articles from November, 2002 newsletter:

** President's Message
** WE NEED YOUR INPUT
** Spotlight on Northwoods Legends
** We'll miss our friend Barb Shook
** "On The Water Front"
** A Little Lake Vermilion Area History ...
** Good Bye to Our Loons for Another Season
** Why Do Lakes "Turn Over" in Fall and Spring?
** Home TRUTHS




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President's Message


Another summer has come and gone and as I am writing this the leaves are falling after Mother Nature has given us another spectacular show of color. It has been a cool fall, but the frost held off for a long time, which delayed the beautiful color a couple of weeks.

Your SCLV board was saddened by the loss of a devoted and very dedicated member by the passing of BARB SHOOK after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She served as treasurer and membership secretary for most of her twenty-some years on the board. She will be greatly missed at our meetings.

Bob Wilson, our new board member who was elected at our annual meeting, has volunteered and been elected as our new treasurer. We have, as our bylaws permit, appointed Rick Pearson to fill Barb Shook's unexpired term and John Zwieg to fill Steve Towle's unexpired term. We welcome these two to the board. It was with reluctance that we accepted the resignation of Steve Towle because of health problems and would welcome him back on the board when he feels he is up to it. Thank you, Steve, for your service and we wish you a speedy recovery.

We are in the process of getting permission from the U.S. Forest Service to establish a new day use picnic site in Bystrom Bay. We have memorial money to be used for that purpose. Hopefully we can start working on it in the spring.

The navigation buoys and hazard buoys have been taken out now and with the extremely low water level, boaters will need to use extra caution as they travel the lake. The loor,s have quit their entertaining calls and are turning to their drab winter color before they leave us for the winter. We hope they will have better success producing chicks next year.

I am making a plea to all members to ask their friends and neighbors if they are members, and if they are not, encourage them to join as we depend on membership dues for our main income. Also, numbers of members mean strength for meeting our goals on some of our endeavors.

The weatherman is talking about that four-letter word that starts with "s", so I think that means the summer toys have to be put away for a few months, and it's time to get out the winter ones.

Have a SAFE and good winter wherever you will be, and we hope to see you all in the spring.

To a Beautiful Lake Vermilion, Ray Harris



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WE NEED YOUR INPUT
Your Board of Directors is already making plans for the Club's 2003 Annual Meeting and Dinner which will be held at Fortune Bay Resort on Saturday, August 9th. We want to make this event as interesting and exciting as possible for the members who attend and are always interested in new program or event ideas. The board felt that we should ask you, our members; for your suggestions. Some possible ideas for speakers include professional fishermen, wildlife experts, explorers, naturalists, journalists or artists. Please send your suggestions or ideas to:

Dale Lundblad - Vice President Sportsmen's Club of Lake Vermilion 9082 Little Sweden Rd. Cook, MN 55723
E- mail: DaleLundblad@LakeVermilion.com



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Spotlight on Northwoods Legends
How would you like a sneak preview of the next big Hollywood movie? it's a story set in the northwoods, so it should be a big hit with our readers. A pair of identical twin sisters from the Twin Cities graduate from college with degrees in Physical Education, but before they start careers as teachers they decide to work a summer in the United States Forest Service Young Adult Conservation Corps.

Their job is to cut brush and plant trees in northern Minnesota. Of course they start out pretty green, but quickly become skilled woodsmen. They fall in love with the area, and when the Conservation Corps jobs end, they find jobs on another Forest Service timber crew. After a few years, they buy some land and build a tavern way back in the woods, accessible only by logging roads. Even though they don't have electricity or indoor plumbing, and are at the end of miles of dead end road, the business flourishes.

As if their business success wasn't enough Hollywood fiction, now the movie adds romance (and you can't have a movie without romance). A grizzled young trapper passes by their place as he's making his rounds to check traps. One of the girls befriends him, and the romantic sparks fly. After a whirlwind courtship, they're married, he comes to live in the cabin near the bar, and they live happily ever after.

