased competition with more banks in the market. Technology continues to change how services are provided. Online banking.

purchases, business start-ups and expansions are what stand out, Ohlin said. Customers, he said, can pick up a phone and talk to someone who knows their name.

“It’s still a relationship business,” he said. “We still believe that relationships make a difference and having that personal relationship makes a difference.

“We’re a local business just like everyone else. We want to see the

001192863r1

78 Years

78 Years

up and is back in the business of making loans and servicing customers. We are back to being on the offense and serving the needs of the customers,” he said.

For those customers, Ohlin said a community bank offers residents and business owners a chance to know the people they are working with. The relationships that developed between banker and client through savings accounts, home

001187279r1

have been key.

The Great Recession came with its own challenges. Ohlin said Deerwood Bank’s long history, track record and capital provided strength to survive the recently lengthy economic downturn.

“It wasn’t easy,” Ohlin said. “It was a lot of hard work, but everybody has come through it a lot smarter.

“I think the industry has healed

001187490r1

For Deerwood Bank, through 105 years of changing times and changing technologies, the mainstay is the focus on people and relationships.

It all began in 1910 in the city of Deerwood, which sported a population of 590 along the Northern Pacific Railway line. Logging, lakes and a developing resort industry helped the area grow and the bank grew with it. In 1968, the bank added locations outside the immediate Deerwood area. A branch arrived in Brainerd in 1995.

Now eight locations employ about 75 people in central and northern Minnesota.

John Ohlin, president/CEO at First National Bank of Deerwood, said if there is a secret to longevity it’s in the people. Employees, he said, have a commitment to the community. He credited consistency in service as well.

In the past, banks were noted for giving out toasters to lure customers to open accounts. Technology has changed what customers are looking for in bank services. Now Deerwood Bank offers customers the convenience of depositing checks by taking photos of them with smartphones and tablets.

Being nimble and not only able to change with the times but excel is one thing Ohlin said stands out to him when he considers the bank’s history and tradition.

Looking back to 1910 and the years following, Ohlin said the small town bank survived the Great Depression and endured.

The philosophy of the bank, he said, comes with a focus on local ownership and community roots.

Ohlin said believing in the communities the bank serves, being flexible and able to react to change quickly

www.northernorthopedics.com

S8

January 15, 2015 · January 16, 2015

brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch • pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal

NORWAY RIDGE,

While Norway Ridge has seen improvements in its 67 years, the pine furniture and much of the up north décor that give the restaurant its warmth and character has remained the same.

From Page S2

known in the lakes area, who joined them last summer. Albrecht is responsible for the weekend chef specials and he comes up with their soups, all made from scratch.

The sisters added a gift shop, Kimble Kottage, and other gifts, many of which are made by Elson and Clark. Clark makes scarves and knits, and they both enjoy quilting together, often going to “quilt camps” with a group of quilters called the Close Knit Quilters. They also enjoy traveling during the winter months when Norway Ridge is closed.

Clark and Elson aren’t yet ready to retire, but when they do, it could be a challenge to find the next owners of the landmark restaurant.

“Jackie always says we are stewards of this establishment,” said Elson.

“I would hope eventually new owners would continue to maintain the flavor of Norway Ridge,” Clark said. “It really is the staple of the area to me. It is what you’d expect to find when you go up north.”

Elson and Clark said they thrive on getting to know their guests and look forward to seeing them return each summer.

“We love the people, the fast pace and the challenge of it. We love the atmosphere and charm. We are very hands on,” said Elson.

“And that’s very important,” added Clark.

“One of us is always here, and on busy nights, we’re both here.”

Norway Ridge is open Tuesdays through Sundays from April to October.

Jodie Tweed is a freelance writer living in Pequot Lakes.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

From Page S5

people. The First National Bank local branch has always been there to provide service to the locals and to help people in the area,” Cline said.

“They’ve always been a strong supporter of the economic development of the area.

They’ve always been proactive in the community and supporting anything the community wants to do. It’s always been a very good community partner.”

In addition to its community services, the faces at the bank have always been important. Locally, the late Mary Sheley, former branch manager, was almost famous locally for her personal service.

“Mary Sheley was with Backus State Bank originally (1979-2011), and then she managed the branch for many years (1993-2011). She was really well liked in the area,” Morrison said. “She was the

sweetest lady in the world. She was truly an asset to the Backus bank and the popularity of the bank there.”

“I had the pleasure of working with Mary Sheley. She was just a wonderful gal,” Cline said. “Shortly after she retired from the bank, she passed away. She was always just a sweetie.”

