27
Parking Lot in Front of All-Weather Swimming Pool and Main Hot Springs Pool.1962
Lakelse Lake, British Columbia, Canada
28
Outdoor Swimming Pool at Skoglund's Lakelse Hotsprings Resort.Spring 1959 - 1975
Lakelse Lake, British Columbia, Canada
29
Canal at Skoglund's Lakelse Hotsprings Resort.1960s
Lakelse Lake, British Columbia, Canada
30
'An inland canal, 50 feet in width and 2400 feet in length, runs through virgin forest to connect the hotsprings with beautiful Lakelse Lake. A boat launching ramp for the canal is situated within 1,000 feet of the main building at the Hotsprings,' reported the Northern Sentinel in a May 1965 article entitled 'Lakelse Hotsprings Boon to Area.'31
Kayaking Down the Canal at Skoglund's Lakelse Hotsprings Resort.1959-1975
Lakelse Lake, British Columbia, Canada
32
'In 1958, Ray bought the land that held the hot springs at Lakelse Lake and with his usual vision and determination he began to make things happen,' Skoglund's daughter Alice Gellner wrote in his 2003 obituary in the Terrace Standard. 'Some of the best memories of Ray and for the Skoglund family come from that era. They all took part in the running and developing of the hotsprings into the family business it so obviously was. All of the kids had their first jobs there and they all remember making hamburgers with their mom, Georgette and grandma around their kitchen table.'33
Outdoor Swimming Pool at Skoglund's Lakelse Hotsprings Resort.Spring 1959 - 1962
Lakelse Lake, British Columbia, Canada
34
The development of Alcan's Kitimat-Kemano project and the construction of the Kitimat townsite in the 1950s spurred Skoglund's development of the Lakelse Hotsprings Resort. Because of the increased traffic in the area, Skoglund could newly depend on a larger pool of regional visitors.35
Construction of Road to Kitimat.1950s
Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Caption on verso reads: 'Kitimat River Hill 1950's.'
36
Over 125,000 people had visited the resort in the first three years of operation. Following the completion of Skoglund's first phase, local newspapers marvelled that 'wilderness has been turned into a luxurious resort.'37
Outdoor Swimming Pool at Skoglund's Lakelse Hotsprings Resort.Spring 1959 - 1962
Lakelse Lake, British Columbia, Canada
38
Ray Williston Swimming in Skoglund's Lakelse Hotsprings Resort, as Featured in The Province.1959
Lakelse Lake, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Caption reads: 'IN HOT WATER at Lakelse Hot Springs south of Terrace is Lands and Forests Minister Ray Williston.'
Continued: 'He said his sinus trouble "vanished" during his swim in the 97-degree water. Almost 2,500 people swam in springs in September.'
'This could be one of the great tourist attractions of the country,' Williston is quoted as saying in the accompanying article by Paddy Sherman. 'It has all the potentials for a tremendous spa resort.'
Source: The Province, 1959.
39
By 1962, a new fine dining room and state-of-the-art kitchen were opened. The Northland Dining Room boasted an impressively large stone fireplace, in keeping with the rustic setting. There were 26 guest suites in total, including the ten deluxe housekeeping suites.40
Georgette Skoglund, Ray Skoglund, Mrs. Fraser, and James Fraser in Northland Dining Room.21 June 1962
Lakelse Lake, British Columbia, Canada
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