8/12/10 – Here is the crew picture for the season! It was taken right before we spruced up for the Dome Dance, an annual Sawbill tradition where the crew invites anyone staying on the campground to come and contra dance to live music. We were all having such a good time that somehow we left the event without a single picture of the ordeal, so this picture of all of us before we dressed up will have to suffice. -Meg

Summer Crew 2010.

8/10/10- Last week we celebrated Homer’s tenth birthday. Homer spent his special day in the same way that he spends most of his days – being petted by anyone and everyone, eating innumerable dog cookies, and taking a refreshing swim in the lake. For his birthday dinner, Homer dined on a dish of cottage cheese, a treat that he only gets on holidays. Likewise, the crew snarfed down a Danish puff in the shape of a dog cookie to celebrate the day. -Meg

The handsome fellow himself, chowing down on cottage cheese with the two Sawbill terriers, Roy and Phoebe.

8/9/10- Yesterday I returned from a brief but eventful two day venture into the BWCA with my uncle, Steve Wilbers, and cousin, Eddy Wilbers. We managed to score the one and only campsite on Flame Lake, and so were able to experience the solitude of the Boundary Waters at its finest with the lake completely to ourselves. A highlight of the trip was the jumping rock on Flame, which we visited frequently and documented a little too thoroughly. Of the nearly thirty pictures we took of the same rock, here are a few of my favorites. -Meg

Me, about to leap.

Steve Wilbers, expressing exactly how he feels about camping.

Eddy and I as we completed our first portage from Sawbill to Smoke.

8/6/10 – Here is Frank’s obituary:
Frank William Hansen passed away Tuesday, August 3, at the age of 89, after a very short stay at the Cook County North Shore Care Center in Grand Marais, MN. He was diagnosed with acute leukemia on July 16.
Frank worked on behalf of the community right up to the end of his life. He was very active in July serving on the board of the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic where he was board chair for 20 years. He was on the air for the WTIP North Shore Community Radio membership drive the week of July 12-16. His last WTIP West End News column aired on July 16 after more than 20 years as a columnist for the Cook County News Herald and WTIP. He spoke at the Cook County Historical Society on June 19th.
Frank was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 6, 1921. He was educated in the Baltimore school system, Loyola College in Baltimore, Fordham University in New York City, and the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. In 1946, he left the University to serve in the Psychological Service of the US Army at Fort Lee in Petersburg, Virginia. In 1947, he returned to the U of M where he taught Psychology and Child Development at both the Minneapolis and Duluth campuses for the next 15 years. He spent all his summers until 1955 participating in his family’s business, Camps Whitethorn and Minnetoska, in the Appalachian mountains of western Maryland. In 1957, he started his own outdoor business in Minnesota: Sawbill Canoe Outfitters, Inc., on Sawbill Lake in Tofte.
Frank met his wife, Mary Alice, in graduate school, and she became a partner in all his activities after they were married on August 29, 1946. In 1960, they moved from Duluth back to Minneapolis where they both became school psychologists during the school year — Frank at Eden Prairie and Mary Alice in Bloomington. Summers were spent at Sawbill Lake, managing their increasingly successful business. In 1976, they retired from their city jobs and moved to Tofte to live full time at Sawbill Canoe Outfitters. In 2008 they moved to Grand Marais, Minnesota.
Frank was a Cook County Commissioner representing the Tofte, Schroeder, Lutsen area from 1980 – 1988. He served as President of the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC), and traveled widely in that position. Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich appointed him to serve on the Governor’s Health Care Access Commission, which led to the creation of Minnesota Care. Frank received many awards for a broad range of community work, but was always motivated by a strong desire to build a stronger, more humane community for all people. He was well known as a generous and compassionate man.
Frank is survived by his wife Mary Alice and his children: Karl (Lee Stewart) of Grand Marais, Ranna (Kevin) LeVoir of Maple Lake, MN and Downers Grove, IL and Bill (Cindy) of Tofte, and his grandchildren:
Adam Hansen of Fargo, ND, Ruthie Hansen of Chicago, Marie (Eric) Ljosenvoor of Maple Lake, MN, Clare Hansen of Missoula, MT, Marc LeVoir of Minneapolis and Carl Hansen of Tofte and one great granddaughter, Linnea Ljosenvoor, his brother George (Judy) Hansen of Baltimore, two nieces and two nephews. He has three step grand daughters and four step great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Ruth Virginia Cumings and her husband, Ken Cumings.
A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, August 14, at 10:30 AM, followed by lunch and fellowship at the First Congregational Church at Second Street and Third Avenue West in Grand Marais. Burial will be at a later date in the family plot at the Tofte Cemetery.
Memorials are preferred to the North Shore Health Care Foundation, the First Congregational Church in Grand Marais, or the Cook County non-profit organization of the donor’s choice.

