When Tom and Pageen Mohr moved to Minnesota from California 10 years ago, they often heard people say that they were "going to the lake" for the weekend. "We wondered, where are all these people going?" said Pageen, with an easy laugh.

They soon found out. After thoroughly enjoying lakeside cabins as weekend rentals, the Mohrs decided they wanted one to call their own. Their daughter and son, now 12 and 11, respectively, avidly agreed. "We fell in love with the lifestyle," Pageen said. "We wanted a simpler life."

The Mohrs directed their search to the Alexandria area because of the beauty of the chain of lakes and because the area is a relatively quick and easy drive from their home in the Twin Cities. They also enjoy the city's amenities, such as a 24-hour grocery store.

They ended up buying two wooded acres on Lake Le Homme Dieu, property that had been part of the Herberger estate. The family made a conscious decision to build a cottage that fulfilled their desire for simplicity and functionality, and that kept the character of an earlier time. The cottage's overall design and details are reminiscent of the 1920s and 1930s - from the type of siding to the abundance of hooks, and not closets, in most of the bedrooms.

Completed in November 1999, the cottage was named "Sunnyside Up" by their daughter. The name fits the soft yellow color of the cottage and the way family members feel when their thoughts turn to their home away from home. "We thought we'd give it a name instead of saying, 'We're going to the lake,' " said Pageen. "Now we say we're going to Sunnyside Up."

One of the biggest reasons to take the plunge and build a cottage was the desire to attract extended family members who live throughout the U.S. and Canada. Pageen's dream came true last summer when her brother's family visited to celebrate her father's 80^th birthday.

One of the first things guests notice when they arrive is the 800-square-foot, screened-in, three-season porch facing the lake. An 11-foot antique harvest table provides plenty of seating for visitors. Inside, the cottage sports four bedrooms and four bathrooms. Only the master bedroom has a closet; the rest have hooks for hanging clothes. "We really strove for simple and functional, but cozy," said Pageen.

Tom is perhaps most proud of the fieldstone fireplace. A local craftsman painstakingly set each 30-pound stone in place. An Alexandria architectural designer, Toni McCarten, assisted the Mohrs with each step of the cottage's planning and construction.

The family makes steady use of the lake, whether for fishing, water skiing and tubing, or just plain relaxing. "There's nothing I enjoy more than to kick off the deck shoes, put my feet on the bench and read a good book as the sun goes down over Lake Le Homme Dieu," Tom said. Bonfires, with Tom playing guitar, became a ritual during their first summer at the cottage last year.

The Mohrs even made use of their Alexandria retreat during the winter. Sometimes Pageen and her daughter brought a couple of moms and their daughters, and Tom did the same with a few fathers and sons.

"We feel so fortunate," Pageen said. "When Tom and I moved here, we wanted to learn how Minnesotans live. And now we are able to make that a reality for our children."

Alexandria beckons to family for annual reunion

The Tasto family sure knows how to throw a reunion. After all, they've been doing it the same week each summer for more than 35 years.

Helen and the late Lawrence Tasto started the reunion tradition around the time their oldest children started graduating from high school. Now their 13 children range in age from 38 to 60, and except for the son who became a priest, the other 12 are married with families of their own. Having more cousins and grandchildren just makes the reunions even more enjoyable, if not more crowded. No one has taken an official count but there is no doubt that family members number well over 50.

Each summer, the Tasto clan takes over the cabins at the Eden Acres Resort on Lake Mary, about three miles from Alexandria. They've been coming here for 25 years, after starting the tradition at another lake retreat.

"No one wants to miss this," said Ginny (Tasto) Worthington, one of the youngest of the 13. "When teen-agers in the family are offered summer jobs, they always say they have to be off work the one week to come to the reunion," she said.

"It's not only a reunion, it's the highlight of the summer." Worthington and her "household family" -- husband, John, and their daughters, Rachel, Anne and Lisa - never miss it.

