“BILLIE BEAR is a very busy place these days, paint brushes and ladders everywhere, getting its face lifted, ready for the coming busy season. We wish Mr. and Mrs. Atkin the very best of luck in their new undertaking.”

- Mabel Brook, Huntsville Forester, May 20, 1954

“HOT WATER was only available in the Lodge so porcelain jugs were filled with it every morning and delivered to cabin porches and set in portable basins for washing and shaving. There was only one ice-box under the Lodge, outside of the walk-in kitchen freezer, so ice blocks [were] removed from sawdust in the ice house under staff house next to the Lodge and put in the refrigerator for that day. In 1957 and 1958 staff included 3 waitresses (university women), 2 cooks, 1 dishwasher, 3 housekeeping girls, 1 laundry person, 1 receptionist and about 3 or 4 outside maintenance people. Staff income was modest at the Lodge but room and board was free and guests were generous with tips to all of us.”

- John Park, Billie Bear staff member (1957-1958), November 2004

“ON ONE OCCASION, I remember vividly setting up dynamite down under a large stump to be removed at the beach area. When guests were having breakfast in dining hall one morning, we set off the explosion but used too much. There was a tremendous bang and the stump split in two parts, one of which took to the air, flying back and hitting the dining hall roof. This caused plates to rattle, some to break, and guests to jump, but everyone had a good laugh later.”

- John Park, November 2004

“WE ARE an informal vacation resort … nice, but not swank. We live and dress comfortably. We have spontaneous parties. We go off on trips together. We respect each other[’]s privacy and accept each other’s peculiarities. We share adventures … and we do pretty much as we please. Perhaps that is one reason why so many guests come back year after year … why young folks … and old have such good times here.”

- Billie Bear Brochure, 1960 (Atkin)

BILLIE AND BROOKIE sold Camp Billie Bear in 1945 to Ross Millard, an announcer for the CBC, and Charles McWood. The Millards (Ross and Bernice) and the McWoods (Charles and Shirley) ran the Camp for only two years; an announcement that the property was again for sale appeared in a Billie Bear newsletter of winter 1947. The purchaser was Lt. Col. William Kelsall, director of military postal service in Canada and Europe during World War II, who operated Billie Bear for about six seasons. In most of these years, and during the Atkin family’s proprietorship from 1954 until 1964, Billie Bear was the site of the annual nature camp of the Federation of Ontario Naturalists, held for two weeks in late June and early July. An article from the Huntsville Forester of August 19, 1948, indicates that Mabel’s legacy of hospitality and informality persisted: “[The Kelsalls] have quickly caught the unusual atmosphere of the place, and are ‘one and invisible’ with their guests.” The flagpole, now gone, was erected by the Kelsalls, who also undertook improvements to the cottages and lounge, to the generator and lighting, and to the water supply.

When they purchased the property in 1954, Graham and Timmie Atkin changed the name to Billie Bear Lodge and, in 1960, many of the cottage names. Electricity reached the area the year the Atkins took over, silencing the diesel generator. An innovation in the early 1960s was the Billie Bear Frog Derby, a competition that invited cottagers to match their frogs against those of Billie Bear guests. During the Atkins’ tenure, propane heaters replaced wood stoves (by 1963 no cottage had a wood stove), and by 1959 most cottages had indoor plumbing – a feature tourists were by then considering essential. Graham Atkin also sought a re-routing of the Billie Bear Road, which had followed today’s entrance past the staff house and continued through the property near the current location of the hangar. Photographs from the period show that the property was taking on a more landscaped appearance, with much clearing, especially along the shore.

Bert and Shirley O’Brien operated the resort from 1965 until 1973, with caretaker Vic Gostlin and his family. The cottage Centennial was built during this time, and Ridgewood, which had not been offered to guests for several years, was rebuilt and again appeared in the brochure. The O’Briens put the property up for sale in 1972, and the proprietor appearing on the 1973 brochure is W. F. Barry. Barry must have run the resort for only one season, if at all, however, as it was purchased in 1974 by Dave and Dianne Gronfors.

For the next 12 years Billie Bear was the home of Huntsville Air Services, operated by Dave and Dianne Gronfors. Fly-in fishing, hunting, and sight-seeing trips became a regular feature of the resort. Dave installed docks for his float planes and an adjacent parking lot at the shore. Legacies from the Gronfors’ era include the hangar – rebuilt in 2017 – and the helicopter pad, now a curiosity on the shoreline. The dining room closed in 1978, when the family moved from what is now Bear’s Den to the Lodge.

Ann and Bruce Cassie bought the property from the Gronfors in 1987 and were joined by Bill and Vivian Russell the next year. Billie Bear Lodge became “Billie Bear Resort,” and renovations included the addition of bedrooms to many cottages. Open porches were enclosed with screens. A major change for returning guests was the severance of the property across the bay to be sold as cottage lots. In 1992, the Russells took over full ownership of the resort and continued to make a number of renovations, including replacing the one-room Flintlock cabin with the present log cottage. Today, the resort is operated by the Billie Bear Lakeside Community Club, established in 1998.

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