Over the years, through sometimes complicated means, Backus’ bank - under

any name - has survived and even thrived. Cline said First National Bank of Walker has no plans to change that.

“They look forward to serving the community in the future. It’s not going anywhere. The bank will stay right where it is and it will remain an integral part of the community for years to come,” Cline said.

39 Years

39 Years

36 Years

36 Years

FREE Deliveryy In-Town

108 S 6th St, Brainerd, MN 56401

Greg A. Anderson, LUTCF Agent

35 Years

34 Years

32 Years

32 Years

36 Years

803 Kingwood Street Brainerd, MN 56401

American Welding & Gas, Inc.

218-829-9345 www.thebrainerdcenter.com

1223 Wright St. Brainerd, MN 56401 Office: (218) 829-3391 Toll Free: (800) 432-3725

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34 Years MORE THAN DANCE!

32 Years

Here, e e, memo memories e a aree ma made. e

A Community Supporter and Locally Owned Company

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Major Alterations, Repair Work, Zipper Replacement, Some Custom Sewing, etc.

Kathy’s Custom Sewing Kathy Deuel 1717 Norwood St. SE, Brainerd, MN 56401 www.kathyscustomsewing.com

(218) 828-4558 001192857r1

28 Years

29 Years

29 Years 38 Years Part-Time

218-829-0778

16927 Riverside Drive Brainerd, MN 56401

31 Years

Scott Parsons Agency

www.gnhomecare.com

America can depend on Farmers

Baxter

608 Kingwood St. Brainerd, MN 56401

828-4488

“Serving the insurance needs of the Lakes Area”

27 Years

(218) 829-9238 or 1-888-221-5785 001191095r1

27 Years

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Contact us Today For All Your Hearing Aid Needs

1-800-458-0895 417 Laurel St.

828-3398

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30YEARS Years 25

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www.hannekeninsurance.com

31 Years

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BLUE LAKES DISPOSAL, INC

Large selection of fired ceramic bisque, plasterware, paints and supplies 215 N.E., Washington St. 829-7164

32 Years

34 Years

31 1/2 Years

Plasteramics

35 Years

Welding Supplies, Bulk & Compressed Gases

“We’re All Fired Up”

Little Falls Brainerd Pine River

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36 Years

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17068 Commercial Park Road, Brainerd, MN 56401 web: www.midmnba.org email: mmba@brainerd.net phone: 218-829-4982

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35 Years

218-829-2100

17274 State Hwy 371, Brainerd www.preferredhearingaidcenter.com prefer2hear@gmail.com 001194286r1

Lakeland Public Television Brainerd • 855-0022 Brainerd 855-0022

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2020 South 6th Street 829-1335

(Located in the Tyrol Hills Shopping Center)

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36 Years

17373 Dewes Road Brainerd

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E-mail: bkcdogs@hotmail.com

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Brainerd Kennel Club 218-838-6070 www.BKCdogs.org

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For more information call:

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36 Years

PHOTO BY TRAVIS GRIMLER

001192876r1

36 Years

The former Backus State Bank location on Front Street in Backus sits unused now, though it was the start of something that continues today.

001184853r1

ter. With the closing of the Farmer’s State Bank in Pequot Lakes, Nelson decided to move the charter and rename it, in a way splitting the former Backus State Bank in two.

“Technically, the charter now known as Lakes State Bank is the old Backus State Bank,” Cline said.

The First National Bank of Walker eventually owned both parts again.

“I took the old Backus charter, moved it to Pequot and created the Lakes State Bank in Pequot as a freestanding bank using the Backus State Bank charter,” Nelson said. “Everything that goes around comes around. The same thing happened again. It grew so fast I couldn’t afford to keep putting money into it. I sold it and shortly after that First National Bank of Walker bought it from the people I sold it to. They got the charter back that they didn’t want from the old Backus bank.

That’s the charter that now has moved to Baxter. That’s (Lakes State Bank in Baxter) a freestanding bank, but it’s owned

by First National Bank of Walker.”

In the meantime, the former Backus State Bank location, now belonging to First National Bank of Walker, continued its faithful service to its faithful patrons through good times and bad, including one 2004 robbery and the economic downturn of 2008. The bank persevered with the help of its personal customer relationships.

“It’s caring, and it’s always been there to serve the local

001184785r1

Bank computer operations manager and current First National Bank of Walker vice president. “It had Heartland Real Estate Office downstairs.

It had a CPA office downstairs.

