Flathead Lake Lodge

I thought the first story I would write would be about my first summer working at Flathead Lake Lodge.

That summer was 1981. I was a senior in college with one semester remaining before graduation and had spent previous summers working various jobs in my small town in northern Wisconsin. A cousin who had worked at the lodge in 1979 suggested I apply, raving about what a great experience it had been. At the time, I had never been west of North Dakota, let alone seen the mountains, but the idea intrigued me. I applied for a waterfront position and was hired.

Love at First Sight

I had grown up on a lake and spent plenty of time waterskiing, canoeing, and doing a little sailing, so the waterfront felt like a natural fit. After finishing my spring classes, I hopped on an Amtrak train in Minneapolis and rode west to Whitefish. The trip was unforgettable, especially seeing the Rocky Mountains for the first time as we rolled into East Glacier. A staff member picked me up at the train station, and we drove through Bigfork and into Flathead Lake Lodge.

Home for a Summer

At full occupancy, the lodge accommodated about 80 guests. Rooms were located in the South Lodge, the Main Lodge, and 13 cabins. There were no accommodations south of the South Lodge, and no conference center or spa. The Main Lodge housed the large dining room, office, bar, and kitchen (which is now the small kids’ dining room), along with three rooms upstairs above the office. The female staff lived above the kitchen—now the history room and vaulted area of the small dining room. The barn was located where the current bike shack stands, and the male staff lived above the saddle area adjoining the barn. It was a hot, dusty space with plenty of mice.

Doug Averill was managing the lodge, having taken over the operation several years earlier from his father, Les. Maureen managed the office, handled reservations, and supervised the kitchen. Doug and Maureen had been dating for a couple of years when I arrived and married a few years later.

Settling into Lodge Life

I arrived in late May, and it rained 26 days in June. I remember thinking, “What the heck am I doing here in this sloppy mess?” The barnyard was a muddy muck hole, and the sun seemed to disappear entirely. Then, at the end of June, the weather shifted, and we barely saw a cloud for the rest of the summer. Eventually, I found myself praying for cloudy days since I was on the water every day driving a boat with no shade. My hair turned bleach blonde, and I wore zinc oxide on my nose to keep it from burning.

We ran 11 weeks of family vacations through the end of August, then hosted a few small conventions before closing in mid-September. I decided to stay on and help close down the lodge, skipping the fall semester of college. I eventually returned to Wisconsin and finished school that winter.