Yeah, sure, it's pretty far-fetched, but after all, this is a movie, right? Movies aren't supposed to be about real life. But this ~s real life. Michele and Marlene Carlson did grow up in the Twin Citiesin the town of Richfield, to be exact. And they really are twins who graduated from the University of Wisconsin. Both sisters were divers on the university's team, and planned careers as physical education teachers. But they realized that it was coaching they enjoyed, not teaching, and decided to find another career. They came north in 1978 and have been here ever since. And Michele really did meet her husband, Mark Richards, when he passed by their place on his trapping rounds. If you haven't figured it out yet, Michele and Marlene are . . .The Chainsaw Sisters.

Back in the '70s, Michele and Marlene Carlson were among the small number of women who worked on timber crews up north. They worked in the woods for 9 years, from 1978 to 1986, before they decided to become The Chainsaw Sisters. While it may sound like the name for another kind of Hollywood movie (one of those old horror films) it's actually the name of their very popular saloon a few miles off the Echo Trail.

When the sisters bought their 40 acres in 1986, they began with a cabin. To get the business started, they sold soft drinks out of their propane refrigerator and sold parking on their land to people using the Mudro Lake access to the BWCA. After a few years they built the bar, with its big front porch facing Pickett Lake. Sitting on the porch you can enjoy the growing collection of old chain saws, and look out over the grade of an old railroad line and a trestle that once crossed Picket Lake.

In 1988 Marlene Carlson married Sam Zorman and moved closer to Ely. In 1989 Michele married Mark Richards, and when Marlene took a job in Ely in 1991, Michele bought out her share of the business. In the 13 years since then, things haven't changed much. Mark has opened a snowmobile and ATV repair business behind the saloon, and Michele does some sewing at home for Steger Mukluks, but the Chainsaw Sisters Saloon remains her home and job.

It's not so odd, really, that Marlene and Michele would take jobs in the woods, or that they would end up building a business and living there. Their mother frequently took them on camping and canoe trips when they were kids, and both were active Girl Scouts. It never occurred to them that women shouldn't feel right at home working and living in the woods. Michele is passing on her mother's enjoyment of the outdoors, occasionally taking her stepchildren on camping trips while Mark tends the businesses.

The Chainsaw Sisters usually opens the first weekend in May, and stays open until the end of October. Summer visitors come from all over the United States and the world. License plates from all 50 states, including Hawaii, have graced the parking lot, and people from countries as diverse as Germany, Australia, Korea, Romania and China have enjoyed a cold drink and a rest on the front porch. In the winter, Michele re-opens as soon as the ice is solid and snowmobile trails are open. After a summer filled with long-distance travelers, winter customers are practically neighbors. Most are from Minnesota, and quite a few ride over from homes on Vermilion, Burntside, Shagawa and other area lakes. But even in winter, you'll find guests sitting out on the porch basking in the sunshine and enjoying a beer. Summer or winter, closing time is the same - nightfall. Of course, that comes just a teeny bit earlier in the winter.

A visit to the Chainsaw Sisters offers a few surprises to the uninitiated. For one thing, the ceiling is adorned with dollar bills, each one covered with messages and names from the visitors who left them. It all started when people signed the ceiling, then expanded to pictures drawn by Boy Scout troops, repeat customers and others. One group wrote their names on a dollar bill and tacked it up, and a new tradition was born. Another strange sight is the flock of flamingoes in the front yard. There's no deep meaning herethe sisters just liked flamingoes, and people kept bringing them. You'll even find one in the Chainsaw Sisters Saloon logo. Which brings us to one last surprise. You can see the logo, along with pictures and maps, on the Internet (www.chainsawsisters.com). It's not what you would expect from a business that survives on cell phones and generators, but there it is. Maybe it's true that you can find anythingeven the Chainsaw Sisterson the Internet.

The Chainsaw Sisters grew up urban, and they've now lived half their lives in a decidedly non-urban setting. So what's best? Would they trade the quiet and beauty and self-sufficiency of the woods for the glamour and shopping and entertainment in the Cities? Ask Michele. "You couldn't drag me back to the Cities to live! Marlene and I go down to visit Mom, but there's nothing else that would get us back there even for a visit."



