Time does little to change utopian town

Wesley Johnson's family farmed and Earl Granroth's father was a commercial fisherman during the 1940s in Lakeside Township.

"He lived on the river and we jumped on rocks down there until I usually fell in. I was a farmer," Johnson laughed.

Johnson, 70, and Granroth, 71, traded memories Thursday at the Town Hall, as preparations for Saturday's centennial celebration swirled around them.

"Life was relatively simple out here," Granroth said, and spoke of his mother holding sliding parties for his friends during the dark winters when his father was away working.

A book, "Sisu and Sauna," was written by several residents for the centennial and details the town's history and Swedish/Finnish heritage.

"Sisu means determination; you don't give up," Granroth said.

Jeannie Castleberry said the first settlers possessed much sisu to survive the climate, and, of course, saunas are a central part of Finnish culture.

"Many times, that was the first structure that was built, and they would live in the sauna until they built their barn," she said. Both came before the house because a barn meant a livelihood, and cooking and washing could be done in a sauna.

"Years ago, it was considered the cleanest place on the farm, and that's where the babies were born," Karen Johnson said.

Babies are no longer birthed in the many saunas in Lakeside, but much of the small farming town along Lake Superior remains the same.

"You can sit outside in the morning with a cup of coffee and a deer grazes right next to you," Pearl Swanstrom said.

But the number of working farms has shrunk in recent years, as keeping 10-12 cows became unprofitable.

"You either got a second job or got big," Johnson said. "Most quit because of the hassle."

Now several of the 609 residents commute to other cities, but residents celebrate their roots and say they wouldn't live anywhere else in the world.

Swanstrom grew up in a big city and dreamed of living in Lakeside, where she had relatives.

"I love open spaces, being able to look at the sky and going outside and screaming at the top of my lungs," she said.

Residents enjoy the nearness of the lake, sounds of coyotes and watching fireflies and black bears. Some even like the South Shore lake effect and the fierce snowstorms.

"I like it when Mother Nature isolates us, because man has nothing to say about it," Karen Johnson said.

"That's when we bake," joked Mary Peterson.

Residents aren't quite sure how to define their community with no main street and mainly small, independent businesses run from homes, but it doesn't seem to matter.

"We're not living back in 1906," Swanstrom said. "Look at all the stuff we've done," detailing public buildings, equipment that plows and fixes roads, a functioning fire department/first responder unit and a chairman of the town board, Gary Peterson, whom she called, "a brilliant businessman."

"Even with new people coming in, there's still a sense of independence here," Wesley Johnson said. "We don't like government coming in and telling us what to do."

Many area townships have lost their identities, but Granroth doesn't believe Lakeside is one of them.

The town has gained new residents over time, most of whom are as hardworking as the original settlers, Wesley Johnson said.

"This centennial celebration is a mixing of the old and new," he said.

Residents stay connected through neighborly visits, trips to the dump, yearly town meetings and outdoor adventure encounters.

Entertainment in this country town comes from bike riding, snowshoeing through woods, skating on the three area rivers, snowmobiling and hunting. Granroth takes an icy slide down a hill for his grandchildren during Christmas, and cleans off a patch of river in front of his home for a skating rink each winter.

"Last night, we swung on the rope over the river," Castleberry said.

Lifetime residents and relative newcomers alike seem to agree they live in their version of a small-town utopia.

"If you want to be alone, you can be alone, but you don't have to," Swanstrom said.

Jana Hollingsworth covers education. E-mail jhollings

worth@superiortelegram.com or call (715) 394-4421.

Lakeside celebrates 100 years

The Lakeside Centennial celebration begins at noon Saturday at the town hall, 3196 S. Poplar River Road.