History Mystery

David Bellert has a question about his own back yard. He wants to know if anyone has information on the Evergreen Hites supper club that once sat on the southwest corner of Minnesota Highway 23 and Carlton County Road 18 east of Wrenshall.

"Local lore has it that Tim and Nellie Pappelis were the proprietors and former owners of the property which we now occupy," David wrote. "A cement slab may be evidence of the former business although no plumbing or other visible clues remain. It was said to have burned down at some unknown date. Would anyone have more knowledge of the old restaurant or maybe even a photograph? We are eager to know more."

We found a 2004 obituary online for Maria Ellen Maxim, who was the daughter of the Pappelis couple David mentioned. "She grew up on the family farm in Wrenshall," the obituary says. "Maria worked in her parents' restaurant, Evergreen Heights Supper Club," it stated. (For reasons unknown, "Hites" was the spelling used in the name of the business.) She had two siblings, Theo and Thanie, who have also passed away.

So we have some confirmation. Can anyone else provide more information? Send us an email at [email protected] or call reporter Mike Creger at 218-216-6292.