An Outdoorsman's Journal

The Peter Hagedorn Story

Hello friends,

      I met Peter Hagedorn in 1982 while on vacation with my dad and brothers to one of his fly-in locations, "Shultz" lake, in northwest Ontario, Canada. In 1988, I became his camp manager at Chimo Lodge and the following year I began writing this column while camp manager at Chimo Lodge.
     Last week I spent 5 days at Pete and Elisabeth Hagedorn's home in Red Lake for his 87th birthday and made the decision it was time to do a column on this incredible man’s history.
     Peter Hagedorn was born in Berlin, Germany on April 2nd, 1938, the same year that WW11 started. Peter is quiet about those years but when he speaks of it, he includes memories of nightly bombings in Berlin. His home being blown up while his family was in the basement and his father being taken prisoner and being released by the British in 1948.
    Like most youth in Germany in that era, Peter became an apprentice at the age of 15 and his trade would be to become a printer.
    At the age of 19, adventure won over for Peter and he took a ship to Halifax, Nova Scotia and thus his life in Canada would begin. Canada needed laborers and Peter had 3 options, farm work, logger, with a Swede saw and horses or a miner, in this case a gold miner. Pete chose mining and soon found out it was very hard work, good money and he loved it, while working at the Pickeral Crow Mine in Ontario and ending up at the Madsen mine near Red lake.
   In 1973, Peter applied with the ministry to build a fly in camp on Roderick Lake which is about 50 air miles northwest of Red Lake. In 1974 Peter and his family, Elisabeth and daughter Berget and Josie started building their first cabin (Pete and Elisabeth have been married 63 years) and opened what would become Chimo Lodge in 1975 (Chimo, Inuit for friendship).
   Over the next 3 years, Pete built a total of 5 cabins at Roderick and began his outpost operation which in the end would be 10 locations, 11 cabins. During the winter of 1978 Pete also obtained his pilots license and purchased a PA12.
   In 1983 Pete upgraded to a Cessna 180 NPO, November Papa Oscar, a plane that I would fly in hundreds of times
   In 1988 I was offered a job as camp manager of Chimo Lodge, I took it and thus a solid relationship with the Hagedorn family and this business would begin
   The following year 1989, While sitting in a bear stand and camp manager at Chimo, I hand wrote my first column for The Poynette Press and never looked back. I would go full time as a writer after that but for the next 15 years spent at least a year of my life helping the Hagedorn's with my main skill being dropping trees, making lumber and building.
   In 1995, Pete purchased a Norsemen and thus "Chimo Air" was born, in other words, instead of paying to fly his guests, Pete would fly them himself. Between 1995 and 2013 Peter Hagedorn developed the largest float plane business in the Red Lake area owning two 180's, two Norsemen a twin Bech and thee Otter's. On one of the Otters, Pete paid $800,000 and had a turbine engine put in it.
   I have to add that Pete was always ahead of the game, the first with solar lights and appliances and always the least expensive on his prices so parents could afford to bring their children.
   When Pete Hagedorn turned 80 he was still a full time bush pilot and major business owner, it was time to hand over the reins and all of Chimo Lodge and Outposts was sold to my very good friend Chris LeBlanc who has maintained this incredible man’s high standards to this day.
   One hell of a man that Peter Hagedorn!

   Sunset