8/10/07 – There is currently a fire ban in effect for a large portion of the Boundary Waters. You may still have campfires in the Sawbill campground, as it is not in the BWCA. The small unrestricted area includes the Lady Chain west of Phoebe lake. Little Saganaga marks the northern boundary of the unrestricted area. There is an online map of the restricted area, or it’s available for viewing at Sawbill when you arrive. – Caitlin

8/6/07 – Following North Country tradition, the Sawbill crew held its own version of the recent dragon boat races that were held in Grand Marais. After store closing one night and before the sunlight retreated from the sky, four teams raced from the forest service dock to the canoe landing on south Sawbill Lake. Teams were announced a half an hour before the race, so the four-person groups rushed to strategize and hyped up with matching face paint. My team painted our faces white and put red paint on our lips, eliciting such comments as, “You look like creepy mimes,” and making me feel like a reject from the casting tryouts for the Oscar winning film “Memoirs of a Geisha.” The team of Tess Dornfeld, Patrick Nash and Cindy Hansen with author and Sawbill friend Andrew Keith steering won, finishing in just over four minutes. The victors won bragging rights and first dibs on a share of a dragon boat themed cake made just for the occasion, while the losers swamped their own canoes in the shallows, argued about possible cheating and swam to shore with the capsized boats in-tow, our face paint dripping like sore-loser tears. -Lee

8/5/07 – Upon realizing three pairs of crew members shared birthdays, Cindy Hansen, not one to shy away from a photo op, called them out for picture time. Cindy says that once while working in the store she sold a fishing license to a man and when she checked his date of birth, she was excited to find it was the same as hers. Not only that, but the customer was purchasing the license on the birthday they shared. Cindy says Bill’s not as impressed by the “mere reality that people share birthdays” as she is, but she still gets excited to meet a new birthday buddy. Having three pairs of them working together must be a rarity, too, but perhaps not as rare as the look on Lida Storch’s face under Johnny Anderson-Hermann’s weight in the piggy back birthday buddies photo. -Lee


The birthday buddies are (jumping, left to right):
May 17 – Cindy Hansen (1960) and Patrick Nash (1983)
March 8 – Lida Storch (1983) and Johnny Anderson-Hermann (1987)
February 27 – Patrick Hughes (1984) and Clare Hansen (1988)

8/3/07 – We received this lovely note and picture recently. Yes, this child is named after Alton Lake! – Bill
As promised I am sending you pictures of my son Alton Morrissey who made his
1st canoe ride and portage (at 8 months old) to Alton Lake last weekend when
my family was there on our annual trip to the BWCA. We have been coming to
Sawbill since 2000 and now married with 3 children, we still continue to
come, with kids and grandparents, each year. The picture is of Mom (Heather
Morrissey) and Alton at the Alton portage. We will make the
trip again next year of course. See you then! Thank you.
Heather Morrissey

Alton and Heather Morrissey enjoy a beautiful day on Alton(s) Lake.

8/2/07 – We are happy to report several glowing fishing reports around the Sawbill Lake area in the last few weeks. More than a few fishermen and women have returned happy and full of exciting stories that make me want to toss out my line a little more regularly. -Lida

We received this picture of a Walleye and Smallmouth from Ken Stone and his son Jesse. The seasoned father-son pair spent quality time fishing and camping on Burnt Lake. This was their last getaway before Jesse takes off for his first year of college in Chicago.

7/31/07 – The Sawbill crew gathered for its annual dome dance this week equipped with live band, dance caller and customer participation.

Our band from left to right: Bill Hansen on the guitar, Laura Greensmith on the fiddle, Jeff Greensmith on the banjo and Marge Smith on the tin whistle.

Terrence Smith, our dear friend and a professional dance caller from Duluth, kept everybody dancing for hours.

Cindy, Kari and Liz sharing a laugh between dances.

Caitlin dancing under a bridge made by friends.

The entire crew joins hands and comes in for a big YaHoo!

7/29/07 – Now that we are fully staffed for the summer our official photographer Jim TerBeest took our annual crew photos. Who ever said Sawbill is all work and no play! – Katie

7/25/07 – The Sawbill babes took Grand Marais by storm last night with our high heels and our red lipstick. That’s right, another Ladies Night Out has come and gone. The weather was idyllic, our outfits were smokin’ and the food was fantastic. We hit the art galleries, the Tavern, the Angry Trout for dinner and finally Sydney’s for the best frozen custard a girl could ask for. Heads were turning if we do say so ourselves. Stay tuned this week for pictures of the Dome Dance going on tonight here at Sawbill as well! – Caitlin

Arrrrrrr!

Fresh herring served with spinach fettucine at the Angry Trout. A trio of otters was playing in the bay alongside our table throughout dinner. Doesn’t get any better than that.

The Sawbill babes strolling through Grand Marais.

7/23/07 – These Bullhead Lilies are easy to find in the shallow marshy areas of the Boundary Waters. Aside from their obvious aesthetic appeal they are also a favorite meal of moose. Sure enough I saw moose a few days ago on Alton pond munching away on the pretty yellow bulbs. He would dunk his whole head in the water and then come up with a mouthful. Actually people can eat the rootstalks as well if you boil them like potatoes. – Caitlin


Bullhead Lilies on the Kelso river.

7/21/07 – The 2007 Sawbill crew is complete at last! The first half of the season is always marked by the anticipation of the new arrivals. Now that all fourteen of us are here we can finally get down to business enjoying the group and spending every waking moment together. Unfortunately, the roster does not stay full for long with the first departures coming up in August. – Caitlin

Liz is back for a second Sawbill year. In the fall she will start her senior year at the University of Puget Sound. Tess is also a Sawbill sophomore and a second generation crew member. Her mom, Carol, worked here in ’78 and ’79. Tess will start her second year at Carleton College in September.

Lida and Molly demonstrate that just because we live in the woods doesn’t mean we can’t look good. Flipping canoes in stilettos is no problem for these Sawbill babes. Lida is a Sawbill vet, returning for her fifth season. The rest of the year she works as a teacher in New York. Molly works with teenagers in Chicago when she is not renting Duluth Packs and washing canoes at Sawbill. She brings three years of experience back with her this year.