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We'll miss our friend Barb Shook
Friends and neighbors of Barb and Frank Shook were saddened to learn on August 23rd that Barb had lost her lengthy and hard-fought battle with cancer. The news was not unexpected, but that didn't lessen the impact of the heartache we all felt at her passing.

Barb and Lake Vermilion were inseparable, and the lake always occupied a special place in her heart. As a girl growing up in Virginia, she spent summers at the lake with her parents. Later in Barb's life, when Frank retired from the Marine Corps, the couple returned to Vermilion and made their home at the lake of Barb's girlhood memories. Barb enthusiastically embraced everything about living at the lake. And she had great curiosity about the character of the lakeits wildlife and fishing and weather and beautyall those things that endear the lake to us all.

We were lucky that Barb and Frank responded to the plea of the Sportsmen's Club organizers and became charter members in 1968. Over the years, they were both active in the work of the club with Barb serving as a board member and treasurer for many years. She also headed up the loon census on the west end of the lake and actively helped with all the projects the club undertook. Those of us who worked with her in the club forever marveled at the enthusiasm, fun and can-do attitude she brought to everything she tackled.

For hundreds of our members, Barb was their personal contact with the lake and the club. She kept the membership list for a number of years, corresponded with many of the members and brought their questions and concerns to our board meetings. Fortunately, Barb's niece Cathy Raps has steppe'd in to handle the membership records and to maintain that link with our members.

One of Barb's favorite Sportsmen's Club projects was the scholarship program, whereby a senior from Cook and one from Tower is annually awarded a $1000 scholarship. The award is given to students who are pursuing a curriculum relating to conservation or the environment. Barb's family has graciously invited memorial contributions to the scholarship fund, and we send our appreciation to Frank and the family for their generosity in designating the Sportsmen's Club. In honor of Barb, the board at its September meeting approved naming the annual scholarship given to a Cook student the "Barb Shook Scholarship Award."

-- Paula Bloczynski



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"On The Water Front"
The Exotic Species Update - Minnesota Department of Natural Resources


Eurasian watermilfoil found in six more Minnesota lakes

So far this summer, Eurasian watermilfoil has been confrmed in six additional Minnesota lakes. One of these is Lake Ossawinnamakee a 640 acre lake near Breezy Point where there are no other known occurrences of milfoil. The exotic was also discovered in two lakes near St. Cloud: Little Elk in Sherburne County and Fish Lake in Wright County. And two lakes east of Mankato: East Jefferson and German lakes in LeSeur County were found to have milfoil. Lastly, it was found in Mitchell Lake in Hennepin County. These discoveries bring the total number of Minnesota waters known to be infested with Eurasian watermilfoil to 139.

Zebra mussels trailered on boat to Brainerd area

A zebra-mussel carrying boat discovered in northern Minnesota was cleaned before it reached inland waters, thanks to the cooperation of a Brainerd area boat repair shop owner.

DNR biologists confirmed that zebra mussels were on the boat, which had been moored in the Mississippi River near Wabasha last summer. Luckily, the boat was stored on land through the winter, which killed the mussels according to Gary Montz, DNR zebra mussel coordinator.

"This incident shows how easily zebra mussels can be moved many miles," Montz said. "Keeping zebra mussels from spreading will require cooperation from boaters, manna operators, and boat repair shop owners."

Water garden and lakeshore planting information

The DNR has two publications aimed at helping water gardeners and wholesale plant distributors avoid spreading harmful aquatic exotic species such as flowering rush. The fact sheets will be distributed to water-garden retail and wholesale dealers. They include lists of state and federally-regulated plants as well as information on where aquatic vegetation can be planted. For more information or copies of the fact sheets, contact Wendy Crowell at (651) 282-2508 or wendy.crowell@dnr.state.mn.us.