Cass Company Insurance had an office upstairs, and then they had Backus State Bank. It also operated as the computer hub of both Pine River State Bank and Backus State Bank in those years. It was quite a Mecca of business there in that building, if you think about it.

They had a lot of stuff going on. There were a lot of people there at one time. Of course, now there is just the bank in there.”

In 1983, Nelson had purchased the Pine River State Bank, and by 1990 the two banks began to grow too big, collectively, for Nelson. One of them had to go. Nelson found a buyer in the First National Bank of Walker under former president John Elsenpeter, but the bank was only interested in part of the business.

“I think we just wanted to expand our service area to the residents of Backus and Hackensack,” said Toni Morrison, First National Bank of Walker marketing officer.

“When I sold to the First National Bank, they didn’t want the charter. They wanted to purchase it on an assetsonly basis, so I still had the charter,” Nelson said.

That’s when things begin to get complicated.

First National Bank of Walker continued operation of the bank in its current location, but left Nelson with the char-

001194282r1

BACKUS BANK,

S9

January 15, 2015 · January 16, 2015

brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch • pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal

Views from North 6th Street, Brainerd

Present day: Deerwood Bank on a chilly January afternoon in 2014.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

John Ohlin

DEERWOOD BANK,

Mobile banking. Customers may access Deerwood Bank accounts through their smartphones, tablets and text messages. Bank customers are now accustomed to checking balances online, transferring funds, even paying bills.

“You have to provide the clients with all the technological changes that are out there,” Ohlin said.

Regulatory conditions have also changed significantly in the last five years with more checks and balances.

“One of the challenges going forward is capturing the next generation and what is important to them,” Ohlin said. “We have to stay on top of what we have to provide them.

“I think the online banking and access to information - just the immediate access - to balances and information, that’s probably been the most beneficial for the consumer,” he said.

Tools continue to increase.

Bankrate.com recently reported voice recognition will eliminate the need for passwords as technology continues to revolutionize how account holders access their money. Ohlin

ECHO FILE PHOTO

Brainerd’s historic water tower was erected after World War I and was one of the first constructed with poured-in-place concrete.

ECHO FILE PHOTO

27 Years

Van’s Lunch circa 1928

1223 Oak Street | Brainerd, MN 218-829-7790 kthesing@lakesprinting.com www.lakesprinting.com

001193039r1

Taken from the historic water tower. Note “Van’s Lunch” sign on corner and the shape of the old sawmill office building moved there in 1908.

ECHO FILE PHOTO

25 Years

001186056r1

Brainerd 001193225r1

001193224r1

Brainerd 218-829-3501 Nisswa 218-963-3424 www.brainerdcpa.com

www.icefishing.org

20 Years

20 Years

26 Years

26 Years

1021 Madison Street, Brainerd, MN 56401

Custom Residential & Commercial Construction 11360 Business 371 Brainerd, MN

(218) 828-0110 www.avantech.com

822 Front Street Brainerd, MN 56401

218-829-0029

828-4188

800-782-6645 Cell 218-821-8818

www.ncjanitorialsvc.com

www.mntshirt.com

19 Years

829-8529

001192844r1

21 Years

www.crowwingcabinets.com

001193690r1

20 Years

said having all the methods to access information and accounts is important. He doesn’t see checks disappearing anytime soon, but he also has a 24-year-old son who has never written one.

What is certain is banking, like everything else, will look a bit different in the future than it does today. There may not be toasters or cutlery to attract bank customers, but people skills will still stand out no matter the latest incentive or mobile way to get there.

“We’re really proud of our heritage and what we do to assist the community and the people that live in it,” Ohlin said. “And we are looking forward to the next 105 years.”

Renee Richardson, Brainerd Dispatch senior reporter, may be reached at 218-8555852 or renee.richardson@brainerddispatch. com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter. com/Dispatchbizbuzz.

22 Years

23 Years

North Country Janitorial & Supply

~John Ohlin

001188710r1

25 Years

“You have to provide the clients with all the technological changes that are out there.”

001184769r1

Brainerd’s historic water tower as seen from North 6th Street.

25 Years

From Page S7

Residential & Commercial New Construction & Remodels

17753 State Highway 371 Brainerd, MN 56401 (218) 828-0620

218-829-4112

19 Years

19 Years

001184740r1

“33 Years Experience” “We Sell Fun” www.lakesareayoga.org 218-829-7029

402 James St., Brainerd, MN

218-829-4243

www.brainerdsports.net

www.lakecountrydentalmn.com

18 Years

18 1/2 Years

001193235r1

001192777r1

001194378r1

218-828-4728 800-450-7669

16 Years

18 Years

218-764-3554 License #BC20238723

001187486r1

218-829-3241 berries@BramblingRows.com www.bramblingrows.com

Quality New Construction & Remodeling

13377 State Hwy. 25 Brainerd, MN 56401

001187735r1

Rolf Moen, D.D.S. Jeff Mattson, D.D.S.

