Dorothy Molter

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Dorothy Louise Molter (May 6th, 1907 - December 1986)was a very nice lady who lived alone for 56 years on The Isle of Pines on Knife Lake in the Boundary Waters, near Ely, Minnesota. She made root beer and would sell it to thousands of passing canoeists over the years. She is commonly referred to as the root beer lady. She was a trained nurse and would often treat people for minor injuries. She would only leave rarely to visit family in Chicago or to take additional education in Chicago to maintain her nursing license. In winter she would listen to the wolves and could tell when they made a kill, then would go out and take the game from them.

After her death in 1986, her cabins were dismantled and moved to Ely, as the BWCA Act of 1978 banned permanent residences and structures within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Everything had to be carried out by snowmobile as there were no roads. Time was of the essence as the Forest Service was directed to burn her cabins down by a certain date. Her residence was re-erected on the east side of Ely, Minnesota into the Dorothy Molter Museum.

Her remarkable life was the subject of a biography entitled "The Root Beer Lady" by Bob Carey of Ely. ISBN-10: 0938586688 Published in 1992. Publisher: Pfeifer-Hamilton.