There stands beside the river below the dam in Pine River an old oak tree (on the property that will soon become the new road across the dam) that has stood for well over 100 years.
It was a tall tree some 80 years ago when as a small girl I used to sit beneath its spreading branches and read while listening to the roar of the dam, especially in the spring of the year, when the gates were opened to allow the melting ice water from Norway Lake to gush down the spillway with such force that huge blobs of foam suddenly appeared dancing on the surface of the water until eventually they were swept downstream by the current.
This same property was the site for the first overnight cabins built between Brainerd and Bemidji back in the 1930s. The building right on the corner Dad and Mom had built right after World War II, which became a convenience store and gas station until because of dad's health it had to be closed.
Since then, various businesses have occupied that building.
The house that will soon be torn down was once the original housekeeping cabin my sister and I grew up in and was later remodeled to where it stands today.
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So it will be with sadness to see the old familiar buildings and huge old trees (especially the oak tree)) taken down, but we'll still have our memories.
Dolores Zaske,
Pine River
