HEART OF STEELE
Thank goodness Women’s History Month 2023 had five Wednesdays.
Over the past five issues of the Steele County Times, we’ve introduced you to women who are part of our local history. I can’t imagine having had to cull a single one from the list that Blooming Prairie librarian and local historian Nancy Vaillancourt compiled.
We close out March and our series with a woman who took on the challenge in 1988 of creating a “Lake Woebegone” July 4th travel package to Blooming Prairie, hosted by an east coast travel agency.
Isabelle Thorson turned a weekend of hosting visitors into the Pine Springs Inn, a bed and breakfast inn that opened in 1988. She was 71 years old at the time.
Isabelle and her husband, Glenn, moved to Blooming Prairie in 1956 and became active members of the community. She helped run his law practice.
The Thorsons may be best known as the couple who brought a swimming pool to Blooming Prairie. They bought land in the 1950s that turned out to have an underground spring on it.
When the city declined an offer to build the pool, Glenn Thorson did it on his own, opening the facility to memberships.
Pine Springs Pool landed back in the city’s hands when he became ill in 1972. He passed in 1973, having backed a wide variety of civic projects, including the Soybean Festival.
While little is written about Isabelle during the 16 years after Glenn’s death, a Rochester Post article describes how she transformed her home, originally built by the Noble family, into the Pine Springs Inn.
After her East Coast guests had gone, Isabelle spent several years learning the ins and outs of running a bed and breakfast. With help from her children, she got the one hundred year old home certified as a B&B, which required extension work.
In addition, she added special touches, like custom designed stained glass windows. The house had three upstairs bedrooms with three bathrooms; the attic was converted to a small apartment. There was also a first-floor bedroom for those who needed special accommodations.
The Post article describes Isabelle as an inveterate story teller and “a gracious hostess” who “welcomes all as long long friends.
“Her bright blue eyes sparkle as she tells one of her many stories.”
In converting her home, she also made the Pine Springs Inn a trip back in time for any traveler longing for the simpler days of growing up in a small town.
It’s a little sad that Isabelle is no longer telling those stories. But for those who visited, the Pine Springs Inn–and its proprietor–must have done their hearts good.