001193716r1

7664 Roscoe Rd Brainerd, MN. 56401

www.northcountryfloralmn.com Thanks for your business in 2014

15 Years

15 Years

LANDSCAPE SPECIALISTS Licensed & Insured

13 Years

14 Years

14 Years

10 Years

10 Years

Today’s Wish Tomorrow’s Reality

Hwy 371 North Brainerd

218-820-9842

001194593r1

001187042r1

Gordy Winzenburg 500 Tamarac Street, Suite 101 Brainerd, MN 56401-4051 (218) 820-3061 gordy@cmgfinance.com www.CMGfinance.com

001194274r1

001193097r1

218-828-6424 www.lakecountryjournal.com

15229 Edgewood Drive #130 Baxter, MN 56425 phone: (218) 829-1524 email: cpa@jbamn.com www.jbamn.com

001193067r1

1022 Madison Street Brainerd, MN 56401

001193197r1

(formerly C. Paulson & Associates, P.A.)

8 Years

001191094r1

5 Years

7 Years

ESTATE SALES

607 Washington St. Brainerd, MN 56401 Hours: M - F | 7:00 am - 5:00 pm

218.824.9675

218-270-8020 www.legacychorale.org

3 Years

hair-n-beyond@hotmail.com hairandbeyondbrainerd.com

Candy & Supply Cash-N-Carry Superstore

Serving the area since 1938

www.sthomasestatesales.com 218-851-0834 • Brainerd, MN

218-824-0712 001185261r1

Paper, Janitorial, Food Service Equipment & Supplies, Candies, Kitchen Gadgets, Party Store (Public Welcome)

415 Front Street Brainerd MN

825-1070

Danae Blanck Anderson, ASID, CID

218-330-2338

idyourworld@gmx.com

2 Years

201 S. 6th Street Historic Downtown Brainerd

001185264r1

218.824.3270

Spring Concerts April 24-26.

S. Thomas and Associates Estate Sales (Steve and Julie Foy-owners)

001193573r1

Fax: 218.824.0626 Website: ercstaffing.com JOBSblog: ercjobsblog.com Email: info@ercstaffing.com

218-829-1668

623 Maple Street Brainerd, MN 56401

001196259r1

001194585r1

218-820-9842

1 Washington Street N.E.

Feb 22, Waffle Breakfast & Bake Sale, 9-noon at The Armory, Brainerd 001193115r1

Hwy 371 North Brainerd

ORDINARY PEOPLE, EXTRAORDINARY PERFORMANCES

001194279r1

All-Storage In & Out

001194344r1

Acorn

• Remote Starters • Heated Seats • Marine & Car Audio • Boat & Vehicle Detailing

218-829-5529 info@lakesaudio.com

www.lakesaudio.com 001193241r1

January 15, 2015 · January 16, 2015

PHOTO BY STEVE KOHLS/BRAINERD DISPATCH

CTC,

From Page S6

Larson estimates 60 percent of Baxter and 40 percent of Brainerd now have fiber optics to the home.

“Our world is going toward a broadband world,” Larson said. “We need broadband in order to function.

In a partnership with Crow Wing County, CTC took fiber optic out to the Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport area a few years ago.

“It just continues to grow like that,” Larson said. “That was the seed money back in 2004 to get something started. ... it was a great opportunity for us, but we’re proud to be a partner with all those

entities and what we brought to Brainerd and Baxter - second to none across the county. There are lots of communities that don’t have this connectivity.”

And CTC continues to look to expand coverage in residential areas with a focus on areas without Internet service or with limited service.

“There are a lot of underserved areas, believe it or not,” Isackson said. “We still have a long way to go to connect people.”

Larson said CTC could never have completed the fiber optic ring without the support of its board of directors who were willing to take a risk.

Andy Isackson, marketing manager at Consolidated Telecommunications Company, talks about the coverage area for the company.

Kevin Larson, general manager and CEO of Consolidated Telecommunications Company, talks about the past and the future.

PHOTO BY STEVE KOHLS/BRAINERD DISPATCH

“Quite frankly we knew there was risk, but it was really hard to quantify how much risk,” Larson said.

