"Root Beer Lady" of Knife Lake
Dorothy Molter was born May 6, 1907. She was one of six children. Her mother died when Dorothy was seven and the children were placed in an orphaniage. When her father remarried in 1919, he moved to Chicago and reunited the family.
Dorothy attended high school in Chicago. She was active in a variety of sports includingthe school rifle team. She won the city championship in 1925. Little did she kn
ow that her shooting skill would become a key to her survival in the wilderness later in life. After high school she went to school to become a registered nurse and completed her training. Once again she had no way of knowing how valuable her nursing skills would be to herself and thousands of visitors to the wilderness.
Dorothy came to Knife Lake for the first time in 1930. She came to stay permanently in 1934, to help Bill Berglund operate the rustic Isle of Pines Resort. When Berglund died in 1948, the resort was deeded to Dorothy.
Due to the Wilderness Act of 1964, Dorothy's property was condemned and purchased by the United States Forest Service and she was ordered to leave the area. Her many friends and visitors circulated petitions in order that she be allowed to remain. She was granted a lifetime tenancy in 1975 by the U.S. Congress and was able to stay on the Isle of Pines until her death in 1986.
Each year as many as 6,000 visitors from all over the world would stop by the Isle of Pines and visit Dorothy in her wilderness home. She would make between 11,000 and 12,000 bottles of root beer per year to share with her many visitors and she gained the nickname "The Root Beer Lady".
After her death in 1986, Dorothy's homestead was dismantled and transported by dogsled and snowmobile to Moose Lake and then on to Ely, where volunteers later restored two of the cabins (the Winter and Point cabins). The dreams of many dedicated volunteers were finally realized when in May, 1993, the museum was at last open in memory of this strong, kind and gracious woman.
Dorothy Molter was the last of a special breed of people, and the last legal resident of the Bondary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area. She believed in herself and in her ability to take care of herself even in the harshest conditions and facing great challenges. She lived in harmony with the environment. She respected the plants and animals with which she shared her world. Most important of all, Dorothy was willing to give of herself to anyone in need. Many a conoeist has sought out medical aide from Dorothy. She probably holds the record for pulling fishhooks out of people. She tended burns, sprains, broken bones and more serious medical problems through the years. The time of day or night, or the task she was involved in meant nothing to Dorothy if someone needed her help. She held and lived they types of values we want to pass on to future generations.
You can find out more about Dorothy in Bob Cary's book "Root Beer Lady" or by logging into
www.rootbeerlady.com
On this day we stayed put in our camp on Ashagan Lake. We sat around in the morning and drank coffee and just relaxed. We went out and caught enough fish for lunch. Mark caught a nice northern that Ellie put in foil and baked in the fire while the other fish she fried in Eddie and Ron's fry pan.
