Root Beer Lady: The Story of Dorothy Molter

by Bob Cary

An ice-cold glass of root beer and a warm welcome greeted thousands of weary paddlers who stopped at the Isle of Pines to meet Dorothy Molter, the courageous, independent woman who became a North Woods legend. Bob Cary, Dorothy's longtime friend, captures the life and spirit of the Boundary Waters' last permanent resident, the Root Beer Lady.

Genres: Nonfiction, Book Club, Biography Memoir, History, Biography

177 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1992

Reviews

[Susan Fetterer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am enamored with the BWCA ---- the million acre wilderness area in northern Minnesota. I have visited Ely multiple times yearly for 18 years and there's still so much more to explore. It is a place that brings peace to your soul, and I am fortunate to have a son living a wonderful life in that area. Hence the multiple annual visits. The story of Dorothy Molter is an inspiration. She was unique, having a life foreign to women during her lifetime. She lived alone for decades on the remote Isle of Pines on Knife Lake, 30 miles from the Ely. She would snowshoe in winter, canoe and portage five times to get to town for supplies. She was physically strong...could portage a 90 lb. canoe, several Duluth packs and fuel cans. Both friends and visitors were in awe and filled with admiration. As she aged, her troop of 'angels' made certain she had what she needed and that her cabins were in good repair, making repairs without being asked. More than 6000 visitors paddled each year to meet the Root Beer Lady and have a bottle of her ice cold root beer. Author Bob Cary was her friend for many years and renders a story that will leave you wishing you had known Dorothy. Dig in and read this!

[Lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

We owe Bob Cary a debt of gratitude for bringing the character and history of Dorothy Molter to life. Cary’s delivery is collegial and sincere. I was given this book as a girl and was enamored by Dorothy’s grit and spirit. I aspired to be Dorothy as I paddled the lakes of the BWCAW, thinking often of ways I might secret away to the depths of the wilderness and homestead. Alas, that future didn’t come to pass. Today, living just outside New York City, I return to Cary’s story for comfort. His sketches and prose transport me to the shores of Knife Lake and the surrounding portages and I am completely lost amongst the eagles, chickadees, snow drifts and root beer. If you a looking for a place for your mind to rest for a bit, join Dorothy on Knife Lake.

[Thomas Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bob Cary was editor of Ely, Minnesota's newspaper, /The Ely Echo/; he knew Dorothy and was in her corner in the struggle with the Forest Service to preserve her home.

She lived on the Isles of Pines, Knife Lake, a stone-skip from the Canadian border
https://www.google.com/maps/@48.0728,...

Dorothy Molter, 1907-1986 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy...
After her death, her friends moved her cabin over the frozen lakes to a site in Ely, where it's now a museum.

All Cary's books are well worth reading.

The BWCA is a marvelous area, still seems unspoiled although it's heavily used. It's threatened by sulfide-ore mines. https://www.savetheboundarywaters.org...

BWCA guidebook: Boundary Waters Canoe Area: Western Region, Robert Beymer

(The Forest Service evicted all the resort operators and all but two residents from the interior of what became the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. They failed to evict Dorothy because her friends made political trouble for them, and one old World War One hero because they would've had to kill him.)

[Judy Moe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must book to read if you are an avid camper,canoeist, have visited the BWCA (Boundary Waters Canoe Area in NE Minnesota) or are a lover of nature and the wilderness. Dorothy Molter is a legend in this area as the only woman who made a remote island her home for 50 years. She grew up in Chicago and would go with her father on summer trips to Ely, MN and the BWCA. After graduating from nursing school, she chose to abandon the big city and a nursing career to travel north (smitten by the shear beauty and untouched wilderness), to make this area her home. It is a remarkable story that is hard to grasp at first that a young woman would (and could) take on the difficulties of living in the wilderness, especially during the extreme winter weather in NE Minnesota. The author of the book, Bob Cary, became a good friend from the start and has done a marvelous job of capturing her life on Knife Lake. Having been to the BWCA twice myself, it was easy to envision what her life might have looked and felt like. Her legacy was legendary t0 the thousands of canoeists and campers who passed by her property. She became known as the 'Root Beer Lady' to these thousands, providing homemade root beer to quench the thirst of those travelers while paddling and portaging in this area of the BWCA. Highly recommend this read as a peak into a totally different lifestyle for Dorothy.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever been to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) or want to go in the future, this book captures the allure of this northern Minnesota wilderness area. Dorothy Molter lived there for 56 years (1930 - 1986)and met many thousands of canoeists who would stop at her home on Isle of Pines and drink a home-made root beer. While I have canoed in the BWCA on several occasions through the 1980s, I never had the opportunity to meet Dorothy. After reading this book, I realize what I missed. It's a quick read and helps you appreciate the determination and strength of personality needed to live in a remote place with deep, hard winters. The book also chronicles the many local people who helped ensure that Dorothy lived at her beloved Isle of Pines until almost 80 years of age.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting way of life. Unbeleivable how strong that woman was to survive in the wilderness.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading books to my husband since he was diagnosed this Spring with a rare form of cancer. He doesn't necessarily like the types of books that I usually enjoy so it is a challenge to find books that meet his criteria. The trick is to find something that will interest him and not have too many pages. Where I really enjoy books with a lot of detail, he does not.

