My father bought a property on Big Pelican Lake, north of Brainerd, in 1955. The lot was wooded at the time, the first of a stream of lots bought south of us. A one-bedroom cabin was built — just the size needed for our family of five for the weekends. A sun porch was added in 1968. The room gives us a view of the lake with the added pine, birch and oak trees.

The sandy beach was cleared of weeds to make room for enjoying the fine soft sand under our feet and getting access to the clear water for swimming and boating. It was a time for our dad to have a weekend to work around on the property and a time for taking Sunday naps.

We ate steaks and burgers on the grill on the weekend, the meat supplied by my father's butcher shop called the Sanitary Meat Market in Brainerd. My mother and aunt would make potato salad, calico beans and homemade apple pie to name few favorites. Sit-down dinners were the practice.

There were times of strong winds and storms that destroyed trees and downed power lines. Residing on the east side of the lake, we had the northwest winds and white caps. This is true to this day some 60 years later.

I would have a friend visit Sundays to play in the water, play games on the beach, and pick up shells and colored rocks. We also would take the fishing boat over to the inland small lakes where there were cattails, frogs and polliwogs. I also remember the leeches under the dock. My dad loved to fish, and got the posted limit in no time.

Our family cabin has been the ultimate paradise with many good times spent eating, chatting, and enjoying the wonderful beach.

We now enjoy the family cabin with the newest family member, who is 4 and who loves building sand castles and running along the sandy shoreline. It is such a joy seeing everyone enjoying the place. They are such precious memories.

Susan M. Koering, Plymouth