Additional information for riparian property owners interested in natural landscaping include: "Lakescaping for Wildlife and Water Quality" a 180-page book that details techniques for preventing shoreline erosion, restoring wildlife habitat, wildflowers and clean water. The "Restore Your Shore" CD-ROM leads viewers through four different shoreland owners' restoration experiences. Both shoreland landscaping resources are available at the Minnesota Bookstore: 651-297-3000 (metro area), 800-657-3757 (statewide), or visit the store at 117 University Avenue; Room 110A, St. Paul, MN 55155.

Inspections and road checks raise awareness

DNR watercraft inspectors and conservation off'icers participated in special projects to help raise awareness of harmful exotic species. More events such as the following are planned this summer.

Inspectors assisted conservation off'icers at a roadside exotic species check near Lake Minnetonka in June. Fifteen of the 48 watercraft inspected were carrying aquatic vegetation. Officers issued 10 written warnings, four verbal warnings, and one citation.

Seven inspectors spent three days inspecting 522 boats at 15 Kandiyohi County public water accesses in mid-July. The effort was part of a locallysponsored "awareness event."

Additional inspectors hired through cooperative agreements

Additional DNR watercraft inspectors have been hired with funds provided through cooperative agreements with the Kandiyohi County Lakes Association and the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District. The inspectors are stationed on Lake Minnetonka and at several lakes in Kandiyohi County.

For more information Call the DNR Exotic Species Program at 800-657-3929 or visit our web site at www.dnr.state.mn.us/ ecological_services/exotics/



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A Little Lake Vermilion Area History ...


THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES APPEARED IN THE JULY 28, 1955, EDITION OF THE COOK NEWS-HERALD

Mail Boat Sinks at Vermilion Dam

Seven persons were rescued from a sinking boat on Lake Vermilion Wednesday afternoon, July 20, when a 28-foot speedboat, owned and operated by the Aronson Boat Livery at Tower, struck a rock and sank in 12 feet of water.

Lloyd Tibbetts, standing on his dock near Vermilion Dam, witnessed the accident and rushed to the rescue with his motor boat. All seven persons were equipped with life preservers and were transferred to the Tibbetts boat before the Aronson boat was completely submerged.

Walter Aronson Jr. stated that the boat hit a rock in a channel that they have been using for the last 30 years without any trouble. The low water level, and reported shifts in the lake bottom may have resulted in the obstruction.

The boat is a 28-foot speed boat used by Aronson for delivering mail on Lake Vermilion and also takes passengers on tours of the lake. John Aronson was the pilot of the boat and he said that one of the passengers was injured or unduly excited because of the accident since they had time to don their ilfe jackets and were within 500 feet of shore. Although some of the passengers were deep in water on the deck by the time help arrived, they were all calm and indicated they were none the worse for the experience. In fact, they told Aronson that the experience had not upset them at all and that they would be back for another boat ride soon.

Walter Aronson estimated that damages will total approximately $800 as the rudder, propeller shaft and other parts of the boat were badly wrecked. All of the luggage, including the mail, was recovered along with the passengers. The boat was completely submerged within a few minutes after the rescue boat arrived.

The company's launch, "Mayflower," was pressed into service and went to the Dam where the boat was raised, a canvas patch placed over the gaping hole and she was towed to the company boathouse on Pike Bay for repairs. Another speed boat owned by the company, a Gar Wood, was substituted to make the daily run.

Wild Bull Sought in Cook Area

A wild bull escaped from the Black Hills Rodeo troupe here Saturday and has succeeded in evading all his would-be captors to date. Several times his location was reported to the rodeo company and men were sent to pick him up, but each time he saw the men on horseback, he hit for the woods, making roping impossible.

The animal is black, without horns, and about two years old. Ben Brune, owner of the rodeo, says he is harmless if left alone, but asks people not to attempt to capture him or the bull may charge them.

Anyone knowing the whereabouts of this animal is asked to call the News-Herald office. We will get in touch with Mr. Brune who will pick up the bull. The animal has been "deactivated" and is not a menace to cows.



