2013 marks the 25th year that Gerry & Lorraine, along with a few of the originals, participated in the opening ritual of Aikens Lake Wilderness, better known in these parts as Mollies and Dollies week. It is the week beginning on the Victoria Day long Weekend and ending at the start of the Memorial day long weekend ( US )where the Lodge is wrested from its season of darkness and ice and prepared for its summer mission. Friends and family converge on the sleepy Lodge and volunteer for a week of enjoyable but demanding work. The only staff are the Chef and Assistant who relish trying their new recipes on a very willing crew. Much needs to be done in order to prepare for the busy season. From restocking the coolers and freezers and shelves of the kitchen and Big Molly 's bar to re-organizing the displays of the Bait & Tackle shop and refilling supplies for the Shorelunch Kitchen to putting our entire fleet " ship shape" back in the water to cleaning and polishing every room and floor in sight, our crew of over forty Mollies and Dollies got 'er done! There is much more work to do nowadays because the ever evolving popular Lodge went from a primitive " camp " to a fully modern resort.

2013 also represents the 9th season of operation for President Chris Jensen heading the new Partnership featuring Pit and Julie at the helm. The change in the previous 8 years has been constant and progressive not to mention spectacular. It wasn't about expanding but about making everything newer and more modern and more comfortable and more attractive. It's been about expanding the "Aikens Experience" from the imperatives of great fishing and great hospitality to a true adventure in nature starting with wilderness cuisine at its best during the daily shorelunches, or taking a detour to observe an active Bald Eagle's nest or a nearby Beaver Lodge, or taking the time to absorb and savour occasional sightings of Black Bear, Woodland Caribou, Moose or the nearly 90 species 0f local and migratory birds identified here by Field-Naturalists over the last few years. It's about stopping by Indian Nose to see the centuries old Pictographs and letting your mind go back in times when canoes laden with furs and trade goods would stop there to unload and begin the portage to the "Big Lake". It's been about cranking up " the good times " and the great interactive memories at Big Molly's whenever one is not fishing or eating or sleeping. It's been about expanding and perfecting services at all levels from gourmet dining bigger fluffier bath towels to higher stitch-count sheets.

Today, the last of the Mollies and Dollies leave to make room for the "engine" of Aikens Lake, the best staff in the business to take over a readied plant and start delivering the Aikens Experience to each and everyone that will land at our dock this year. We wish you all the best season ever!

25 years of change