"Alexandria is so great because you have not only the lake but tennis, golf, bowling and other activities nearby," Worthington said. "If the teen-agers want to go to a movie, they can do that." Having a laundromat and 24-hour grocery store nearby is also appreciated.

But spending a week with family members amidst a lakeside setting definitely is the draw, especially since it offers something for everyone. "The water provides an outlet for every age," Worthington said. "Lots of people take their speedboats out, and the kids can ride paddleboats. If you don't want to exercise, you can go fishing or use the swing by the water.

"You can't beat being on a lake," she continued. "We're on the lake every day. I think it provides a calming effect, and there's nothing better than seeing the sun set over the water."

Bonding time with cousins is important, as is spending time with the family matriarch who just turned 80. Mom and grandmom Helen is invited to have dinner each day with a different family she doesn't get to see as often as the rest of her children. "You'll often hear, 'I get her tonight,' " Worthington said. "Having time with different families gives my mom one-on-one time with her grandkids.

"We have a big family, and our mom and dad wanted us to remain close," Worthington said. "This is a great way to spend family time. We owe this and much more to our parents."

 Lake cabin proved to be worth the wait

Some things are just worth the wait. Just ask Louise Thoreson. She and her husband, Wayne, conducted an eight-and-one-half-year search for the right lake cottage, focusing their search on Bay Lake and the Alexandria area. Their luck changed one day when they spotted a "for sale by owner" sign tacked on a tree near Lake Darling, part of the Alexandria chain of lakes.

"We took down the number, called, got the price, went up the next day and bought it on the spot," Thoreson said. "Good properties reasonably priced go like hotcakes. Since we bought, we've seen a lot of older lake homes torn down and the property used for building new homes."

"It is just gorgeous there," Thoreson said, "and Alexandria offers lots of interesting things to do - from Art in the Park, to the Resorters Golf Tournament the last week in July.

"Alexandria is a great area," she continued. "And it's right off the freeway, only a two-hour drive from our home. It's very convenient."

Alexandria offers the chain of lakes plus a lot of other wonderful lakes, Thoreson said. "You don't have to be on the chain to have a good lake." The Thoresons enjoy boating and fishing on Lake Darling, and their lake home provides a great weekend get-away spot. "It's also about getting back to nature. It really gets in your blood."

Having a lake home is a good way to bring a family together, she said. "It offers something for everyone -- activities for different generations. The older ones have fun watching the others water ski."         

The couple enjoys the area so much that they encouraged Louise's brother and sister-in-law to buy the property next door when it went up for sale.

Thoreson's mother used to swim at the former Darling Dude Ranch on the same lake. "[Before that,] she remembers portaging a canoe from lake to lake during the 1930s. The water was so low because of the drought."

The Thoresons bought their property when their children were three and eight. Now grown and living in New York and Los Angeles, the children still enjoy coming home and visiting the lake home. But these days, they often bring friends.

"Our children have very fond memories of the lake home," Thoreson said. "Now if we sell, we'd probably sell our home in the Twin Cities and keep the lake home."

Realtor gives clients the true lake view

Linda Akenson's clients get to see properties from more than one perspective. The realtor often takes people out on the Alexandria chain of lakes in the 24-foot wooden Chris Craft boat that her husband, Tom, restored. "That way they can see what the properties look like from the lake."

When Akenson started working in real estate in 1977, lakeside property for sale in the Alexandria area was more abundant. Today, properties are more difficult to find, but a good variety is still available. Akenson works for Coldwell Banker Crown, Realtors, and is president of the board of realtors in Alexandria.

"Properties are getting tight, but if people are willing to look, they can find some beautiful places," Akenson said. "There are a lot of lakes with wonderful properties."   

In 2000, the average sale price for lakeshore homes and cottages in Douglas County was $192,000. Akenson said prices near Alexandria are still less expensive than those in the Brainerd area. The average sale for lakeshore lots and acreage was $71,000 last year.

One plus for chain of lakes property owners and the lakes themselves is that all are served by sanitary sewers, which help to keep the lakes clean.

