A Justine Story...

Moose are often seen when canoing in Canada's Quetico Park.

Justine Adjusts to the Northwoods

Most of us have a hard time imagining Justine in any environment other than the Gunflint Trail. Yet, she did have a life before Gunflint, and it was very different. She was raised in Barrington, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Her father was a wealthy lawyer. Moving to Gunflint was a huge change. Her parents’ home was nicely furnished and had a staff of servants to keep everything in order. At Gunflint, Justine lived in a small shack until she and Bill built their modest log cabin in 1935. Even though there was a staff, their job was to take care of the guests. Justine learned to cook, do laundry, and clean. But the real changes were all the new skills she had to learn.

She learned how to paddle with a j-stroke in the stern of a canoe by paddling back and forth in front of the lodge. She learned how to repair motors by taking them apart to see how they worked. Even simple things like splitting firewood had to be learned. One of Justine’s more challenging learning experiences was running a dog team. At that time, the only alternative to walking in the winter woods was a dog team. She learned to make the dogs want to work with her. Sometimes they were used to haul ice from the lake. Other times they hauled guests around just as we do now.

Moving to Gunflint meant more than just a change of chores and living quarters. Justine had been studying for her masters’ degree in microbiology at Northwestern University. The friends and neighbors at Gunflint were not university people. Some could not read or write, but Justine recognized that they had much to teach her about living in this environment. She accepted them as experts in Northwoods life.

On occasion these experts bailed her out of trouble. One day Justine decided to take a snowmobile trip. Lillian Plummer (Butchie) had a cold and didn’t want to go. So Justine went alone. At the rapids entering North Lake, Justine sunk through the ice into frigid water. She managed to drag the snowmobile out and get part way home before the machine froze up. It was well below zero that day, and Justine was soaking wet. Luckily Butchie became worried about Justine and went looking for her. Butchie quickly built a huge fire and also gave Justine some of her dry clothing. Justine always remembered that without help from Butchie, she probably would not have made it home.