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History Bert's Cabins, serving Itasca State Park visitors for seventy-one years... |
| The land
was homesteaded by the Drews who were early settlers in 1898, then owned
by timber companies, and Dallas & Art Savage in 1937 and finally by
Bert & Alice Pfeifer in 1939. Bert came to the Park from ND in the
mid 1930's to work for his great uncle, Theodore Wegman, who had a store and was one
of the first homesteaders at Itasca State Park. There he met his bride, Alice Lundberg and together with encouragement from Theodore Wegman they purchased 40 acres from Dallas Savage. Since the property had
cabins and park visitors were numerous, the cabins were made into rentals and
"Bert's Cabins" came to be. There were two small cabins, #1
& #6 and a log tavern built from balsam logs in 1937. The land had
been logged, leaving mostly brush and small trees. Over the years, the
resort was carved out of this wilderness; select cutting of trees and
brush allowed the small pines to take hold yielding the scenic tall
pines of today.
After World War II, #2, #3 & #5 were added. These were rustic cabins without running water, limited lighting provided by a generator and an ice box for refrigeration... this was "touristing" back then. Alice managed the resort while Bert worked out for additional income. Then modernization came in the 1950's with REA. The swimming pool, one of the first in Northern MN, was built in 1961, with the main home added shortly after allowing for 7 cabins. After 50 years of development, the resort was taken over by their daughter Pat and spouse, Dave in 1990. The resort was updated and expanded with 5 deluxe cabins. Even the original Drew homestead logs have been re-utilized for a 3rd time as an outbuilding. These tamarack logs were just seedlings on the property during George Washington's time 250 years ago. As for the guests, friends and acquaintances -- they have come from all over the world by various means of transportation from hiking to airplane and even chauffeured. Some guests stay a night, others return year after year and for some individuals it has been a 50 year tradition. Into the 21st century Bert's Cabins continues to change and serve Itasca State Park visitors. Dave & Pat
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