This year, we’re proudly celebrating 110 years in business and 35 years of Lantry family ownership at White Eagle Resort. We are part of less than one percent of businesses who have ever achieved this milestone. 110 years.

Twelve years ago, my husband Tom and I (Steph) became second generation owners of his family’s resort in Northern Minnesota. At the time we didn’t realize we weren’t just buying a business—we were stepping into a legacy filled with generations of memories, expectations, and untold stories.

The Beginning…

If I could sit down with anyone, dead or alive, I think I’d choose Robert Rutherford—or “Bob,” as his friends knew him.

Why? Because Bob and his wife Ellie were the very first owners of White Eagle Resort. And the more I dig into their story, the more fascinated I become.

Bob was born Edward Kirsch in Michigan in 1876. He married Elizabeth Mamerow in 1914, and soon after, the two began going by the names Robert and Ella “Ellie” Rutherford. They relocated to Minnesota, where Bob opened a photo studio in Virginia, MN. Ellie, meanwhile, spent her time fishing on Lake Vermilion—and fell in love with the area.

In 1915, Ellie purchased “Gheen Point,” the land White Eagle Resort still sits on today. What’s fascinating is that, even though she was married, her name alone was on the deed—a bold move for a woman at that time.

Their original dream? A 200-room hotel called Magic Rocks. But instead, they built something humbler and truer to the land: a wet boathouse, a lodge, and several rustic cabins made from logs cut right off the property, insulated with old newspapers, and perched on ledge rock and tree stumps. Some of those structures—the boathouse, the “museum,” and a couple of cabins—are still standing today.

A Colorful and Unexpected Past

Here’s where White Eagle’s history takes a turn. Bob’s past wasn’t exactly squeaky clean. As a young man, he escaped prison by crawling through a drainpipe. Later, after an argument with a neighbor, he was accused of arson and sentenced to three years in Stillwater prison.

But this is where the resort itself became part of the story: Ellie and the resort’s guests vouched for his character, writing letters on his behalf. Their voices carried so much weight that Bob was released after just six months so he could return to Lake Vermilion in time to open the cabins for the summer season.

Add in a dash of Prohibition-era bootlegging that reportedly went on here, and suddenly this quiet little fishing resort had a backstory as colorful and unexpected as the northern lights.

And then there were the feuds—like the one with the neighboring Chaps Lodge. When Bob discovered that part of his root cellar had been built on Chaps’ property, instead of moving it, he simply cut off the corner that crossed the line and left the rest standing. Needless to say, the rivalry only grew from there.

The Vos Years

In 1939, the resort changed hands to the Vos family, who would steward White Eagle for the next 50 years. From 1939 until 1989, they grew the resort, built connections with generations of guests, and kept the cabins filled through both quiet times and boom times. Many families who still come to White Eagle today first arrived during the Vos years, and their era laid a foundation that carried the resort into the next chapter.

The Lantry Family

That next chapter began in 1989. When Tom was six years old, his parents Mike and Bonnie Lantry decided to purchase White Eagle Resort (formally Vos Resort). They moved their family of five from Homewood, IL to Cook, MN in search of the “good life.” Tom’s father was an attorney in Homewood, and moved his practice to Cook and for about a decade he continued to balance managing the resort and serving as the district attorney for the small town of Cook. Meanwhile, Bonnie kept busy cleaning cabins, doing all laundry on site and raising three small children, Tom (6), Anne (4) and Ranae (1.5) as well as homeschooling them during the winter months. 

A day after the initial purchase of the resort, the main lodge which was located where Eagles’ Nest cabin currently is, burnt to the ground. This was a devastating fire because not only did they lose a beautiful, historic lodge, but they also lost all of the guest departure and arrival details! Saturday check ins were very stressful that first Summer because guests would just show up on Saturdays and they had to hopefully remember to come during the right week, and second remember what cabin they had booked! Thankfully, Mike and Bonnie made it work and developed a loyal following of repeat guests who have continued to enjoy vermilion and support our small business for generations to come. For that, we are truly grateful! 

In 2013, Tom and I stepped into ownership, first running it alongside his siblings before eventually buying them out to become sole owners in 2019. All the while, we were raising our three daughters here, with the cabins and shoreline as the backdrop to their childhood- just like their dad.

Since then, we’ve added six new cabins—including Tom’s childhood home, a private island, two offsite vacation homes, and two new builds. Every historic cabin has been renovated, operations have been modernized, and we’ve shaped a brand that’s not built on luxury or polish, but on connection, storytelling, and intentional hospitality.

Today, we’re proud to have an 80% rebooking rate a year in advance. Our guests don’t just come for a vacation—they return because they feel part of something bigger, a living story.

Looking Ahead

White Eagle is rustic and real, woven into the land and lake. But our journey is also about something more universal—what it means to carry forward a dream, and to honor the history of a place while creating new memories for the next generation.

And as we close out this milestone year, we’re humbled to be part of less than one percent of businesses who have lasted this long. 110 years.

Here’s to the stories still to be told.