In 1975, The United States had finally returned from Vietnam, the war rife with controversy. The air was filled with the sound of "Born To Run," Bruce Springsteen's third album that is considered by many to be his best. People were busier than ever, luckily they had the newly released VHS so they wouldn’t miss their favorite shows, such as the premier of Saturday Night Live. The movie Jaws, widely considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, was captivating people with its terrifying tale of a killer shark on the big screen. Far above the ocean where Jaws may or may not be lurking, the United States and the Soviet Union had just completed their first joint mission in space, successfully linking up above the atmosphere and performing experiments together. While the world was captivated by all of this adventure, fantastical or real, Jane Reish was in search of a different kind of adventure.

Having grown tired of their life in the city of St. Paul, and with their hearts filled with longing for a new adventure, Jane and her husband John struck out north. They eventually ended up buying The Jolly Fisherman Resort on Big Elbow Lake, affectionately referred to by locals and guests alike as “The Jolly”. The resort was far from civilization, as the closest town was Waubun which was 21 miles away and at the time did not consist of much more than a bank, an auto dealership, a school, and a church or two. This was no problem for Jane and John, they made their own community at The Jolly.

Staying at a resort in 1975 was very special, as for the average working person not from lake country it was the only way to experience everything the lakes had to offer, even if it was just for a week or two. This exclusive experience generated a lot of business for the resorts which had new potential resorters looking northward more and more frequently. That is why nobody batted an eye when Rick and Barb Andersen bought the resort on the other side of the “elbow”.

Jane had just finished up serving lunch for the day in the lodge and was cleaning up the dining room. Somehow all 25 of the barstools were out of place, and it seemed as if the kid who ordered an ice cream cone somehow dropped it five different times, all over the foosball table. While she was so distracted cleaning this mess, she didn’t even hear the man thump up the wooden stairs onto the deck outside and throw open the double doors that lead into the lodge in a hurry. What she did hear however was him breathlessly ask,“Are you Jane?”

She thought nothing of it and just informed him that yes she was Jane, but it is too late to have lunch and dinner will be ready in just a couple hours if he does not mind waiting. He quickly dismissed all of this and introduced himself as Rick Andersen from across the lake and told Jane that they had a serious problem.

“We heard that you two have been here for a long time and know what you are doing.” Rick told her, the anxiety in his voice evident, “Could you please come to take a look?”

As is the unwritten rule of living in the middle of nowhere, Jane went to get John and they went to help their neighbor. When they arrived, Rick led them over to a once beautiful A-frame cabin with a great view of the lake nestled in the pines. To an experienced resorter, this cabin showed obvious signs of neglect, such as it had not been weather prepped in years and the logs that make up the supports for the roof were filled with cracks where moisture got in because of a lack of treatment. In fact, even a non-experienced resorter would see the problem with this cabin as there was a hole in the roof where part of it had collapsed.

While it would have been easy for John and Jane to point out the problem as a lack of attention to the cabin by the owners and recommend they hire a contractor, that is not how it works in the Northwoods. John and Jane headed home to grab some supplies from their personal stuff they keep on hand in case something happens to one of their cabins. They then told their children to look after the resort for a little bit and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening - until it was dark to the point they could not even see anymore- working to make the cabin safe enough where it wouldn’t collapse at any moment. While they were working they tried to teach the Andersens as much as they could to make sure they didn’t have this problem again.

Over the course of the night, John and Jane came to a realization. They, along with many others, had learned lots from their years at the resort, and sharing that could help a lot of people. Similarly, there are many just like the Andersens who are still learning and could use mentoring.

Jane then went to be a founding member of the Congress of Minnesota Resorts, an organization that is best described by its motto “Resorters Helping Resorters”. She was the president for two years and then a board member for the remainder of their resorting career, which ended in 1999. Over these years they helped many resorts stay in business and profit. In turn, this brought people up north en masse, which provided the tourists that fed the businesses that make up a majority of the economy in towns such as Park Rapids, Walker, and many others. These towns never could have been what they are today without resorters helping each other, just like John and Jane that afternoon at “The Jolly”.