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 THE CHASE HOTEL LEGACY
1851
Lewis Woodruff Chase was born September 8, 1851 in Peru, New York and married Louise Hanson on
January 2, 1887 at Kilbourne City, Wisconsin, now known as the Wisconsin Dells. By 1890 they called
Brainerd, Minnesota their home where three of their children, Isabel, Edna and Raymond Wallace were
born. In 1894, Lewis decided to bring his family to Walker, then a raw wilderness town full of saloons
and lumberjacks. Two more children were born to the couple in Walker, Loren and Natica. The family
lived for several months in a tent on land purchased by Lewis that eventually became the site of the
Hotel Isabel.
1897
Lewis, more fondly known as "Bert" and Louisa managed the bar as well as the Hotel Pameda, which
opened for business in 1897 at the present site of the Village Square. He purchased the business in 1898
and changed the name to the Chase Hotel. Louisa cooked meals and served coffee to the soldiers who
were waiting near the City Dock to take the boats and barges to the battle site. This particular battle
became known as the last Indian war to be fought in the United States on October 5, 1898.
1915
Realizing the need for more upscale tourist lodging in 1915, they built the modern twenty-room Hotel
Isabel on the west side of Lake May Creek with Louisa in charge. During this time Bert operated his
Chase Hotel and bar on Minnesota Avenue. The Hotel Isabel (Isabella) was named in honor of their
daughter, Isabel. Early newspaper accounts refer to the building as the Chase Annex and it was used for
special VIP guests booked at the Chase Hotel.
Bert soon realized that Walker was on the third largest lake in Minnesota and had fantastic fishing but
not enough hotel accommodations for the hundreds of fisherman and their families that rode the train
to Walker and were forced to stay in tents along the shoreline for the duration of their stay. Bert's
vision was to turn a small logging town into a modern resort town that catered to thousands of tourists
from all over the United States and abroad. Leech Lake and the Chase Hotel would earn a reputation as
a resort and playground area.
1918
The New Chase Hotel was to be built on the site of the Spencer Hotel, one of the first six hotels built in
Walker. Architect Johnson from Bemidji was hired to draw up the plans for the new hotel. The digging
of the basement for the new hotel began on the morning of Wednesday, October 11, 1918. Sartell &
Dunwold, a sash and door factory located in St. Cloud began milling the windows and doors. Arthur
"Archie" LaVigne was hired as the contractor. The original plan was for 100 rooms with a dining room
facing the lake that seated 75 people at one time. The Chases took out the first mortgage of $500.00 at
8% interest with the First National Bank of Walker on March 1, 1922. As the storyfs been told, the
complete project cost for the Hotel reached and astounding $150,000.
1922
The chase's son, Loren, worked tirelessly during the months the new hotel was being built. He was
physically exhausted and the stress of the job proved to be too much. He developed a cold that quickly
turned to pneumonia which took his life on May 27, 1922 at the Walker Hospital, just days before the
Grand Opening, which was slated for June 8, 1922. The village of Walker mourned the death of this
beloved fellow.
Bert and Louisa were devastated. They built the new hotel with the idea that Loren would continue in
the hotel business as Bert's health was failing. William Francis "Bill" Finnegan, husband of Isabel Chase,
daughter of Bert and Louise, took over management of the New Chase Hotel in 1922 after the loss of
Loren.
The Cass County Pioneer newspaper states that the four-story building had 80 rooms. Each suite was
equipped with bath and toilet, and hot and cold water in every room of the house. With the Hotel
Isabel, they could accommodate over 100 guests without undue crowding. After the New Chase Hotel
opened for business in 1922, Hotel Isabella was used as a dance pavilion.
The Grand Opening celebration of the Chase Hotel took place as planned at 8:00 p.m. the evening of
June 8th. The guest list was enormous. The dining room and breakfast room were used to
accommodate the guests and the tables were laid three times before all had eaten. The banquet was
served in five courses while the Dot Van Orchestra of Bemidji provided music for dancing.
Speeches were presented by Senator. P.H. McGarry, founder of the village, Judge Stanton, M.B. Van of
the St. Paul Hotel, Hon. Gemmell, general manager of the M&I Railway, Ed I.P. Staede, owner of the First
National Bank in Walker, and Representative Daniel Delury. One of the first guests to register was W.W.
"Billy" Faucett, founder of Breezy Point resort. He was probably best known for his magazine
publications, "Captain Billy's Whiz Bang". He arrived in a seaplane that landed at Walker City Dock.
1925
A toboggan slide was installed by the Sellner Company of Faribault, Minnesota in June of 1925. It had a
thirty foot high tower and a 100 foot chute which wooden toboggans were mounted on iron rollers. The
toboggan and passenger would fly about one hundred feet into the lake after leaving the slide.
1938
Bert passed away July 17th, 1938 at 4:00 p.m. at the Chase Hotel from throat cancer which he had
suffered from for seven years. He would have been seventy-seven in September of that year.
1944
During Finnigan's twenty-two year tenure as manager he was a most effective booster for the Leech
Lake area, serving as president of the Leech Lake Resort Association, Walker city councilman, and past
president of the Walker Rotary Club. Unfortunately, his life was cut short when he suffered a heart
attack while duck hunting on September 20, 1944.
After his death, Isabel and her mother, Louise, operated the Chase until they sold to Mr. and Mrs. A.F.
Kruse of Grand Forks, ND in 1948
1954
Floyd and Mary "Kay" Weller Jones purchased the Chase on May 1, 1954 and kept the hotel in operation
until 1974. An enclosed swimming pool was added on the east side. A remodeled lobby and hotel
entrance graced the hotel in 1963. In the winter of 1964 they remodeled and added tiled baths, room
suites, new carpeting, drapes, and furniture. They opened the dining room and served three meals a
day and built a reputation of excellence for their family style fried chicken dinners. A remodeled dining
room in 1965 was able to seat 190 people at one time. The Shoreline Motel built in 1962 and owned by
Mr. and Mrs. W.A. Stittsworth was sold to the Jones in 1966. Operating the motel in conjunction with
the hotel made this one of the largest motor-inn type operations in northern Minnesota. By 1974 the
hotel was closed to winter guests due to economics and the third floor was opened to permanent
guests. The Greyhound Bus Depot, which for years had operated out of the hotel lobby, was moved to
the motel office.
Jim and Barb Aletto became the next owners. They worked diligently to have this building placed on the
National Register of Historic Places. They succeeded and the Chase Hotel was placed on the Register on
June 4, 1980. Remodeled rooms on the third floor became the Aletto familyfs living quarters.
Isabel H. Chase Finnegan died November 8, 1980.
R.C. "Nick" and Janice Norman took over ownership of the Chase on January 15, 1985.
Darla Ross bought the Chase on August 1, 1991. She did extensive remodeling throughout the hotel and
added a new shingled roof over the entire hotel.
Mark and Kathy Shimer took possession of the Chase on April 26, 1993. They worked to bring back the
historical ambiance of the Hotel by major remodeling. They uncovered the original windows on the
west side of the lower dining room area and installed a lounge in front of the dining room, "Bert's
Speakeasy". Shimers found an original bar in Minneapolis that had once graced a popular saloon, The
College Inn, here in Walker. It was located on the corner of Minnesota and 6th Street on the present site
of the First National Bank. Shimers had major plans for renovation and for bringing the Chase Hotel
back to its original state, when a June 29, 1997 fire destroyed their dreams as well as the hotel. It never
reopened, until now... June 2008.
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