During a recent interview with 91-year-old Dutch Cragun, I was entertained for three hours as he re-lived his fairytale life. Each new chapter came with colorful word pictures as only Dutch can paint them.

His eyes were open as he spoke, but Dutch was seeing only vivid memories from decades past. As he reminisced, the real Dutch Cragun was revealed… bit… by… bit. During the interview I realized Dutch Cragun is not a spoiled brat who took over his family business and got rich, Dutch Cragun defines the word Pioneer (to be the first to open or prepare a way).

In 1958, Dutch Cragun purchased the seasonal family resort, that consisted of 12 cabins on 600 feet of lakeshore. Today Cragun’s boasts 4,500 feet of lakeshore, hundreds of modern hospitality units along with several other profitable complementary enterprises.

Eric Peterson, Resort General Manager and Director of Business Development, had this to say about Dutch, “Dutch is always sketching stuff out on a pad, dreaming about new things. Once he decides to move forward with a project or concept, he just figures out how to make it work.”

A 20th Century pioneer must be an entrepreneur and a salesman. These two characteristics have been a part of Dutch’s persona since childhood. Shortly after his family moved to St. Paul, Dutch became an entrepreneur. As a junior high student, he started a local newspaper, The Tower News. (The paper was named after the “Witch’s Hat” water tower that his maternal grandfather helped design.) He gathered the news, and he wrote the stories. He sharpened his salesman’s skills selling subscriptions and advertising to neighbors. Each week Dutch printed 35 copies of the paper, on a gelatin printer. When the ink dried, little Dutch hand delivered the neighborhood news to his faithful customers. The newspaper business was in the Cragun family DNA.

Dutch’s salesmanship and thinking outside the box continued during the years he attended the University of Minnesota. “Back in those days The U was a streetcar campus. I sold students a monthly subscription to Time & Life Magazine. “My pitch was, ‘Just fill out the purchase form. You will start receiving magazines in about a week. If you don’t like reading them while riding the streetcar, just send me a bill back.’ I bought a car while in college!” he said with a wry smile.

Dutch developed his political skills, necessary for most entrepreneurs, during his second year of college when he was elected President of the All University Congress.

Merrill, Sr. and wife Louise moved to Lavern, MN shortly after their marriage in 1931. Sr. had taken a position as a newspaperman in the small western Minnesota farming community. Sr. sold advertising, gathered gossip, wrote articles, and set type for a weekly newspaper. One year after Dutch was born, they moved back to St Paul. Dutch smiles as he says, “I was born one year and two days after the marriage.” The Craguns lived and worked in St. Paul during winters and spent summer months at their cabin at Pine Beach Resort (now Madden’s Resort) owned by Jack Madden, a lifetime friend of Sr. Sr. worked in the printing business and Louise was a welfare caseworker in St. Paul, but she was instrumental in developing the Paul Bunyan brand while Jack and Sr. organized the first Paul Bunyan Days Parade. The parade featured log rolling and tobacco spitting contests. Dutch’s sister Patty was born in 1938. At the urging of Jack Madden, the Cragun family purchased 7 1/2 acres including 600 feet of lakeshore on Gull Lake front. Dutch said, “We got the magic word, LAKESHORE.”

With the help of friends and neighbors the resort soon boasted 10 small cabins. During the summer months the family ran a resort on Gull Lake with the tagline, ‘Where Friends and Memories are Made.’ Young Dutch, declared himself assistant manage while repeat guests referred to him as bait boy because he was in charge of the minnows, worms and frogs.

Dutch worked the summer months at the resort until he graduated from U of M. Immediately after graduation, Dutch Cragun enlisted in the United States Army. Because he was fluent in German, (Sr. had encouraged him to learn German in high school.) Dutch was stationed in Germany for the entire two years of active duty. On weekends and on leave Dutch traveled all over Europe. After his discharge, Dutch remained in Germany to attend the University where he studied psychology. It was during his time in Germany that Dutch developed a passion for travel that still burns within him.

In 1956 Sr. informed Dutch, who was still in Germany, that he had to sell the resort because he was needed at his job in the Twin Cities, year around. “Would you like to buy the resort?” Sr. asked.

“Can you make any money in the resort business?” Dutch questioned.

“Hell no!” was the response. Dutch assumed ownership shortly thereafter.

Much of his success Dutch attributes to his wife Irma who passed a few years ago. “She was good handling the money and kept a on leash me,” he said. “We closed the resort during the winter because the drain fields would freeze up. In the off-season he and Irma, who loved sailing spent a lot of time in the Caribbean. Dutch boasted, “We sailed into every port in the Caribbean. Since my time in Europe travel has always intrigued me.”

Together, Dutch, the salesman, politician and visionary, and Irma with her common sense and financial skills, transformed Cragun’s Resort into one of the finest resort and conference centers in America. The resort is a business conglomerate with 4,500 feet of lakeshore and hundreds of modern rental units.

On July 24, Cragun’s will celebrate Tom Lehman’s transformation of the Legacy Courses with the Grand Opening of the Lehman 18. The Grand Opening and Media Day will also mark the transformation of the final 9-holes of Cragun’s Championship Golf Courses. The resort that soon will have 54 holes of golf made up of 45 holes of championship golf and 9 holes of executive golf suitable for anyone.

The PGA Tour Canada returns to Cragun’s for the second year August 31 – September 3 with the CRMC Championship: the title sponsor is CRMC Cuyuna Regional Medical Center and is presented by Gertens. The resort has a real estate development and sales division marketing lots on the new Tom Lehman signature golf course. The frosting on the cake is a recently purchased excursion boat business. “We want to give our guests a view of Gull Lake from the water.”

As the interview was about to end, Dutch asked me if I would like to read a book that his mother and father had written for him. “Of course,” I said.

CRAGUN’S

Making Friends & Memories since 1940 

“Written for our son Dutch” by Mother Louise and Father Merrill.” This line on the cover page tells the story of how Dutch learned his savvy, “Merrill’s journey starts back in the 1850’s when tourism and vacationing began in Minnesota.”

“Why 1850?” I questioned mentally.

The following day, as I flipped the beautifully illustrated pages filled with pictures, clippings, and historical narrative I suddenly understood. This book is the History Of Tourism In Minnesota Since 1850. The tourism revolution began when hundreds of paddle wheel boats brought southerners north to cooler Minnesota to escape the sweltering summer heat in the south. The railroads, that were built to transport lumber harvested from the white pine forests to Chicago and the rapidly growing Twin Cities, could also transport tourists to frontier locations like Brainerd and Bemidji.

The Cragun’s, as well as other area resorts prospered because of the railroads. Today they continue the up trend in modern tourism in the land of 10,000 lakes.

Dutch Cragun defines “PIONEER.”