Property on smaller, outlying lakes not part of the Alexandria chain is more abundant and lower in price. "There are lots of different types of lakes in the area that offer great recreation, boating and good fishing," Akenson said.

Alexandria lakes draw many people from the Twin Cities, but also from other parts of Minnesota and from other states, including California. Akenson described the area's draws as its closeness to and easy access from the Twin Cities, and the city of Alexandria itself. "It's large enough to be a nice hub," Akenson said. "It has excellent medical facilities that everyone appreciates, including retirees, and many nice restaurants, large discount stores and a shopping center. There's plenty for people to do in Alexandria."

Akenson lives on Lake Darling and knows the territory well. As a child, her family owned property on the lake, and as a teen-ager, she worked at the former Darling Dude Ranch cleaning fishing boats, teaching water skiing and participating in water ski shows. "I was the only girl and the barefoot skier." Akenson met her husband there; Tom also worked at the dude ranch.

"I certainly encourage people to come to Alexandria," she added. "It's a great place to bring a family."

Arrowwood's roots started as a farm and dude ranch

Linda and Tom Akenson were only two of dozens of people who worked at the former Darling Dude Ranch in Alexandria. The workers enjoyed the work and location so much that about 50 former employees plus their spouses attended a reunion a couple years ago.

That doesn't surprise Craig Anderson, son of the dude ranch's founder, George Anderson. Craig worked a variety of jobs himself. "One woman who came to the reunion cleaned cabins about 40 years ago," Craig said. "It was fun work and we all got to feel like family.

"There were a lot of guys who worked there whose food bill at the grill was bigger than their paycheck," Craig added. "That's how much they enjoyed it."

Starting at age seven, Craig led pony rides, and later, with his brother and cousin, helped his father with tasks such as giving horseback riding lessons, or working in the stables or on the golf course. His two sisters were often stationed at the grill.     

Following World War II, George Anderson purchased a 100-acre farm with a cabin. By the late 1940s, George developed the dude ranch. He slowly added other cabins, which included a converted chicken coop and granary. He added a par-3 golf course, then an 18-hole course, and later, a championship 18-hole course. George acquired property over the years, bringing the total to 450 acres, with five miles of shoreline on four lakes.

Craig's parents still live on Lake Darling and their children often visit.

Craig's favorite memories growing up and working at the ranch were when friends from the Twin Cities visited to help bale hay. "Their only pay was food, lodging and horseback riding. It was something they really wanted to do." They especially enjoyed the midnight rides on Friday or Saturday nights and bonfires.

Craig also remembers visits by a number of governors. For many years, the dude ranch hosted the annual governor's fishing opener.

Paul and George Anderson fulfilled a dream in 1971 when the ranch was transformed into a $6.5 million, 170-unit luxury resort called the Arrowwood Lodge. It later was acquired by the Radisson Corporation.

Before Arrowwood was developed, the late naturalist and wildlife photographer Les Blacklock was retained to explore the property and make recommendations on how the land could best be used. Some of his observations and suggestions include the following:

"I sat near the shore between two birches, watching for life on or over the water. A common tern floated lightly by, then treaded air watching for a minnow to surface, and dove, arrow-like to cut the water cleanly, and came up with a limp silver crescent in its bill.

"Then I sat especially quiet, for a squealing to my left told me a wood duck hen was swimming toward me along the shore. She passed within a few feet and never knew I was there . . .

"If seven lakes were laid out designed to be a circular canoe route, they would be placed just as yours are. The lakes are Louise, North Union, Stony, Taylor, Cowdry, Darling and Atikwa. With only two portages plus a lift-over at the dam, and downhill all the way around, how could it be better planned? There are possibilities for a number of primitive canoe camps, too, for either picnics or overnights . . .

"I'd look to nature for a name. And my candidate would be Arrowwood, the name of the handsome viburnum shrub growing on your land, the tough pliant shoots of which were used by Indians as shafts for their arrows. I think it's a rich sounding name and the romantic connotation with this place, where Indian artifacts have recently been uncovered, is a good one."

