Larry, Barb, and Mike arrived around 10:00 am.  Denise and Barb planned to do some shopping in Fergus Falls and we agreed to meet them at Applebee's at 1:00 pm for lunch.

The girls took off and the boys just hung out.  Lewie was fishing at the bridge but it wasn't very productive.  After checking on Lewie, the rest of us came back and sat outside our trailer out of the wind.

Lunch at Applebee's was good.  I had a few draft beers and it reminded me how much better beer tastes out of a keg.  I've gotten spoiled with my own kegerator at home and this whole drinking canned beer thing is the one down side to vacation.  (Note to self - investigate making keg setup practical and portable).

Anyway, after getting primed at Applebee's, we headed back to camp and spent the afternoon playing cards.  It was about 5:30 pm and we were having a good time.  Then we noticed a bit of commotion around the park.  One waitress from the restaurant came running from the steakhouse to Jerry's trailer just a bit behind our camp.  Jerry and his wife, Sharon, live and work here every summer.  I joked that the waitress must have needed to borrow a cup of sugar.  Soon after, we noticed groups of people gathered around the park.  Something was up.

It didn't take long and Sharon emerged from her trailer with the waitress.  We inquired about Jerry as he had a hip replacement surgery on Tuesday and had just come home today.  She said Jerry was doing find but that Pat Schultz had been killed.  The Ten Mile Lake Resort has been in business since 1906 and was started by Pat's grandfather.  Pat's dad, Jerry Schultz, (not the same Jerry that had hip surgery) took over the park as the grandfather retired.  And now Pat and his twin brother, Mike, run the park now that Jerry Schultz is older.

I don't know how long Pat and Mike have run the park but I'd guess for the last 20 years or so.  I suspect they are in their mid to upper 40's, early 50's at the oldest.  Pat has 3 kids, the oldest of which is just 17 years old so Pat couldn't have been too old.

Apparently Pat and his wife, Lisa, and his youngest son had taken a day trip to Park Rapids, MN, about 90 miles mostly north and a little east of here.  They were riding bicycles on a bike trail when Pat challenged his 14 year old son to a race.  I don't understand exactly how it happened but apparently Pat was ahead and failed to yield to a stop sign on the bike trail as it crossed a road.  Although they were in a remote area and the road was very lightly traveled, at just that moment a pickup truck was coming down the gravel road and Pat actually ran into the truck.  Somehow he had massive injuries to his torso and basically crushed his chest.  He went over the truck and landed on the other side of the road.  He died on the scene.

Most everyone that spends their summer at Ten Mile Lake has been coming for years. Many first visited as children and are now sharing the resort with their own children and grandchildren.  Because of this, most know the Schultz's very well and see them more as family than friends.  The event changed the mood of the whole park.  Very sad and everything was shut down.  The restaurant was closed and all reservations cancelled.  I'm sure glad our reservation wasn't until 8:00.  I can't imagine what it would have been like to be eating in the restaurant at the time the news came in.

Needless to say, the whole event put a damper on our evening.  Our card game was left unfinished and no one was even hungry for supper.  The event hit Lewie pretty hard as he's part of the "extended family" group above.  Even though I only knew Pat as an acquaintance, I'm sure I'll go to the funeral for Lewie.  Anyway, we spent the rest of the evening just reflecting on the event.

 Questions, Comments, Praise, Complaints?
Please send me an email at  drew@mykitchentable.net.