A Little History...

Cabins today are a far cry from those of the early 20's.

Aggie Jackson — Lodge and Logging Camp Cook

Justine Kerfoot told us the story of Gunflint’s most enduring cook: “Aggie had cooked in road or logging camps for most of her life. Her dad ran many of the camps for road crews building the Gunflint Trail. Aggie’s day in the logging camps started at four in the morning. Breakfast was required on the table at five, and men left for the woods by six. At ten, Aggie rode a horse to the work area with coffee and cookies. She hurried back to her cookhouse to prepare a noonday meal, delivered coffee again in the afternoon and returned to cook a big supper at night.

“Through the years in these camps, she acquired loggers’ habits such as a vocabulary full of expletory words, incessant smoking and the ability to drink large quantities of beer without perceptible effects. We had fast rules at the resort. No one was allowed to smoke while on the job, but Aggie chain-smoked all the time. No one was allowed to take pop or beer without accounting for it, but Aggie helped herself at will, not with the thought of stealing, just as her due.

“Aggie worked hard and long hours, doing what was needed. She would tote a tray of tasty food to Mother’s cabin, change the babies’ diapers or give the babies bottles of formula. To her, anyone who put in less than 14-16 hours a day or left the kitchen before it was spick-and-span was a lazy ‘son of a bitch.’ Each morning when I appeared in the kitchen by six, Aggie had preceded me by an hour. She’d have breakfast ready, and her usual comment was, ‘Well, I thought you were going to sleep all day.’

“One fall when Bill was away for a period of time, Aggie said, ‘Burning green wood is a bunch of nonsense.’ She turned to me and said, ‘Sharpen that double crosscut saw and come with me.’ We used the axe to fell and then limb trees that stood 60-70 feet high. Together we sawed them in appropriate lengths. I learned the rhythm of sawing – pull-coast, pull-coast, hour after hour. Aggie and I sawed and split enough wood for the entire season. When the job was finished, Aggie sat in the kitchen smoking a cigarette as if she had just been out on a playful romp. I felt stiff all over. Aggie was someone special. Loyal and hard-working, she was a rare find who was never duplicated.”