November Has Dawned
The Moens are about to become landlubbers once more!
Sunrise, November 1. Our season is officially over.
Not to say that work isn’t getting done. With overnight temperatures hovering at 0C, daytime temperatures staying warm, and the camp empty, it’s a perfect time for…shingling!
At long last, we have the time and the employees to shingle some roofs.
The Northshore and the Basswood have already been done, and we’ll be doing the Drake this week. Some of the work has been a little more extensive than we had hoped, but we’re glad to finally be getting this important work done.
And also to be getting the shingles out of their packaging and onto the cabins that they belong to.
Our patriarch and co-founder, Lloyd Moen, passed away this past June [you can read his obituary here]. Now that our season is over, we are able to share that we’ve chosen a day for his celebration of life. On November 16, a celebration of life for Lloyd will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bergland, ON at 3pm. There will be a luncheon to follow at the Bergland Hall. Anybody who loved or respected Lloyd is welcome to come and celebrate him with us. Lloyd loved his stories, and we love to hear stories about him.
We’d like to once again thank everyone for their support this year. It’s an immense privilege to be able to do the work we do, especially because it lets us know people like you.
It’s time for this newsletter to take its winter break, so we wish you all a very happy holiday season and restful [or productive] winter.
I won't be able to make it to the celebration of Lloyd's life, but I'd like to share one of my most favourite memories of him:
He had invited my dad (Larry) and I to go on a fly-in fishing adventure up north. It would be my first time flying - ever. We prepped and loaded the plane and then began to "taxi" out of the bay for takeoff. It was taking much more distance than normal for us to get up in the air. He asked me how much I weighed. It was far more than he'd estimated, and so we were overloaded. But once we made it up in the air, it was a beautiful flight.
We landed in a lake next to a small waterfall and caught all kinds of fish. It was sunny and beautiful and such a great time to have a rod in my hand. On our way home, Lloyd wanted to stop in at a small lake and check on something, but where he needed to stop did not give us enough room to get back in the air with the weight we had on, so he dropped my dad and me off at another lodge while he went on his side quest. It wasn't long before he was back and we flew the rest of the way home.
Hands down it was one of the best days of my youth, being able to go on a beautiful fishing trip with my dad and our cousin. Sending all my love and prayers and hugs to you all.