Gunflint Lodge

Closing the Lodge

Yesterday the dining room in the lodge closed for a couple weeks. During this time we will be adding and rearranging equipment in the kitchen, moving the gift shop and installing the bistro. In preparation Lee and the front desk staff were removing everything from the gift shop while Chef Barry supervised the cleaning in the kitchen.

The whole scene reminded me of when we used to close the lodge each fall since we didn't use it during the winter. While the guests were finishing breakfast, everything that could not be frozen was either thrown out or moved up to our house for the winter. Even though we worked at this during the entire previous week, there still was a great amount to move. Also all of the business records had to go up to the office in the house.

Everyone in the kitchen was busy sorting the last of the food and cleaning each piece of equipment as it was either emptied or no longer needed. Lunch that day was a buffet of leftovers. The last of the cleaning was finished after lunch with the final job being to mop the floor and haul the garbage to the dump. It really looked nice but I knew that next spring everything would have to be redone.

Bruce was anxious to have the building completely emptied and the kitchen cleaned so he could drain the water. Without all the heat generated by the kitchen, two wood stoves, and two fireplaces, all the water lines would freeze overnight. Usually by about 4-5:00 that afternoon, he could start draining. He had done it so many times that it took only about an hour.

By then I was up in our home trying to put stuff away and figure out what to serve the staff for dinner. (In those days we provided the staff with all their meals.) The next morning
most of the staff would be leaving and we would have 2 1/2 months to do fall chores before guests started coming for cross country skiing. That night, however, it just felt good to eat dinner in the house and know that another summer season was finished.

Sue