“And it’s all paid off. But it’s easy to sit here 10 years later and say, ‘What a great project,’ but there were some real discussions around this table about how we were going to make this work.”

Larson said CTC could have had a board of directors so conservative they thought the idea was too far out of the company’s realm. Instead, he said it’s flourished because the board provided leadership and the ability to move the project forward.

“Over the last 10 years, CTC - in the Brainerd, Baxter, Nisswa areas - we probably invested $25 million,” Larson said. “It takes a lot of capital to build fiber optics and maintain it. So it’s a huge investment into this community.”

Now Pillager, Motley, Lincoln, the city of Randall, Sullivan Lake, Nokay Lake and Mission have fiber optics to the homes and they are working on Outing. The cooperative has an application in to finish the rest of Randall, Leader and Freedhem, representing another $12 million investment. If funding comes through those rural areas could be served by fiber in

the next two years. With fiber optics, as needs grow, capacity can be increased by changing connections at the ends instead of digging up entire ditches.

The cooperative has about 12,000 members.

Challenges and opportunities Neighborhoods contact CTC to bring in fiber optic to increase service providers and television options. One of the challenges in expanding is the expense of putting in infrastructure and putting fiber optics for neighborhoods in a competitive environment where people may switch carriers with regularity in search of a less expensive service. Getting a customer to express interest in switching is no guarantee of revenue.

“You just can’t build it and hope that they will come,” Larson said. “It just doesn’t work that way.”

Moving into providing television services proved to be one of CTC’s biggest service challenges. The company moved into TV service and DVRs at a time when the technology was a moving target. Larson said the first two software companies they worked with weren’t up to the challenge and provided an inferior service.

“Until we got to the cur-

rent platform we are on it was a huge struggle for us,” Larson said. “It was inferior service and we know it was and it’s taken us years to get some of those customers back.”

Now CTC offers high definition television and fully functioning DVR service.

Isackson said television is going to change significantly in the next few years.

For CTC, there is frustration in the lack of ability to control the channels it will offer to viewers. Certain content has to be bundled together, which Larson said gives them little control over the cost.

In a competitive and changing environment where technology and smart appliances become more integral to everyday living, Larson said CTC is committed to providing the connectivity.

What does the future hold? It could be anything considering the short distance in time from the cows at the end of the party line to now when smart refrigerators can provide a recipe for dinner based on the contents inside. Larson said it means CTC has to know its customers better

102 Years

93 Years

73 Years

www.millsauto.com

better water. pure and simple.

3855 Independence Rd, Baxter Phone: 218-829-5798

PHOTO BY STEVE KOHLS/BRAINERD DISPATCH

Toll Free: 800-266-6037

001184666r1

63 Years

67 Years

SUBMITTED PHOTO

than they know themselves.

What if the future includes transportation devices?

Larson didn’t blink. He just asked how much bandwidth would be needed.

Renee Richardson, Brainerd Dispatch senior reporter, may be reached at 218-855-5852 or renee. richardson@ brainerddispatch.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter. com/Dispatchbizbuzz.

Gallery & Video BD Photo brainerddispatch.com

69 Years

8240 Industrial Park Rd. Baxter, MN

37568 County Road 66, Crosslake Phone: 218-692-3101

www.simonson-lumber.com

67 Years

In the early years linemen had to climb poles to find a problem, now technicians monitor computer equipment at Consolidated Telecommunications Co. offices to pinpoint maintenance needs.

001195722r1

829-5137

59 Years

59 Years

Brainerd • 218-828-7000

60

001191774r1

Jerry Palm, board member, talks about the past and the future expectations for Consolidated Telecommunications Company.

brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch • pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal

001184433r1

S10

57 Years

Since 1952

TH

Crosslake • 218-692-5200

Holden Electric Co., Inc.

001187249r1

522 C Street Brainerd, MN

39 1/2 Years

“Custom...delivered.”

7788 Fairview Rd Baxter, MN 56425

Brainerd - Baxter - Nisswa

(218) 829-1739 www.countrykitchenrestaurants.com 001194329r1

001193188r1

35 Years

36 Years

37 Years

(218) 829-4759

34 Years

001184422r1

Hwy. 371 North Brainerd, MN

fleetfarm.com

7669 College Road Baxter, Minnesota 56425-2688

42 Years

47 Years

829-1345 855-0680

edinarealty.com

14114 Dellwood Dr. Baxter, MN

001184755r1

52 Years

001194354r1

Hackensack • 218-675-7575

001191093r1

001193207r1

Garrison • 866-574-2900 001195310r1

218-454-1234 www.ConnectCTC.com

CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE 001184681r1

67

001195309r1

1955-2015

218.829.1381 www.bercher.com Lic. No. BC004461

30 Years

31 Years

Second Time Around SECOND HAND STORE

Pequot Lakes

In the Brainerd/Baxter area since 1980

7895 Excelsior Rd., Baxter 218-828-2160 001187248r1

218-829-1224 Jenny’s Hallmark Westgate Mall • 218-829-2069 Brainerd/Baxter

001190497r1

Open March-December

7638 Woida Rd., Baxter 829-1484

001184558r1

(218)568-5011

001193585r1

Over $100,000 donated back to Community in 2014

The Best Foods...

