View from the Lake

A "Lake Koronis Special Edition," in the May 29, 1913, issue of the Paynesville Press, included the editor offering an explanation for the edition, poems about Koronis, pictures of the lake, a description of the differences of the places around the lake since 1891, and advertising from businesses.

Businessmen and citizens of Paynesville continued to find ways to attract visitors and increased business to Lake Koronis. The editor of the Press described the goal of the 1913 special publication, "But the 20th century editor will impatiently say, as the time for publication draws near and copy is late, this edition is not planned to appeal to the poetical, therefore impractical side of mankind, not to tell the student and the scholar that Lake Koronis offers many places of real historic vale, nor to tell the artist of the varied scenery and unsurpassed natural beauty, but to be practical and to tell the sportsman that the waters of Lake Koronis, teeming with fish offers many a victory of the rod and reel; to tell the tired business man of its real rest and quiet, soothing to the worn nerves and to tell the seeker for an ideal summer home, that here is the place and now is the time."

The poetry of Sir Walter Scott, describing one of Scotland's lakes was compared to the impression one had of the view of Lake Koronis from "Beckley's Bluff" in the morning of an ideal June day.

"What a scene were here, he cried,
For princely pomp or churchman's pride
On this bold brow, a lovely tower.
In that soft vale, a lady's bower
On yonder meadow far away,
The turrets of a cloister gray
How blithely might the bugle horn,
Chide on the lake the lingering morn,
How sweet at eve the lover's lute.
Chime when the groves are still and quiet
And when the midnight moon should laye
Her forehead on the silver wave,
How solemn on the ear would come
The holy matin's distant hum.
While the deep pealís commanding tone
Should wake in yonder islet lone
A sainted hermit from his cell
To drop a bead with every knell."

In the late 1800s and early 1900s the editor of the Press often described the natural beauty of Koronis. "One's impressions, as he views from a vantage ground a scene of natural beauty for the first time, are likely to be lasting. An intimate acquaintance with Lake Koronis and its natural beauties for eighteen years or more but confirms one in the belief that his first impressions were absolutely just. Fairest among ten thousand and altogether lovely, Lake Koronis has been is and always will be."

Many Lake Koronis photos, some of which are available for viewing at the Paynesville Area Historical Museum, accompanied the special edition. Pictures of peaceful Lake Koronis spoke a thousand words to potential visitors beckoning them to come and enjoy a view from the lake.

Next week: Conclusion of the special edition, including com-parison of Lake Koronis sites in 1891 and in 1913.