Welcome to the cabin!

"George Johnson (my grandfather) and John Mahan (Marvel's Husband) were avid fisherman and would often go up north on weekend fishing trips and some extended vacations. In 1948 George and Laura Johnson purchased the property at Mound Lake from a Mr. Meyer. The property did not have many modern conveniences...i.e. no electricity, no telephone, no in-door bathroom. Heat was provided by Blueboy...a pot bellied cooking stove. There was an ice chest that was used as the refrigerator. Ice could be stored in the "ice house".. an old shack on the hill towards the bay that was filled with sawdust. Blocks of ice could be purchased in Grey Eagle. Well water could be obtained from the pump house (which still exists). Lake water was carried by buckets for washing up and washing dishes.

Getting to Mound Lake was not as easy as today...no highway 94. I believe hwys 52 or 152 were the preferred route back then. As I recall it took about 4 hours to get up to the lake. Today it takes about 2.5 hours to cover the 115 miles. In the "old days" it seemed kind of mysterious (and a little scary) arriving at the lake when it was dark....frogs jumping all over the place and no lights other than the car lights. Once inside the cabin, we broke out the kerosene light. The soft light gave a comfortable atmosphere....the lake was a lot different than 1943.

It was a lot about fishing in the "OLD DAYS". As stated earlier Grandpa Johnson and Uncle John loved to fish. Unfortunately both died fairly young by today's standards. Grandpa Johnson died in 1948 and Uncle John died in 1952. They caught a lot of fish in their time and some trophy fish were on the cabin wall for a long time. The times were simpler back then....no jet skis...not many large speed boats, mostly fisherman. Wood boats were common. There were two wooden boats up at Mound Lake....when you first got up to the lake, you would want to put the boats in the lake right away so the wood would swell and the boat would stop leaking. I believe there were two motors 5 HP and 2.5 HP. Bob and Vivian and the family would go up to the lake for most of the family vacations. Most of the siblings enjoyed fishing. It was almost a passage into young manhood for the siblings to go up to the fishing opener. Didn't catch much on those mid-night outings but they were still enjoyable. All in all there have been a lot of bass, crappie, walleyes and northerns caught at Mound. Larry was definitely the most prolific in term of both fish caught and size of fish.

Summers were definitely a riot at the lake for the Johnson kids. Boating, fishing, hiking, playing cards, target practice, learning to drive and lots of sun !! The time went by fast. Oftentimes when we left the lake in the early years we would say " Goodbye lake....see you next year when we have a new baby."