Photo submitted
Here’s a postcard that was postmarked June or July 12th, 1948. It’s a picture of Moll’s Lodge which was located on Wadsworth Lake. I have actually been there but I no longer remember where on the lake it is. I don’t think that it’s standing any more. I think it was operated by the Owens family from Ohio.
The message informs the recipient that not very many fish have been caught. However, someone in the group caught a ‘nice bass’ and another person a pike. If anyone knows anything further about Moll’s Lodge, please let us know.
NOTE: If you are interested in having a picture and story featured in The Madawaska Valley Current, please submit the information to Bob Corrigan at madvalleycurrent@gmail.com (marked Heritage Photos)
It is fun to see the postcard. My grandparents Harley and Nora Moll built Molls Lodge and the cabins. The cabins were named after family members and our two dogs Duke and Prince. I have wonderful memories of the lodge and spent many summers helping out. I also met my husband there. Chuck and Faye Moll were helping with the running of the lodge.
Brenda, thank you for the information. All this time, I thought that Moll’s Lodge referred to a woman with a first name Moll or Molly. I have recently been in touch with Darby Moffatt, formerly of Barry’s Bay, who actually spent a good amount of time at the lodge in the 1960s. He was dating Chuck Moll’s niece who worked there during the summers. The lodge actually belonged to Chuck’s parents who came from Cleveland, Ohio. They were probably part of that wave of Americans from Ohio who came up to this area in the 1920s and 1930s. So many ended up on the other side of Combermere that the road along the Madawaska River there was called Ohio Road. Initially the Molls wanted a place that could be used by the family for hunting and fishing. First thing you know, four small cabins were built on the property. When Chuck inherited the place, he began operating it as a lodge, renting out rooms and cabins to American tourists. Chuck’s wife operated the lodge during the summer and he came up to help out on weekends from Cleveland where he owned a tool and die metal works operation. In time, the lodge was sold and, not long afterwards, the lodge burnt down.
Bob, this lodge was located on the property currently owned by Mervin/Wanda Olsheski off Kopernik Road. From my recollection of discussions when I was very young it was operated at one time by an individual named Chuck Moll from the U.S.