The Root Beer Lady was a perfect mix of topic and brevity. In his younger days, my husband was an avid outdoorsman. He started the Honeywell Canoe Club and took many canoe trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area--the setting of this book. He stopped at Knife Lake for a bottle of Dorothy Molter's homemade root beer many times. He often dropped off supplies or left whatever provisions weren't used on the trip with Dorothy. We visited the Dorothy Molter Museum in Ely on an RV trip a few years back. This book was a walk down memory lane for him and it was my pleasure to take that walk with him through the pages of this book.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a delightful book about a woman who was as strong and resourceful as any of the mountain men you read about. Dorothy Molter was a city girl who grew up in Chicago and became a nurse. However, from 1930 until 1986 she lived on the Isle of Pines, 30 miles from the nearest city, Ely, MN. There she became known as "Nightingale of the North" for her Florence Nightingale style of helping the injured. She also was known as the "Root Beer Lady" for the tasty soda she brewed. The book is written and beautifully illustrated by a journalist who knew her well. Reading it is like listening to old time yarns while sitting around a campfire.

[Shawn Peyton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Dorothy Molter is incredible. I had the chance of meeting her once as a kid shortly before she passed. I count myself quite lucky after haveing read this book. The feats she was capable of make me ashamed of every time I though a portage was too long or tough. May her spirit always resonate in the BWCA wilderness.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read, I love local and regional books, particularily those of the north woods and North Shore of Minnesota. This was fun to read, down home and comfy. I've since been to the relocated cabin of Dorothy Molter and it was extra fun after having read the book. Good local lore.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book about how an unbelievable woman lived off the land in Northern Minnesota and made the best of it!

[Scott Block · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a lady! I'd you're a fan of the BWCAW then you will enjoy this book. If you're a fan of strong, courageous pioneer women, you'll love this book even more.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring and fascinating glimpse into the life of an amazing woman. The excerpts from her Christmas letters were delightful.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Living in northern MN, I can picture everything so clearly and could picture all the interactions with animals. As someone who appreciates the boundary waters, the story definitely made me look at the politics of it all from a different view, and I appreciate that it did! I only have the book four stars because it mislabeled an animal in the book. The “night Hawk” I do believe is actually a killdeer. Other than that the book was very enjoyable and I only wish I could try the root beer!

[Cindy Feyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

We just got back from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, where we camped on the same lake this amazing woman, Dorthy Molter, lived for most of her life. I’m so glad I read this while we were there. Bob Cary tell about her life through short chapters on different aspects of her life and time on her islands in Knife Lake. Great reading if you like interesting Minnesota people!

[Ray Timmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an outstanding person was this brave, powerful woman known as The Root-beer lady. Five trips to the boundary waters and passing a very short distance from the island where this courageous woman made her home, and we didn’t even know she once lived there. If ever I go back, I must at least stop and see the plaque dedicated to her memory.

What an exemplary human being!

[Shirley Klooster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definately gives you a "feel" for life in the wilderness. What it takes to survive, an example of strength of character as well as physical strength and endurance, how to follow your desire yet keep relationships, and the importance of looking after your neighbor.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is about an interesting, inspiring, and tough ass woman that worked hard to live in the place she loved. The writing style is straightforward (I believe the author started his career as a reporter?) and each chapter is really a standalone vignette.

[Rissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful life story of such an incredible woman! This book paints a picture of tough living in the rugged north with lovely descriptions of the beauty of Minnesota's nature, wildlife, and people. This was a truly enjoyable read!

[Wanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting lady

I had not heard of this before. I grew up in Minnesota and still reside here. I hadn’t heard of her before and was interested to read about her life. Worth reading,

[Josephine Acland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've lived in Minnesota for almost 4 years and I hadn't heard about Dorothy Molter until I picked up this up at the library. So happy I got to learn about this fascinating woman, I have such an urge to take a trip up north now!

[Cindy Close · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give 10 stars, I would! What a story, what a life Dorothy lived. Everyone should strive to be like Dorothy: live the life you want, and don't let anyone or anything bring you down. Now, to go visit the Dorothy Molter Museum in Ely and have a root beer in her honor.

[Christy Keeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cary is an exceptionally talented writer and tells the story of this iconic woman in a very readable way. Dorothy was a rare woman in an uninhabited, inhospitable world, an environment foreign to most. Her story provides a look into a time and place few knew or remember.

[Jan Stanton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this uplifting, feel good story.

[Sherri Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting story. The letters were fun to read.

[Joan Mc Curry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was recommended to me. I had never even heard of this wonderful lady. Great story!

[Brant Gurganus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dorothy Molter was a rather self-sufficient lady with an independent spirit. She had a creative mind for writing letters to her friends.

[Juliekloster77 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing life.

[Michelle Rosenau]

Great read of Dorothy's interesting life. I hope to make it to her museum in Ely some day.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of a strong and funny lady, and a life well lived! Told lovingly by a narrator in the know.