The Absolute Lowest Food Prices!

Baxter

001184598r1

BAXTER LIONS CLUB

(218)829-4511

Hwy. 371 North 6 miles north of Brainerd 001192881r1

January 15, 2015 · January 16, 2015

brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch • pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal

While the A-Pine Restaurant’s signature sign has been updated, it is the same sign that has been there since the restaurant opened as a drive-in restaurant in 1965.

PHOTO BY JODIE TWEED

A-Pine owner Rick Beyer said his restaurant’s success can be attributed to the people who work there. Beyer, who has owned the restaurant for 30 years, has several longtime employees, including cook Ginny Waldron, left, who has been an A-Pine employee for 18 years, and Judy Pitschka, who has been a server for more than 23 years.

PHOTO BY JODIE TWEED

S11

Paul Bunyan stands tall outside the A-Pine Restaurant on Highway 371 in Jenkins/Pequot Lakes. A-Pine owner Rick Beyer commissioned the statue in 2008 by local sculptor Josh Porter to greet passers-by along the highway. Many people stop and take a photo with Paul.

PHOTO BY JODIE TWEED

~Rick Beyer

29 Years

been with the restaurant for nearly 24 years. His cook, Ginny Waldron, has been with the restaurant for 18 years.

“The success of this business is the people working here and their commitment to their job,” Beyer said. “Any business is only as good as the people who work there.”

While breakfasts are popular, so are many other items on the menu.

The restaurant mixes its own spices and coatings for its fried chicken and cooks its own roast beef inhouse. Their hot beef sandwiches, homemade cinnamon rolls and buttermilk pancakes are also guest favorites.

29 Years

Diners may notice several bird feeders outside. One of Beyer’s favorite and loyal customers, the late Millie Nelson, once told Beyer he needed some bird feeders. She would keep track of how many times she and her husband, Bob, would eat at the A-Pine; one year they logged in 271 meals. She bought him a bird feeder and seed.

Soon, other people started bringing in more feeders.

The A-Pine now has nine bird feeders outside its windows, and many customers enjoy eating while watching their fine-feathered friends do the same.

Many items on display through-

20 YEARS 25 Years

28 Years

THE

COVER

14466 Dellwood Dr. Baxter, MN

7789 Hastings Road Baxter, MN 56425

829-3080

218-829-3457 www.lindarcorp.com

(Next to Kentucky Fried Chicken)

19 Years

18 Years

14843 Edgewood Dr. • Baxter Nisswa Square • Nisswa www.trailblazerbikesmn.com

5 Years

001193590r1

When the Beach is out of Reach…

833-TANS

Growing Quality Lives Together

15867 Edgewood Dr Baxter, MN 56425

8365 Brandon Road Baxter

218-828-2127

6 Years

4 Years

1 1/2 Years

1 Month

14643 Edgewood Dr. Baxter

14039 Edgewood Drive OPEN DAILY AT 11 AM

13401 Birch Drive Baxter, MN 56425 218-232-6902

www.pizzaranch.com

Open 7 days a week year round.

Hours vary by season

9 Years

CaribbeanBeachTanning.com

(218) 454-4900

Info@boomerpizza.com www.boomerpizza.com

001195267r1

001193203r1

14 Years

PartyWorldBrainerd.com

7837 Excelsior Road Baxter 218-822-3026 www.thefeetpeople.com

218-828-0083 jandjholmes.com

5 Years

Your precious moments stored in old formats are never sent away for processing.

