Dorothy Louise Molter (May 6, 1907, in Arnold, PennsylvaniaDecember 18, 1986), lived for 56 years on Knife Lake in the Boundary Waters area of northern Minnesota. She was known as "Knife Lake Dorothy" or as the "Root Beer Lady", as she made root beer and sold it to thousands of passing canoeists in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), near Ely, Minnesota. Various factors combined to give her national prominence, extensive coverage in media, books and documentaries, and tens of thousands of visits by Boundary Waters Canoe Area canoeists, often with 6,000–7,000 visitors per year.
She first visited her future home (The Isle of Pines Resort) on Knife Lake in 1930. It became her home starting in 1934. Molter's life, and her place in the public eye was significantly influenced by the evolution of the area where she lived into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Changes related to this transition affecting her life occurred from 1948 through 1984. She died in 1986 at age 79. She was the last full time resident of the BWCAW.
Life
1907–1930
Molter lived with her parents Mattie and John "Cap" Molter in Pennsylvania until her mother died when she was in second grade. She lived with her five brothers and sisters in a Cincinnati orphanage until 1919 when her father remarried and was able to provide a home for them in Garrett, Indiana. Later, they moved to Chicago. She graduated from Calumet High School.
1930–1986
In 1929 Molter's father Cap began fishing on Basswood lake. While fishing there he learned of The Isle of Pines Resort, a fishing resort on three islands further east on Knife Lake, and booked his first trip there (with his wife, brother and two friends) for the summer of 1930. Dorothy had just finished a semester of school, and when one of her father's friends had a change of plans, she was able to go in his place. The Isle of Pines resort consisted of rustic cabins located on the Isle of Pines island and an adjacent island on Knife Lake in Northern Minnesota, yards from the Canada–US border. It was owned and operated by Bill Berglund. Molter became the owner of the lodge in 1948 when Berglund died. She was a trained nurse and would often treat people for minor injuries. Molter would only leave occasionally to visit family in Chicago or to take additional education in Chicago to maintain her nursing license. After Berglund's death she lived there alone until her death in 1986. Visitors were a "feast or famine" situation for Molter. During the warm months she would receive thousands of visits. Many signed her guest book which, would accumulate over 4,000 signatures in a summer. She began averaging between 6,000 and 7,000 guests per year, often over 100 in a day during the peak summer months of July and August. It typically took approximately days of travel from her home to reach the nearest road, and her home was approximately from the nearest (small) town.
She died December 18, 1986, at age 79. She was survived by her brother, John A. Molter and sister Hazel Hoffman, both of Chicago, her niece, Sally Margis of Midlothian, IL and many other relatives. It was said that the people of Ely, the closest town, were very saddened by her death, but happy that she died in the way that she wanted to.
Cabins and museum
thumb|right|300px|The Dorothy Molter cabin in Ely
After Molter's death, her cabins were dismantled and moved to Ely. The effort involved transporting the disassembled cabins by dog sled to a point at the Boy Scouts' Northern Tier Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base on Moose Lake.