MacGibbon family history
by Jim MacGibbon

The old MacGibbon cabin, built in the early 1930s, was constructed by a local builder whose last name was King. It is hidden from the road by foliage, as my grandfather, Everette Ellsworth MacGibbon, wanted it that way. He purchased the property from the Quinn family, the former owners of Good Ol Days Resort. As Mary Ann Ryan indicated in her history piece, written in 2013, my grandma Lucinda would stay the week with the kids while my grandfather worked at his dental practice and professorship at the dental school at the University of Minnesota. My father, John, was the oldest of the kids, followed by Jean, George, Ann and finally Duncan. It was a tight knit family that enjoyed sailing and canoeing, and they had a rowboat for fishing. My grandmother was alone with the kids with no car during the week, which wasn’t unusual in those times. My grandfather’s brother, Jim, was quite creative. He constructed the outdoor fireplace in the backyard and also built their first sailboat. There is a small model replica in the old cabin to this day. As the children became older, the family grew with grandkids and it became a busy place on weekends. The kids in my family are John, me, Tom, and Stu. Jean and Bill Conroy’s kids are Cindy, Bill, and Trisha. Chuck and Ann Bailey’s children are Mary Ellen, Peter, Kathy, and Caroline. George had their family
cabin in Alexandria and Duncan was on call as a doctor in Minneapolis. George and Duncan’s families rarely came up to the MacGibbon cabin on Lower Cullen Lake. In the early 1960s, Dad and his brothers acquired an E Scow sailboat from the White Bear Lake Boat Works. That became the main boat that we had access to. It required a crew to sail. We had a lot of interesting adventures on that boat, turning it turtle at times, and my Uncle Bill getting
caught in the ropes led to some intense times. It was fun to get that boat going fast, and it seemed in those moments you were always coming about. Later, Chuck Bailey acquired a speed boat behind which we all got to learn to ski. As Mary Ann Ryan indicated, we may hold a record as a family — Chuck pulling 13 of us along with some of the Ryan clan. Dad loved to sail and would often call on Ed Judd from down the shore to join him when we needed more crew members. I also remember Ken Hirschey selling Flying Junior sailboats and he had them anchored off his shore. Another person on the lake that I enjoyed fishing with was Bill Hursh. He was an anchor newscaster in Iowa at one point. Bill and I would go trolling for Northerns on hot summer afternoons and we caught some huge lunkers. Bill knew the lake for fishing and we always came away with something. He also invited me over for some to-die- for homemade chili, as well as some other cooked meals. I’ll never forget that man because he always included me. Lots of great memories from our times at that old cabin! It has maintained its same character throughout the years and I still enjoy the time I spend there. My brothers Stu and John have their own cabins on the lake as well.