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Good Bye to Our Loons for Another Season




As the loon population prepares to leave Minnesota for their southern wintering grounds, here are common questions about loon activity in fall and winter answered by the LoonWatch Program at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin.

Q. What is the reason for loon 'rafting' in the fall before their southern migration? (RaHing being when they gather in huge numbers.)

A. We are not real sure, but we think that rafting helps loons to feed more efficiently. If they are feeding in groups, then they are not spending their time chasing off other loons who are intruding on their feeding area. Sharing a space makes more sense because then everyone can spend their time eating. It may also help to prevent loons being attacked by predators because there are more eyes looking out for attacks. Adult loons don't have very many predators, though, so this is probably not the reason.

Q. Is there any importance to the lakes that loons raft up on? Will any lake do, or are they specific to their needs?

A. Lakes where loons form rafts are probably not being utilized as a nesting territory by a pair of loons, or if it was a nesting territory, the nesting is done and the pair are no longer defending it. The primary importance for a "rafting lake" is that it has to have a lot of fish to feed on. Having islands and deep water seem to be some other important characteristics, as loons tend to raft over the dropoffs in a lake, and the islands provide important protection from wind.

Q. Since loons summer in the North on fresh water, and winter on the coasts of the South in brackish and salt water, how are they equipped to expel the salt from their system taken in from eating salt water fish and drinking salt water?

A. Loons have a pair of salt glands above their eyes, which expel salt taken in from seawater. These drip almost constantly during the winter season.

Q. Why are loons silent in the winter in the South?

A. Though loons have been heard giving yodels and tremolos on the wintering grounds, it is not common. It probably is because the hormone levels in loons are not high enough (i.e. they don't feel a need to defend a territory) to bring about calling. Besides that, loons spend more time in groups during the winter, so the long distance calls like yodels and wails are not needed. They can communicate with quiet hoots to one another.

Q. What are loons' favorite fish in their winter and summer grounds?

A. Because loons typically eat what they catch while still underwater, we do not have a good idea of what they really like to eat. But based on observations of food brought to the surface, we know that during the winter loons eat, among other things, flounder, crabs, lobster, shrimp, gulf menhaden, bay anchovies, and silversides. During the summer, the loon's favorite food is yellow perch, but they will eat whatever is available and what they can catch. This includes trout (though trout tend to be too fast for loons) and aquatic insects like dragonfly larvae.

Q. Why do loon chicks remain behind on the lake after the adults leave?

A. The chicks remain on lakes in the North for as long as possible to complete their growth and increase their strength. The longer they wait to migrate, the more experienced they will be in caring for themselves. If the lake freezes before they get off, the chicks will not survive because they need a "runway" of at least a quarter of a mile to take off from the water.

Q. Do loons mate for life?

A. Most people used to think that loons mated for life, but with the development of a technique in the late 1980s to band loons, we have a better understanding of loon mating patterns. What researchers have found is that approximately 20 percent of loons monitored each year do not return to the same territory where they nested the previous year. Winter mortality could account for some of the loons that do not return, but there is a portion of that 20 percent that appear to choose another territory and mate. Other loons lose their territories to larger or stronger loons. Evidence shows that if a loon loses its territory, its mate will remain on the territory and mate with the intruder loon. With this new evidence, researchers believe that loons are more faithful to their territories than to their mates.

Q. Why do loons migrate to the ocean instead of spending the winter on inland lakes that don't freeze?

A. Loons leave their breeding lakes because they freeze up. They don't go farther south, where lakes don't freeze, because a new set of dangers awaits: preying alligators, water that is too warm for loons, or too shallow and murky for diving and hunting. Loons need VERY clear, deep, open water for diving and catching fish. The ocean is the right place for loons in winter.

You Can Help Protect Minnesota's Loons

Loons are reported to be among the oldest groups of birds still living today, with a history some think stretches back more than 50 million years. All loons are protected by federal law and may not be hunted. However, their present challenges may well be the most severe they have faced throughout that long period. They face threats from acid rain, shoreland development and human use of lakes, lead fishing sinkers and jigs, nest predators, boating activity, and water level fluctuations.

