 |
| Bill Stupack came to Red Lake as a young teenager from Manitoba in 1926 |
Bill's house became part of what is now Cabin #3.
That was the first year my mother and father, Don Baughman, took over the camp from Bill. We had flown about May 1 into camp by a ski plane that landed near Trout Bay because the ice was too poor closer to camp. We then carried all of our belongings about a mile to camp.
My dad and his friend, Milt Young, had come in the spring of 1960 to look at another camp that was for sale on Red Lake. Instead, my dad talked Bill into selling Bow Narrows which wasn't even on the market. As my dad noted, it is in an ideal location because it is in the center of the best fishing area and is protected from the wind no matter the direction. Milt and his wife, Carol, ended up buying another camp, Duck Bay Lodge, I believe, on Lake of the Woods.
Bill was one of the 1926 Gold Rush pioneers and anyone who knew him would agree he didn't change his mind very often. I think what did it in this case was that he and my dad hit it off so well. Bill followed professional boxing closely and my dad had been both a Golden Gloves and professional heavyweight boxer in Cleveland, Ohio. Also Bill was both a prospector and a trapper and my dad had done lots of trapping in the States.
So, Bill and dad built a new home for Bill down the lakeshore toward Trout Bay on one of Bill's mining claims. Remnants of that home are there today as shown in a recent photo below.
Dad added onto Bill's old house at Bow Narrows and it became our first lodge, ready for moose hunters that fall. The current lodge was built in 1972 and the old lodge became Cabin #3.
While Bill was finishing his cabin down the lake, he left many of his possessions in his old house. One of them was a sofa which I used for a bed. It was near the wood stove and so made a nice warm place for me to sleep.
Eventually, Bill came for the sofa and to our surprise, opened up the bottom where there had once been a fold-out bed. He had removed the bed and in its place were two full cases of dynamite! I had been sleeping on top of enough dynamite to have blown the entire camp into space!
In the background of the top photo you can see one of what used to be two cabins in that area. Both of those have been torn down and replaced with a single cabin, #1.
 |
| Shed still remains of Stupack's home near Trout Bay. Photo taken in 2012 by Mike Tronrud. |
Click to see the latest on the blog
6 comments:
Good thing the fire didn't get too hot!
If I remember correctly, Bill said the dynamite was perfectly safe, as long as it wasn't really old. Then he noticed the wrappers were soaked through. In other words, it was really old.
Dan, Tim Guthrie and I stayed in Cabin 1 or 2 several times in the late 70's and early to mid 80's. They were perfect for 2 guys!
Bruce Pierce
Dan,
Tim Guthrie and I used to stay in either #1 or #2 for several years! They were perfect for two guys!
I miss those days when him and I could fish from dawn to dark!
Hi Bruce,
It's good to hear from you again!
Are you saying you've cut back on your fishing hours per day? That's hard to believe.
You are right, those two cabins saw a lot of fishermen over the years. Actually, Cabin 1 was the first cabin I ever stayed in. That was in 1960 when my mom, aunt Betty and my dad came to look at the camp.
We replaced those two small buildings with four-person cabins, one on each end of camp, that are favourites with many of our guests. These have glassed-in gables on three sides and have great views. They are snug and warm in cold weather too.
Dan,
Yep.....Tim and I don't fish as hard as we once did! We like afternoon naps these days!
Every year at his place we talk about running up to Bow Narrows to see you guys and fish our "home" lake again. We both Love Red Lake and have so many great memories of Bow Narrows and our adventures there!
My last visit was 1992......and that's a long time ago!
Post a Comment