April 19, 2013 at 5:07 p.m.
New owners at the Moosejaw Resort have roots in the area
The resort was originally built in 1887
New owners at the Moosejaw Resort have roots in the area
It was her experiences coming up for vacations when she was younger that were a motivating force behind the purchase of the 6.5-acre Moosejaw Resort west of Minocqua.
"Mom and dad had bought land over on Pike Lake, on the same chain, so we've been coming up to Woodruff since we were kids," she said. "We moved around a lot when I was a kid. I was born in Madison, we lived outside of Chicago for a few years and we lived in St. Louis for a few years. We moved around so much, coming up here in the summer or the winter was the one constant, the one place that felt like home through all that."
Before the purchase of the resort by herself, her husband, Ed Gartner, and her mother and father, Schroeder said she and her husband owned a restaurant in St. Louis.
Her background includes being an English professor, teaching for a time in Edinburgh, Scotland.
During the time of the St. Louis restaurant ownership, she helped manage that business with her husband in addition to teaching at a nearby city college.
"The reason I taught there is because I really liked being connected with people in the community," she said. "That's kind've where I grew into something like this where the work really allowed me to meet people from all over the place as well as people in the community."
Schroeder said the purchase of the resort was complete with the closing of the deal on Sept. 5 of last year.
"Then we reopened our doors on Sept. 7," she said. "So, it was pretty much a quick turnover and we kind've tweaked things as we went because we wanted to stay active in the busy season. We hit the ground running for sure."
As for what type of work is being done to the resort to get it ready for its opening, Schroeder said much of it is cosmetic.
"The place was built in 1887 so it needed some repair, some TLC," she said. "We're putting in light fixtures, we're reinforcing some walls that were kind've sagging, we're redoing a lot of the cabin interiors because they were quite old at this point."
A few of the seven cabins that will be available are original, a couple more were added in the 1950s and the newest cabin was built in the 1990s.
The resort also features a restaurant and bar, the Wood's Edge, in its main lodge and has a campground.
Schroeder said a new cabin is being built and everything should be ready, with the exception of that new cabin, by the beginning of fishing season in the first part of May.
"We're trying to market ourselves as family-friendly," she said. "We can help you find your way or you can do your own thing. We can be as involved or not involved as you want us to be, like any resort. We can point you in the right direction."
She said they do try to highlight conservation and outdoor activities like hiking and skiing."
"We get a lot of traffic from snowmobiles and ATVs as well," Schroeder said.
For more information about the Moosejaw Resort, visit their website at moosejawresort.com.
Brian Jopek may be reached at [email protected].
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