Lake Margaret feature | Portview Resort

Lake Margaret shoreline.

Submitted photo

Same family owns Lake Margaret resort property for past century

Family reunion planned this summer

BY NANCY VOGT

When Guy McClintick bought a rustic fishing and hunting camp on the west shore of Lake Margaret on the Gull Chain of Lakes a century ago, it’s not likely he envisioned his family would still own that prime property 100 years later.

But that’s exactly the case as McClintick’s descendants celebrate the centennial of Portview Resort this summer. Plans include a family reunion July 17 at the former seasonal resort, where various branches of family own 11 cabins.

Those descendants include McClintick’s granddaughter, Mary (McClintick) Miller, who with her husband, Doug Miller, are the only year-round family members at Portview. The Millers have lived on the far end of the 62-acre property that includes 1,710 feet of shoreline since 2000.

Mary shares the story of her grandfather buying the property - sight unseen - in 1921 with a loan from his father. The land today is in Lake Shore, just off Cass County Road 107, on Portview Road.

McClintick had just returned from serving in World War I to learn his candy route had been given away, leaving him jobless. Little did he know that what would become Portview Resort would also become a legacy for several generations.

Mary writes about those early days when her grandparents first took over the property:

“My grandmother was a milliner in the Cities and must have had quite a shock when she first saw the living conditions. At that time, it was a very primitive logging camp with a couple of rough structures. No running water or bathrooms.

“Over time, with hard work and determination, Guy built a fabulous small resort where each of 11 cabins had its own wooden boat (that had to be painted every year), several docks, fish cleaning houses and an ice house.

“There was always plenty of work to do: The two boys, Jim and Dick, helped build cabins, dig worms and became fishing guides. The two daughters, Jean and