Ecuperating - Chapter 30

“I am the fourth son of Eric Tanner, the Elder,” Eric told Jayne.

“I am the last of seven. Actually I was one of those surprise babies that older couples sometimes have late in life. My mother was in her mid forties when I was born. I have three brothers and three sisters. My father married my mother, Heidi Gruber, in 1945, right after her father and mine completed the building of the main building of a hunting lodge in the Seney swamp.

I inherited the CEO position in Personal Securities from my brother James, the oldest of my brothers, five years ago, after he retired. That should put you up to grade on where I come from. I grew up in Grand Marais, Michigan, as did all my family and that of Hans Gruber, among others of my father’s group of personal friends from the war.

The group acquired the name ‘Lodge 16’ when the number in the group reached that number. I will refer to the group as Lodge 16 for the purpose of this interview. Most of the original members of the group lived in the towns surrounding Seney and Grand Marais. The main offices of Personal Securities are in Newberry Michigan.

“You came on our radar screens when your man Carl McNabb inquired about Lodge 16 over the internet and reached a level 5 inquiry. This showed us it was not a casual interest, but one that could be serious. We have an affinity to being scrutinized. We wanted to know why. When you wouldn’t just disappear we studied you closer to see if we could use your talents in our plans. We are still studying that possibility.

That’s what I’m doing here; studying you. The jury is still out as to whether you will blend into our plans. And don’t take us wrong. We only intend to make you an offer should it appear you can indeed help us out.

“I had to find out what your views are on certain controversial issues. I think I have found out what they are, and I approve of them. Half the battle is won. By the way, I want to thank you for sending along my father’s log. They are very excited about it back home. It will be included in the archives of Lodge 16. This brings me to my next point.”

Eric brought out three thick journals.

“These books are a small sample of the journals of the members of Lodge 16. They chronicle the family trees and the histories of those members and their children. The first one covers from 1945 to 1970. The second from 1970 to 1988. The third from 1988 to the present. It’s a lot to read.

These journals are but a small synopsis of the original transcripts of the members, who were encouraged to write about their experiences on each visit to the Lodge. Traditionally, the last day was spent writing in these journals.

The originals would fill a library. These are the true records of the goals and the lives of these people I consider my extended family. I’m going to give them to you and ask that you read them, reaching whatever conclusions you may. We ask that you read them with an eye toward making them a part of one of your novels.”

Jayne was excited. This is exactly what she wanted; additional data about Lodge 16 and its members. She could certainly make a book out of these. Hell, they looked like she could make half a dozen books out of it!

“That sounds like a deal,” Jayne said, hefting the journals.

“It looks like three days worth of reading to me though! And that’s if I start right away! I’ll take this home with me and call you when I’m done. I’m not sure I want to do this, but it looks like a hell of a good start for a novel. I don’t have to do any research at all. You’ve done it all for me.”

They separated and Jayne headed for home. She couldn’t wait to dig into the journals. A lot of questions were about to be answered.

The first of the chronicles was written by Eric Tanner. That made sense. He was the only one around in those days. Jayne skipped the first several pages because they dealt with a time she had already read about.

Eric had attempted to rewrite his early years from 1938 through 1944. It read pretty much the same as she had already read about in his log aboard the “Sea Princess”.

When the chronicles started to talk about Eric’s life after he quit the “Sea Princess” Jayne paid more attention. Still she could only skim, for the detail in the chronicles was about to bog her down. She wasn’t really concerned when it got down to telling how many logs went into which wall of the lodge and how they skidded them over the snow with real horses, not horsepower.

It was interesting to note that Hans Gruber was as instrumental in building the lodge as Eric himself. And Robert Calwell also had a lot to do with building the lodge. The three of them spent weeks out in the wild Seney swamp cutting and fitting the logs for the lodge.

Eric married Heidi Gruber in the spring of 1945, just after the roof of the main lodge was finished. They took a week off from building to celebrate the wedding. Eric presented Heidi with a beautiful home on the hill overlooking the bay in Grand Marais.

The entire town turned out for the wedding, and the newlyweds spent their honeymoon in the Morrison Hotel in Chicago. A week later they returned to Grand Marais and the building of the lodge. It was completed with its two wings in the fall of 1945. Heidi was pregnant with their first daughter.