1999
The Life and Times of Calvin Rutstrum
by Dick Davidson
From the 20s through the 50s, Cal Rutstrum and Grey Owls' Archie Belaney were by far the most news worthy wilderness travelers. After World War II Cal wrote articles for Twin City newspapers and at the same time was Director of Wilderness Camping at Lake Hubert Camps. During the Summer of 1950 I worked for Cal as one of his two assistants. I had learned canoeing as an Eagle Scout earning a canoeing merit badge, and had taken a Quetico trip, but I learned canoeing the right way from Cal in 1950. In January of 1951 I asked and Cal put on some wilderness workshops at the winter convention of the Order of the Arrow, a scout camping honor group of the Viking Council, Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Attending were scouts from the Minneapolis area and west, plus a few from the St. Paul area. The next June a dozen or more who attended Cal's workshops, attended an Aquatics Section of the regional BSA National Camping School. There was quite a stir. Many of the things they had learned from Cal, backed by logic, were at variance with what was taught at the school. Cal's teachings could not be refuted. At the time, BSA canoeing was based on Red Cross canoeing. Red Cross canoeing was based on pool side canoeing that did not take in to account many things including wild and moving water. The BSA turned to their canoe bases, one in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin, to update their canoeing programs. The BSA case is just one of innumerable examples where Cal caused change. It was called the Rutstrum Revolution at the time.
In September, 1951, before modern topographic maps were published, Cal led five of us on a 12 day, off the beaten trail, canoe trip. It was at the end of the era of 'hearsay' maps, which often showed rivers flowing in the wrong direction, lakes out of place, etc. The 'hearsay' maps were all that Cal had until he was well past the age of 50, yet he led us for the full trip without pause nor question.
I owe much to Cal. In the summer of 1995, when the trip for the year was postponed due to flood and an accident, I took a solo trip down the Mara/Burnside to Bathurst Inlet. I don't think I would have done either at the age of 65 if I had not been mentored by Cal, so many years ago. One of my cherished possessions is the ax that Cal carried from 1925 to 1950.
