Lakeview Shelter

On Saturday morning, I hiked down to the shoreline of Lake Superior to photograph the sunrise from the mouth of the Gooseberry River. I took a few photos but it was the sun reflected in the windows of the Lakeview Shelter that caught my eye. This time of year the rising sun is reflected in the small window panes of this beautiful log and stone building. Along with the reflections the early morning light also highlighted the dark red rock that was used to construct the building. The Lakeview Shelter along with several other buildings in Gooseberry Falls State Park was constructed in the 1930’s during the Great Depression by the young men in the Civilian Conservation Corps.

LakeviewShelter

1936 CCC 14 hole outhouse

Late fall is a great time to explore some of the remains of the old CCC camps that are located along the North Shore. This week I explored some of the foundations of the CCC camp that was started in 1936 along Stony Point road south of Two Harbors. Along with the remains of old buildings I found one of the very much needed items during that time - a fourteen-hole outhouse. This one was unique as I have not seen an outhouse constructed of metal. Imagine sitting here during the winter months. It must have been constructed on site as the holes were hand cut. The tank had openings on both ends and I was wondering why when it hit me. They didn’t have pumper trucks so the tank had to be cleaned by hand. The opening on the one end must have been for pushing a board through to the other end so the contents could be bucketed out. That job was probably reserved for the worst trouble-makers in camp.

1936CCC14holeOuthouse