Farewell to Driftwood Resort

So many people have fond memories of their vacations at Driftwood Resort and after 50 summers of serving guests near Pine River, Mn., the Leagjeld family has decided to close their doors. When Driftwood opened for business in 1902, all resorts provided meals as well as other services for their guests. Today, only a handful of full-service, all-inclusive resorts are left in the Northern Minnesota, and even fewer are family-owned and -operated. Even among those, Driftwood was atypical, especially for the Brainerd area: It offered all the amenities the big resorts do — pool, golf course, meals, supervised children’s activities — but remained medium-sized. Owned and run by the Leagjeld family since 1959, it retains an old-fashioned family atmosphere that was increasingly rare. The reason for this announcement is that Sue Leagjeld is a sister of Dave Kaldahl, who is the head of the family at Fair Hills Resort. Sue and Dave grew up and worked at Fair Hills, learning the meaning of resort hospitality at an early age. After Sue was married, she and her husband, Ted Leagjeld, bought Driftwood Family Resort in 1959. They raised their family at Driftwood where they were exemplary in their service to their guests and tireless in their enthusiasm to ensure that everyone visiting had a wonderful time. Minnesota is losing a great asset with Driftwood Resort closing.