8/4/10 – I am profoundly sad to tell you that my dad, Frank Hansen, died yesterday morning after a short illness. He was 89. Frank and Mary Alice founded Sawbill Canoe Outfitters in 1957 and he was an icon in this part of the world. Almost everyone seems to remember him sitting in the co-pilot chair in the Sawbill store, telling stories, discussing the issues of the day, eating red licorice and dispensing wise advice.
He will be sorely missed by his family, the Sawbill community, and the many, many people that he knew in his long and productive life. I’ll post his full obituary here when it is available. – Bill

8/2/10 – Every Saturday evening from now until the first week of September, a trained naturalist visits the Sawbill campground to lead a themed campfire talk. The program, hosted by the USDA Forest Service (and supported by Sawbill with free tasty, tasty smores), is called “Minnesota Wild!” and covers a new topic every week. The program is open to the public for all ages, and families are welcome. Past topics have included moose, wolves, and bears (oh my!).
This week, naturalist Mundell visited to talk about loons. I think I can safely say that everybody present heard something new. I learned that, although experts still debate on this, the most established loon relative is the far away penguin. Also, the loon is a prehistoric bird, with fossils dating back nearly 50 million years (imagine a loon swimming among some of the last dinosaurs). Finally, loons rarely gather together before the winter migration, except for when they fail to raise chicks that spring. Mundell suggested that these are “loon support groups.” I suggest “loon bachelor parties.”
The program wasn’t just talk – we also got to examine and pet a real (stuffed) loon. Later, Mundell played a tape with different loon songs and explained their meaning. After the “distress call,” a real loon from out on the lake called back, probably wondering what was wrong. One listener even got to dress up as a loon, complete with loon cape, red goggles, and webbed feet.

A loon, making a great loon pose.
The program is hosted near the canoe landing at the Sawbill campground from 7:30 to 9 p.m., including time for smore making, every Saturday.
-Kaj

7/31/10 – The Sawbill crew relaxed last night by going to the opening ceremony of the official North Shore Dragon Boat Festival in Grand Marais (this year’s slogan; Do it for the dragon). The ceremony was lively and well attended, unstopped by damp and misty weather. The ceremony was followed by a live performance by the Splinters. Sawbill’s own Bill Hansen played lead guitar, with Jeff Deshaw on bass, Rick Brandenburg on drums, Chris Gillis on trumpet, and Leah Thomas on the accordion and vocals. The Splinters play lively accordion dance music, or, as Leah Thomas says, “A kind of Zydeco electric waltz/folk.” Regardless of what you call it, festival goers danced away until the very last song of the performance, and then the next two songs after that.

Leah Thomas and Bill Hansen perform in front of a very moody Lake Superior

The Sawbill young’uns pose for their own album cover on the shore. Roo refuses to pose.
– Kaj

7/30/10 – I am sorry to report that Frank Hansen, co-founder of Sawbill Canoe Outfitters, has been diagnosed with acute leukemia. He is in hospice at the Care Center in Grand Marais. He is fatigued and weak, but in full possession of his faculties. In spite of his poor prognosis, he is busy providing for the future of the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic (where he has been chair of the board for many years), providing ad-hoc counseling for the Care Center employees, and spending many hours visiting with family and special friends.
If you’d like to send him a message, it is best to do it through his Caring Bridge website. – Bill

Frank Hansen

7/29/10 – Sawbill crew member and future National Geographic photographer (at least he should be) Luke Opel got this majestic shot of a Bald Eagle on nearby Alton Lake recently. Mr. Baldy here has been riding the thermals for a while, undoubtedly preying on some fresh Alton fish. Bald Eagles have eyesight eight times stronger than our own, fine enough to read newspaper print from across a football field – or to spot a pike from 500 feet.

I had to resist using the word “majestic” a lot more writing about this one.
-Kaj

7/29/10 – We received this wonderful letter and photos the other day:
Hi Bill,
My wife Andria and I were at Sawbill last weekend with a couple of friends. Andria and I were celebrating our 5 year anniversary, and I have to say for me personally this is one of the best camping trips I’ve ever had. We couldn’t have picked a better destination to celebrate our marriage. In fact, 5 years ago after our wedding we stayed at a cabin on the North Shore. We didn’t get to do any canoeing on that trip, and have been looking forward to this last weekend for a very long time.
We stayed at the campground all weekend, and I’d have to say, we definitely made the best of our 2 days on the water. Saturday we paddled to the North end of Lujenida and back. Sunday we made it all the way to Flame where we had the lake to ourselves for about 4 hours where we did some fishing and spent most of the time sitting on a group of rocks in the middle of the lake just staring off into the wilderness. The scenery was truly amazing! Around every corner, one of the 4 of us said “WOW!”…….by the end of the weekend we had named our trip “Wow Weekend 2010”. Hopefully there will be a “Wow Weekend 2011”!
On our way back from Flame, we were portaging from Burnt into Smoke.
Andria and I were already in the water waiting for our friends on shore when we heard some loud thumps, rustling, and branches snapping—-pretty sure it was either a Moose or a Bear, but we didn’t actually get to see it—even though we estimated it was probably only 20 ft away from our friends on shore.
The campground at Sawbill was great. All the amenities we needed and more. And I’d have to say, everyone we met—other campers, and Sawbill employees were polite, informative, and friendly. We left Sawbill completely exhausted, but wanting more. We all can’t wait to get back. I would imagine that Sawbill will be one of our favorite destinations for many years to come.
Thanks again for everything. Hope to see you again soon.
Sincerely,
Mark, Andria, Jonah & Katie