In the more than two decades I’ve penned this column, and in the related four published cookbooks, references abound to our annual summer family fishing vacations to far north Orr, Minnesota, providing some of the most treasured stories, memories and shared photos from our preserved scrapbooks of the past century.
The 10-hour trek from our family farm in San Pierre, Mom and Dad in the front, and always at least three of us five kids in the backseat, began from a tradition that started with just an annual “men’s fishing trip” during the late 1950s. By 1963, Mom and Dad were booking three-bedroom cabins at Shangri-La Resort on Pelican Lake, a beautiful and private getaway consisting of nine lakefront cabins nestled on 80 acres of wilderness purchased in 1949 and then built and owned by Ralph and Jan Richardson, fellow San Pierre townsfolk.
Ralph was the longtime teacher, coach and principal (and carpenter!) from my dad’s classroom days at San Pierre High School, while wife Jan was the first-grade teacher until her passing in 1962, with my oldest sister Carol being in her final class in 1961.
Shangri-La is defined as “paradise,” and Jan chose the name from the inclusion of that term in author James Hilton’s 1933 classic novel “Lost Horizon.” It was also Jan’s idea to insist the entrance lane to the resort be designed as long and winding for added charm as opposed to a straight stretch. The red cast-iron suspended pole bell, still affixed to what was once the family’s “main house,” is from the original elementary school in San Pierre, preserved by Jan and used to call the family and fisherman from the lake for mealtime.
Wooden flower boxes brimming with blooms, a brown and yellow color hue preference for cabin exteriors and curtains in the cabin windows were all Jan’s “finishing touches.” Jan’s younger sister Wilma Long, also a teacher and one I grew up with as an occasional substitute teacher in my elementary classrooms, was a gifted artist, and most of the cabins feature her framed paintings.
Last week on Oct. 9 marked the official fall 2024 close to season 75 for Richardson’s Shangri-La, today owned and operated by the third generation of the family. Ralph passed away in 1973, with second-generation Jack as the son assuming more of the operation duties in 1958 before marrying wife Eve in 1961, both joined by the same passion, love and devotion to the resort property.
My first visit to Shangri-La was in 1971, as evidenced by photos of myself at just 1-year-old with my older brother David sharing birthday cake with family and friends at one of the log cabin’s rustic dining tables. All of my memories from youth are of Jack and Eve as the dedicated proprietors of the resort, along with the help of their children Tom, Janice, Jason and Ralphie. Jack passed away suddenly during a family gathering in December 1997, and Eve and the family continued the operations with a seamless transition.
My last recollection of visiting Shangri-La is from 1987, with my older sister Pam and our parents as I was preparing to start my college years at Valparaiso University.
Today, Richardson’s Shangri-La is owned and operated by oldest son Tom and his wife Cathy and family, as well as the continued guidance and beaming spirit and support of Eve. For the big 75th season summer celebration, I joined my older siblings to return to Richardson’s Shangri-La earlier this summer, and I was immersed in memories and also impressed by the changes and upgrades to the resort in these past three decades.
Though still private and remote, today, a website provides details and a virtual tour of the cabins and plenty of history at www.rs-l.com. (Cabins used to be booked by written correspondence!)
I was amazed at how much history of the Northern Minnesota region I missed or overlooked during our family vacations so many years ago.
This stretch of lake is the same landscape where mastodons were hunted with spears and Indigenous people harvested the wild rice of the lake (which still grows and flourishes along the white sand and rock shores), prized for the greenish grains providing needed energy to survive the cold, harsh winters.
My congratulations and gratitude to Tom, Cathy and their family for so many years of dedication to the family foundation and fanciful landscape that has inspired and kindled so many warm and vibrant memories of summer past, present and certainly, a foretelling future.
Tom provided me with a fall, hearty chili recipe that includes wild rice as a key and delicious ingredient.
“This is a family favorite for all, and Cathy makes four times the portion of this recipe every resort opening weekend for the work crew, which is our four boys and about 10 of their long-time friends, with some additional help from the various other family and friends to help get this place up and running each year,” Tom said.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa @comhs.org or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.
Shangri-La Slow Cook Wild Rice Chili
Makes 8 servings
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound lean ground beef (at least 90% lean)
2 yellow onions, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup uncooked wild rice (preferably hand-parched Minnesota wild rice)
32 ounces beef broth
2 cans (12 ounces each) tomato or blended vegetable juice
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (15 ounces) petite diced tomatoes
1 can (7 ounces) green chiles
2 tablespoons real maple syrup or substitute honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons chilli powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2teaspoon black pepper
2 cans (16 ounces each) red kidney beans, rinsed and well drained
Directions:
1. Add olive oil to skillet and place over medium-high heat for two minutes before adding onion and garlic and cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add ground beef to brown; stirring and breaking beef apart and cooking for approximately 6-7 minutes before placing in a slow cooker.
3. Add remaining ingredients and cook on low setting for 7-8 hours or the option of high setting for around 4 hours.
4. Top with shredded cheese of choice, sour cream and mashed avocado.