To help protect our loon population:
Reprinted from Minnesota Lakes Association "Reporter"



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Why Do Lakes "Turn Over" in Fall and Spring?



The answer to the question lies in how water density varies with water temperatures. Water is most dense (heaviest) at 390 F (40 C) and as temperature increases or decreases from 390 F it becomes increasingly less dense (lighter). In summer and winter, lakes are maintained by climate in what is called a stratified condition. Less dense water is at the surface, and more dense water is near the bottom.

In late summer and fall, air temperatures cool the surface water causing its density to increase. The heavier water sinks, forcing the lighter, less dense water to the surface. This continues until the water temperature at all depths reaches approximately 39 F. Because there is very little difference in density at this stage, the water is easily mixed by the wind. The sinking action and mixing of the water by the wind results in the exchange of surface and bottom water, which is called "turnover."

During spring, the process reverses itself. This time ice melts and surface waters warm and sink until the water temperature at all depths reaches approximately 390 F. The sinking combined with wind mixing causes spring "turnover."

This pattern of spring turnover, summer stratification, fall turnover, and winter stratification is typical for lakes in temperate climates, such as Minnesota. Lakes with this pattern of two mixing periodsin spring and fall are referred to as dimictic lakes. Many shallow lakes, however, do not stratify in the summer, or stratify for short periods only, throughout the summer. Lakes that stratify and destratify numerous times within a summer are known as polymictic. Both polymictic and dimictic lakes are common in Minnesota. A more detailed description of the physical characteristics of lakes, including temporal and density interactions can be found at the Water on the Web page at: http://www.nrri.umn.edu/wow/under/primer/page2.html.

Reprinted from Minnesota Lakes Association "Reporter"



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Home TRUTHS


Reprinted from Minnesota Environment -- Summer 2002

Through natural landscaping, Minnesotans can save money and time while helping the environment. Natural landscapes require less maintenance than manicured lawns and gardens, plus provide better habitat for our area's wildlife.

Why go native?

Non-native plants are those that have been introduced into an environment in which they did not originate or evolve. Prior to European settlement in the Midwest, our landscape was made up of a variety of ecosystems, including tallgrass prairies, oak savannas, woodlands and wetlands. The settlers brought the first non-native plants into Minnesota from their home countries. Today, plants from all over the world dominate Minnesota's landscape.

Maintaining non-native plants requires more use of gaspowered landscape equipment such as lawnmowers and weed-whackers. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), gas-powered garden tools emit five percent of the nation's air pollution. One gas-powered lawnmower emits 11 times the air pollution of a new car per hour of operation.

Many people who grow non-native plants use chemical fertilizers to help their lawns and gardens thrive, which can result in water pollution. Chemical fertilizers run off into surface water, causing excess algae growth that depletes oxygen and harms aquatic life. The amount of water used to maintain the modern lawn depletes this important natural resource. Plus, non-native plants' root systems are shallow, which decreases the soil's capacity to store water, thereby increasing the risk of flooding.

Well-manicured lawns are of little use to most of our wildlife. Non-native plantings result in a loss of habitat for species such as songbirds and butterflies. Minnesota's wildlife needs native plants for food and shelter.

Making introductions

If you already have a yard full of non-native plants, don't worry. You can reintroduce native plants gradually. Natural landscaping uses a variety of plants adapted well over

thousands of years to the geography, hydrology and climate of the region. Because of this, native plants are hardy and drought-resistant. Once established, they save time and money because they need less maintenance. They also provide habitat better suited for native wildlife such as dragonflies, song birds and frogs that help control pesky bugs such as mosquitoes.

Corporations, businesses, schools, government agencies, developers and homeowners can all practice natural landscaping. The EPA offers the following hints when deciding to convert a landscape back to its natural state.

For more information on natural landscaping and which plants are native to your area, call your local nature center or heritage program office. The following Web sites also provide information on the subject.

Kelly Huxford



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