By: Mike Drake
Many of us know that the early history of the Hume area centered on two significant businesses. One, of course, was the Hume-Bennett Lumber Company that created the millpond that is now Hume Lake. Equally significant, though, was Gustaf Anderson, the original homesteader of the 320 acres, with his Log Cabin Saloon, that our founders eventually purchased from Gustaf’s nephew, Hume Larson, in 1946.
When the ministry purchased the property, it was known as Hume Lake Resort – A Quiet Place at the Road’s End. The purchase included a Hotel, Dining Room, Tavern, Cabins, Grocery Store, Boats, Camping Grounds, Gasoline and Oil Products, Curios, and a Post Office. The Swimming Hole and Horses were available for guests as well.
Three buildings remain in use from the original purchase: Spruce (one of our Ponderosa dorms built in 1935), the Ponderosa Lodge (the original Hotel) built in 1937, and the auxiliary building off the Ponderosa Lodge Deck that is currently the home of the Hume Coffee Co at the ground level and a residence on the second floor, which was built in 1939.
Despite many new and impressive Chapels, Dining Rooms, Dorms, and Lodges built since we acquired the property, the Ponderosa Lodge remains the “flagship” building at Hume. It represents and holds the history of the days before we arrived and all the years since. It doesn’t seem large enough to accommodate it now, but the Ponderosa Lodge was the camp’s kitchen, dining room, lounge, and office for many years, in addition to the sleeping quarters upstairs. As the camps grew, the deck in front of Ponderosa Lodge was expanded, and outdoor dining became the norm with temporary coverings to handle the summer rains.
Today it is the home of the Hume Apparel Store and also serves as the hub for the Ponderosa High School and Winter Camp staff, including their staff housing.
If the Lodge could talk, imagine the stories of laughter, bible study, and transformed lives that it could tell. And if you came to the Hume Lake Resort in the war years of the early 40s, you could rent a room in the Hume Hotel, it could be yours for $2.50/night!