Area has welcomed tourists since 1880s

Tourists have been drawn to the lakes near Alexandria since the 1880s. Out of the more than 300 lakes in Douglas County, the ones that most people refer to as the Alexandria chain of lakes are Victoria, Geneva, Carlos, Le Homme Dieu and Darling.

In the summer of 1880, a group of railroad men visiting the Letson Resort on Lake Minnetonka decided to make a hunting expedition to the more remote parts of the state, including the wilderness near the village of Alexandria. The resort owner accompanied the men and was so taken with the beauty of the area that he sold his Excelsior property and built the Letson House in Alexandria. He later built the Hotel Alexandria on Lake Geneva. Each summer, tourists swarmed to both locations, with Mr. Letson's fleet of boats the chief attraction.

"Cheap and Pleasant Homes in Douglas County, Minnesota, an Accurate Sectional Map and Descriptive Pamphlet," published in 1876, states:

"Minnesota is everywhere noted for the number of its beautiful lakes;

but no other county has so bountiful a supply of them as Douglas.

They are of every shape and description, all contain fish in

abundance - pike, bass, pickerel, and many other kinds. Nearly

all of these lakes have fine gravel bottoms, and good, dry, hard-land

shores to the water's edge . . . Lakes Mary, Ida, Darling, Carlos,

Victoria, Le Hommedieu, Chippewa, Red Rock, Maple, Moses

and Aaron, and many others, like those already described, are

surrounded with good timber and high banks. Good building stone

is found along the lake shores. The lakes and streams are noted

for the clearness and purity of their waters . . . The advantages

for water are excellent. The lakes of the county are so connected

by small streams, that water is abundant on every farm. Wells of

good water can be found anywhere by digging, and at reasonable

depths. There is no alkali water in the county."

From "History of Douglas and Grant Counties," published in 1916:

"One of the charms of this chain of lakes and the country adjacent is

the presence of fine, large forest trees, which the ravages of the

'woodman' have not laid low. For this reason the shores of these

lakes are particularly attractive as places of resort in summer . . .

There are many indications about the shores of these lakes of

former higher levels of water. There are old beaches and half-

obscured terraces which show that the lakes were connected at

no very remote date. The whole of the 'Alexandria prairie,' which

lies between the two chains of lakes, is modified drift. The gravel,

sands and clays are finely stratified and record the fact that at

the close of the ice age some ancient river with gentle current

flowed here, rearranging and depositing in their present positions

the materials which the glacier had brought down."

T.A. Erickson, founder of the 4-H Clubs of America, for whom one of the state fair buildings in St. Paul was named, lived on Lake Geneva ("How the Lakes were Named," Lorayne Larson, 1965). Another locally famous resident who lived near Lake Geneva decades ago was a Mrs. Erickson - who had been the cook for the Vanderbilt family in New York.

After she married, she moved to a farm on Lake Geneva. Her husband contracted an illness that meant the farm had to be mortgaged. With her then-12-year-old son, Mrs. Erickson began to serve chicken dinners to earn money. She also served afternoon parties with "the tallest and crispiest popovers ever," according to Larson's book, plus homemade wild strawberry jam, coffee with thick cream and homemade ice cream.

"It very soon became almost impossible to get a reservation. The McDonnells of St. Paul had a standing reservation for Sunday dinners year after year. When she had paid off the mortgage and her son had gone to college, she closed her hospitable farm house. But her creamed potatoes, fried chicken and popovers will long be a legend."

On Lake Carlos, the source of the Long Prairie River, the book continued:

"Blake's Hotel was built on the east shore of Lake Carlos by John Blake in 1903 . . . the Hotel Blake opened in the spring of 1905. It was a financial success from the very beginning. Many were the dinner dances held on Saturday night when the cottagers and guests joined together in the festivities. A regular ritual of the hotel was for successful anglers to exhibit their fish on the lobby floor before the dinner bell rang at 6:30."

Lakes in Alexandria Chain

• Carlos
• Darling
• Geneva
• Le Homme Dieu
• Victoria

By Barb Umberger

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