IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO ENTER THE MUSEUM TO LOG THE CACHE
The cache is a small plastic jar containing a log book and
pencils. There is room for small travel bugs. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE
FOOD OR LIGHTERS IN THE CONTAINER
OPTIONAL:IF YOU HAVE A PERSONAL STORY TO TELL ABOUT DOROTHY,
FEEL FREE TO WRITE ABOUT IT IN THE LOG OR ON THE CACHE PAGE. WE
WOULD LOVE TO READ IT .
I WILL DELETE ANY LOGS THAT CONTAIN SPOLIERS(DETAILS OR
PICTURES) INDICATING EXACTLY WHERE THE CONTAINER IS LOCATED>
THE ROOT BEER LADY
Dorothy Molter was the last permanent resident in the Boundary
Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), a roadless area on the
USA-Canadian Border in Northern Minnesota. She lived alone on the
Isle of Pines in Knife Lake, which was 18 miles and 6 portages from
the closest road, for over 50 years until she died in 1986 at age
79.
Throughout the year people (as many as 7000 a year) would travel
by paddle-canoe, skis or dogsled to visit this woman of the
wilderness. Dorothy, a registered nurse, would administer first aid
to those in need, as well as offer visitors homemade root beer,
thus earning her the nickname “THE ROOT BEER LADY.”
In 1987, Dorothy’s family gave her cabins to the City of
Ely. They were moved to this current location and a Dorothy Molter
Museum was founded as a memorial to her.
The grove of trees in which the museum stands is the "Joseph
Rozman Memorial Forest." Joseph was a legendary conservation
warden. In 1950 he, with a group of Ely youth, planted this grove.
He died in 1951 and that same year the grove was named for him.
Also, in 1952 the fish rearing pond on Co. Rd 88 was named for him,
see my OLD KOSCHAK FARM CACHE.
.