We're off to the Mother Ship this week to celebrate a bit of family history. From the 1890s to the 1940s, my dad's grandparents and parents owned and ran the Chase Hotel in Walker, Minnesota. The first Chase Hotel was located in the middle of town, but in 1922 they opened The New Chase (pictured above), a gorgeous and modern structure built right on the shores of Leech Lake. Dad spent his childhood summers there, working as a bellhop, sometime fishing guide, and in general having a pretty cool northwoods boyhood.
The family sold the place in 1945 when my grandfather died suddenly and neither my dad or uncle (both in service at the time) could take it over. It changed hands many times over the years. The last time I visited Walker, in 2003, the Chase had been nearly abandoned after a fire destroyed the dining room. It was bought by developers in 2006 and this coming week it's re-opening as Chase on the Lake, a resort with luxury guest suites, condos, spa, and even a bowling alley (though these last two won't open till fall). Some of the finnfam siblings are going up for this week's grand opening; we'll be standing in for my dad, who can't travel yet after his surgery. In addition to lounging around and getting out on the lake, my beloved and I hope to do a little hiking and biking on parts of the Heartland or Paul Bunyan state trails, two parts of Minnesota's amazing rails-to-trails system. We'll also visit Itasca State Park so my beloved can experience the thrill of walking across the Mississippi at its headwaters. My dad and I have a piece on our family history with the Chase Hotel coming out in the journal Minnesota History next summer; a different version of the story we'll tell there is being published in the Walker Pilot-Independent to coincide with the new hotel's opening. You can check it out here if you're willing to register as a user.
Have a great time! I have seen much of Walker in my days (Grand Rapids is just a hop and skip away, after all) and I love that the Chase is up and running again!
Posted by: Mindy | 20 July 2008 at 08:09 PM