In 1970, my wife and I started looking for a cabin to buy in the Longville, Minn., area. We were familiar with the region from earlier visits to a relative's cabin.

We weren't able to find a suitable cabin or lake shore, and we decided to build our own place. We found and bought with the help of a local Realtor a newly platted, solidly wooded lot with a relatively sandy shoreline on Blackwater Lake.

For the next two years, sleeping in a tent or in the back of our pickup truck, we cleared brush and cut trees while our three young children fished, swam, canoed and enjoyed nature.

In 1972, we began to build a three-bedroom cabin. A sand point was driven, and a hand pump provided water for the next 25 years.

After retirement in 1997, we added room in the cabin for a modern bathroom. A deep well was drilled and a septic system installed.

The large screened porch has been a favorite gathering place for neighbors, friends and family. My wife, Lorraine, says it's the best part of the cabin.

The thing we appreciate most about the cabin is the peace and quiet it provides. There isn't a roar of traffic or other noises. There are only the sounds of nature: loons calling, eagles screeching, birds singing, fish splashing.

We've enjoyed this home away from home for the past 47 years. Our children and grandchildren have countless memories of activities, from fishing, diving off the pontoon and water-skiing to boat parades and canoeing.

The cabin will be their legacy after we are gone.

Rein Lemke, Northfield, Minn.