(Copyright Free Materials Only)

JenniferOwner/Operator Pedersen

7760 Excelsior Rd., Baxter

001194275r1

14871 Edgewood Drive, Baxter (218) 829-0837 store.vioc.com/AV2503

17 Years

7734 Excelsior Road North, Baxter

www.goldleafpartners.com

218-454-3290

001186778r1

Also Quality Medical Scrubs

001193085r1

218-454-9355 www.healthsourceofbaxter.com

Dr. Kristel Schamber Greg Olson, Optician Ellen Kraling, Optometric Assistant

8341 Highway 210 West, Baxter (218) 829-9733

Footwear for Everyday People

HealthSource of Baxter-Brainerd 7656 Design Road Suite 100 Baxter, MN 56425

Under New Ownership

218-829-2929

9 Years

001194767r1

218.824.6119 or 866.882.8442

001192773r1

“NOBODY DOES IT BETTER”

14221 Golf Course Drive, Suite 200 Baxter, MN 56425

001193053r1

15240 Dellwood Dr. 218-833-1400 www.applebees.com

Baxter, MN 828-4601

Nancy Bogenschutz

12 Years

13 Years

218-838-4153

7870 Excelsior Rd., Baxter Brainerd Office: 218.828.9545 • 877.338.3957 Staples Office: 218.894.5480 • 866.894.5455

001193056r1

21 Years

001192906r1

24 Years

OPEN 24 HOURS 7 DAYS A WEEK

001191090r1

001193265r1

Practicing in the Brainerd Lakes area for 28 years.

001193095r1

www.thewestgatemall.com

Wallpaper Installation Wallpaper Removal Interior Painting

001192851r1

218.828.1668

218.454.7000 cosmeticdentistrydds@gmail.com 6980 Fairview Rd, Baxter, MN 56425 www.densdental.com

25 Years

Better fresh.

Better valu.

Better than ever!

GIRL

Kevin W. Dens, DDS Christopher K. Dens DDS

001194736r1

Conveniently Located 1 Mile East of Hwy. 371 on the North Side of Hwy. 210, on Baxter Drive

001184767r1

Everything you need. So close to home.

Jodie Tweed is a freelance writer living in Pequot Lakes.

001184695r1

Many families who stop in at the A-Pine for breakfast, lunch or dinner each summer while vacationing in the Brainerd lakes area look forward to the annual tradition of visiting the restaurant that doesn’t look exactly like the chain restaurant they may visit back home.

“Tradition is very important to me,” said Beyer. “I often hear things like, ‘My grandpa used to bring me here.’ When people come up here, in a sense, they want time to stand still.”

Beyer credits his staff for the longevity of his restaurant. He has many longtime employees, including server Judy Pitschka, who has

001193167r1

30 Years

“The success of this business is the people working here and their commitment to their job,”

218-824-3041 888-222-1807

www.botoxbylottie.com

218-330-0990

jgp18ped@gmail.com

001194316r1

Beyer and his son would then hop aboard and ride the train to Pine River where his wife would pick them up.

Railroad customers have been replaced by customers who now bicycle to the restaurant on the trail.

In 1997, Beyer built the gas station next door. In 2008, he commissioned the large Paul Bunyan statue, created by Josh Porter, which greets motorists along Highway 371. When people stop for gas or to eat, they often walk over and take a photo with Paul before they go, he said.

The restaurant has gone through several upgrades throughout the past 30 years. They’ve added new windows, new equipment and four years ago upgraded to all new electrical wiring and lighting, including new dining room décor. The restaurant seats 90 guests.

out the restaurant have a story. Beyer found a 6-foot wooden Paul Bunyan silhouette at a garage sale in Nisswa years ago. The owner wouldn’t sell it to him – unless he bought up and hauled away everything else at his garage sale. Beyer took him up on his offer. A fish mounted on the wall was caught by his father, Huckyl, who passed away in 1998.

A large oil painting of a lake scene in the back dining room, painted in the 1950s, was purchased at an auction 20 years ago. The couple pictured in the boat had been A-Pine customers. When the husband later walked into the restaurant and saw the painting of him and his late wife on the wall, he cried. It was the perfect spot for that painting, the man told Beyer.

“This business is a lifestyle,” said Beyer. “I love the people.”

001193231r1

From Page S4

001193247r1

A-PINE,

S12

brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd Dispatch • pineandlakes.com | Echo Journal

January 15, 2015 · January 16, 2015

Bill Mattson, owner of Mattson Lumber Company in Nisswa for 29 years, sits in his office.

PHOTO BY NANCY VOGT/ECHO JOURNAL

“As an independent location, they give us credibility in the marketplace.”

~Bill Mattson

MATTSON,

From Page S3

“I threw my hat in the ring because that was my hometown,” he said. “So I came home and bought the homestead from my parents, who moved to Baxter.” He still lives on that land with his wife, Betty.

At the time, Standard Lumber had facilities in Pequot Lakes, Nisswa and Brainerd, In 1984, the Nisswa facility was closed and Mattson found himself unemployed.

