Peter James Ward Richie

Breezy Point Peter James Ward Richie

In 1919, Wilford Hamilton Fawcett, better known as "Captain Billy," published the first issue of Captain Billy's Whiz Bang. Filled with jokes and cartoons, the little magazine made a fortune for Fawcett. In 1921, he purchased 80 acres on the shore of Big Pelican Lake near Brainerd, Minnesota, and built a bluff-top village of cabins. The following year, as Fawcett Publications brought out True Confessions magazine, construction began on the Breezy Point Lodge. This magnificent log structure featured a ballroom, casino, billiard room, and bowling alley. After Fawcett's untimely death in 1940, the resort was closed until the end of World War II. When Breezy Point reopened, Minnesota families returned in droves. After a fire destroyed the main lodge in 1959, Breezy Point was rebuilt and reimagined by Hollywood entertainer Ginny Simms. The legendary resort has grown and changed over the years, but Fawcett's vision and adventurous spirit are still soaring above Big Pelican Lake and the piney woods of Breezy Point.