summer sequel

A MINNESOTA COUPLE'S NEW LAKE HOME PRESERVES THE SOUL AND CONTINUES THE TRADITIONS OF THEIR FAMILY'S CABIN THAT STOOD ON THE SAME SITE FOR DECADES.

- GARY THOMPSON

LAKE LEGACY

(Opposite) Deb and Pat Lalley's new cabin by Minnesota's Stuart Lake sits on land where Deb's late father, John Fox Sinclair, built one in the 1950s. This commanding view reveals the beauty of a place that holds troves of memoriesand the promise of more.

NEXT-GEN DESIGN

Minneapolis architect Bryan Anderson and interior designer Stephanie Lalley created spaces that multiple generations can enjoy, such as this corner where Deb and Pat's grandkids like to play. The built-in bench's Sinclair tartan fabric inspired the home's color scheme.

Pat Lalley made quite a first impression on his in-laws. He met them at their cabin on Stuart Lake near Clitherall, Minnesota, about three hours northwest of the Twin Cities. That's where his wife, Deb, spent part of every summer. "With three daughters, they weren't used to a guy breaking the rules of the lake," Pat says. "Like when tipped over Deb's mom on her mattress in the water.

I believe there was a collective moment of shock and silence until she emerged from underwater with a smile on her face. Deb's dad just shook his head and kept saying, 'I can't believe you did that.' ووو The daring dunking-literally turning a summer tradition upside down-became part of family lake lore that dates to 1898, when Deb's great-grandfather John Fox bought 20 acres of land by the water and called it Camp Fox.

One of his daughters, Harriet, married a James Sinclair, and they had a son, John Fox Sinclair-Deb's father. Harriet was deeded part of her father's land, and in about 1950 she and her son built a cabin on it. John Fox's other descendants built cabins nearby. Today, the road to the lake is named John Fox Drive.

For Deb, who grew up in California, the lake was an escape from urban life. "I treasured the quiet, the wildlife and inventing things to do," she says.