He moved to Forest Lake, “but I really didn’t want to leave Nisswa,” he said.

Less than a year later, while home for a weekend, Mattson saw a “for sale” sign at Gull Lake Lumber.

He bought the business, and has been in that location ever since. It was first called Mattson’s Gull Lake Lumber Company, and later was shortened to Mattson Lumber Company, though the logo still includes a gull and a lake, Mattson pointed out, The lumber business is more complex than it used to be, though not as seasonal as in the earlier years. Another business strength is its association from its first year with Marvin Windows, Mattson said.

“As an independent location, they give us credibility in the marketplace,” he said.

Bill Jr., manager at Mattson Lumber, said the choices customers have now compared to 15-20 years ago is staggering. And with the Internet, customers come in more informed and educated.

“Home integration will become more common with a focus on energy efficiency taking the lead,” he predicted.

Bill Jr. also works in sales, and does a little bit of everything at the business.

“With a small family business the title depends on what needs to be done,” he said.

He graduated from Pequot Lakes High School and attended St. Cloud State University before returning to the family business.

“I started at age 14 and just kept working here,” he said. “I have always enjoyed working in the building industry. I have been blessed. I get to work with my dad and my wife. We’ve been fortunate to have a great crew that has been with us for a long time, a couple with 20-plus years and most others 12 to 15 years. That makes everything so much easier.”

Nancy Vogt can be reached at nancy.vogt@pineandlakes.com.

Follow her at facebook.com/ PEJNancy and on Twitter @PEJ_ Nancy.

Stacks of lumber sit at Mattson Lumber Company in Nisswa.

PHOTO BY NANCY VOGT/ECHO JOURNAL

Bill Mattson shows Marvin Windows products offered at Mattson Lumber Company in Nisswa. The lumber company became a Marvin Windows dealer the first year the company opened.

PHOTO BY NANCY VOGT/ECHO JOURNAL

JANZEN AUCTIONEERS

www.chistgabriels.com — Facilities — St. Gabriel’s Hospital Family Medical Center Little Falls Orthopedics St. Camillus Place • Alverna Apartments Health at Home CHI Albany Area Health 001193372r1

14 1st street NW Aitkin, MN 56431

A ITKIN

(218) 927-6633

live Well.

Next to Dairy Queen

800-525-1033 i 218-894-1515

26 YEARS

23 Years PUTNAM

we’re working for you!

Christenson Agency

16 Years

Your Brainerd Lakes area fitness and health professionals since 1999.

001193255r1

470 8th St. NE Crosby, MN 56441

greatrivereyeclinic.com

218-829-8144

jandbwesternstore.com

DEERWOOD & CROSBY

218-546-8 371

Larry Putnam 218-746-3828 Adam Putnam 218-330-7851

christensonagency.com

Serving Central and Northern Minnesota

C ROSBY

(218) 546-5524

1/2 Block Off Main St. Down Town

www.hudrlikcarpet.com

27170 Monroe Street Garrison, MN

-Installation of New Hardwood Flooring

- Sanding & Finishing of New and Existing Hardwood Floors - Residential and Commercial

Washington St. Across from Landmark Water Tower

Light of the Cross Lutheran Church

• Free Estimates • 33 Years of Experience

001194333r1

800-952-3766

001194682r1

001185990r1

Baxter & Crosby

001194634r1

1860 Scearcyville Dr SW Pillager, MN 56473

B RAINERD

(218) 828-5009

19 Years

HARDWOOD FLOORS, Inc.

INSURANCE PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Established 1985

Same staff and locations

218-546-2616 hallettcenter.com

Shopping at any of our 3 locations is as easy as... A-B-C!

Helping you

30 Years

is now Great River Eye Clinic

Established 1976

After 67 years our reputation is still our best guarantee!

800-450-6258 or 218-851-0879

Your Complete Fence Contractor

1-800-755-3118 218-534-3118 www.obergfence.com

CABINETS AND FLOORING

Jeremy Janzen Auctioneer/Broker Janzen Auctioneers / Cummings Janzen Realty

www.cummingsjanzen.com www.midwestauctions.com/janzen www.janzenauctions.com

39 Years

40 Years

67 Years HUDRLIK

001191776r1

001192843r1

320-632-5441

76 Years

79 YeARS

001195531r1

79 Years

320-692-4773

001187373r1

105 Years

001193569r1

124 Years

1-877-406-9101

Sunday Worship & Communion: 9 am Coffee Fellowship: 10 am 001193672r1