Joe Schneider Sr. was one of the smartest men I have ever known. He not only wrote up the articles of agreement for the Minnesota Lake Hunting Club, he also headed up the Hormel Credit Union for a number of years and doubled the deposits while there and claimed he never had a bad loan. All this with a fourth grade formal education! He took a GED exam in Iowa years later while visiting his son Joe and received the third highest grade handed out in the state of Iowa that year!

Seven of us hunting partners built the 12×16 hunting cabin at the Buechner Lunder Yard south of town in the summer of 1964, and haled it to Minnesota Lake in the fall. The farmer agreed to let us park it in with his buildings and hook it up to water and electricity when we were there. We furnished it with a cook gas stove, refrigerator, 2 sets of bunk beds, a daybed, then carpeted it with used carpet, added some cupboards and built-ins. We had a radio that was always on WCCO, where in the night we could have Hobbs House and Cedric Adams on which helped drown out Joe’s loud snoring! Note the tin cup on the 10 gallon Dairy Queen can full of Austin water!

Joe and I hunted, fished and flew my Cessna to Canada and Lake of the Woods many times, also Mason City and Rochester for coffee just to be in the air. I got my start in 1952 flying F86 Sabre Jets in Korea.

Over the last 20 years, all of the members have died, the lake has dried up, the ducks have left and I don’t hunt alone. Two years ago, I gave the cabin to the farmer for being so good to us. We did, in 45 years, re-roof and re-side the cabin. Many good memories, hunts, comradeship, and of course there were the steak fries, popcorn and occasional beer.

Those involved with the cabin included: Dick Buechner, Ed Jirele, BillStrifert, Warren Anderson, Lester Hill and Joe Schneider Sr.
Dick Buechner, Austin