Jess Edberg, Executive Director of the Dorothy Molter Museum

Jess Edberg reviewed the status of the local museum that memorializes the life of Dorothy Molter who owned and operated a resort on Knife Lake long after creation of the BWCAW. Two of her original buildings and many of her artifacts remain in this venue. Dorothy was a nurse from Chicago who moved here as a young woman and become famous for her wilderness resort, a stopping off spot for canoeists on Knife Lake, for candy and her homemade Root Beer. This recipe is still used to brew a new root beer to sell to customers by the museum.

Jess outlined the steps that the museum had to take to comply with the pandemic requirements in 2020 and early 2021. 2020 was a tough year with only limited staff, restricted visitor use, with operations supported by donations and a PPP loan. 2021 saw more normal operations and more grant funding by Lake Country Power, IRRRB, and the City of Ely, for various improvements.

They have taken the downtime to also do improvements such as flooring, a new point-of-sale system, and also work on a new website.She encouraged us to consider a donation during the Minnesota Give to the Max Day on November 18th when they can also qualify for other bonus funding. 

Kurt Soderberg reminded the group of his one overnight stay in one of Dorothy's cabins while he and a coworker were visiting them on their last week of seasonal employment for the Forest Service - 50 years ago this week.