An Informal History of Gunflint Lodge...

Part 2

Justine wrote about the immediate improvements her mother made. “Mother made arrangements locally to enlarge the lodge by having an extension built on one side complete with a large fireplace for a lounge and an extension built on the other side with a fireplace and dining room. This also called for changes in the kitchen. Beside the changes in the lodge structure, George Bayle was hired to build tables and chairs from local trees – primarily birch that furnished the new additions. All of the table tops were mounted on large roots.” An indication of Mrs. Spunner’s priorities at that time is shown by the fact that both of these additions faced the incoming road, not the lake. Two more cabins and a boat house were also added at this time.

The summer of 1930 was the two women’s first season at Gunflint. Mrs. Spunner acted as the resort hostess, wrote the correspondence, planned the meals and supervised the staff. Justine ordered the supplies, paid the bills, and kept the equipment in good repair. Keeping equipment in repair was a new experience for Justine. When asked how she learned to fix motors, Justine replied, “I took them apart and looked at them.”

From the very first Justine developed a close relationship with her Indian neighbors. They came over to shop in her small store and she employed them at the resort. They guided fishermen, cleaned cabins, waited tables, and took care of her children. Eventually Justine would win the trust of the local Indian families. It was a two-way street. They shared their knowledge of the woods with her and she helped them deal with the outside world. She even delivered one of their babies. The most important part of this long-lasting relationship was a mutual trust and respect.

In 1930 Mrs. Spunner bought an island on Saganaga Lake for an outpost camp. A lodge and one cabin were built on the island that year. There were also tents on platforms for the guests to sleep in. The island resort was called Saganaga Lodge. Guests at Saganaga Lodge canoed down the Granite River from Gunflint with a guide and spent a night or so on the island to fish on Saganaga. At the end of their trip they would be met by a lodge vehicle on Seagull Lake and driven back to Gunflint. This island outpost would eventually be a casualty of the depression.

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