.jpg)
The muzzleloader deer season opened on Saturday to snow on the ground and cold temperatures.
I started the day off with a hunt near Tower, trying to stay warm in gusty winds. Hopping back in the truck after a couple hours, I thought a hot meal would be a good cure for the cold.
That led me to thinking back to the early 1980s and going to Cook on Saturday mornings with my father. We would stop in Tower on the way, always at the Tower Cafe for pancakes.
Then it was on to Cook and a stop at the Cook News Herald. Gary Albertson, the owner of the paper, sold us newsprint by the roll. Buying a semi load was too big of a purchase at the time.
We would winch two of the 1,000 pound rolls into the back of a 1974 Chevrolet pick-up and slowly head back to Ely.
Gary passed away recently and I miss our regular phone conversations about the ups and downs of owning newspapers in northeast Minnesota.
Pulling into the Tower Cafe on a Saturday morning 40 years later had me thinking about pancakes, and memories. They had a buffet special that had all the right items including pancakes.
I was filling a plate at the buffet when it hit me. I didn’t have any money. I had put my hunting pants on that morning and when we were hunting at the shack, there was no need for money.
I set the plate down and explained my predicament to the owner of the Tower Cafe.
“Don’t worry about it, you can pay us later,” she said. “Or we’ve got some dishes you can do.”
I laughed as she did at the dishes part and thought at least the warm water would feel good.
“Do you take Apple Pay?” I asked. “We sure do!” She said. “We can make that work.”
And there it was, I was bailed out by my phone which has my credit card saved.
I finished the breakfast which was delicious. We have stopped there before and have never been disappointed at the quality of the food. And a breakfast buffet? Fantastic.
I’m sure we will be back to the Tower Cafe, either during the remainder of the muzzleloader season or maybe on a trip to Cook. For old times sake.
