{"id":1153,"date":"2018-12-27T19:24:05","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T19:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/45.79.94.179\/?page_id=1153"},"modified":"2020-09-24T18:18:01","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T18:18:01","slug":"bena","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.paranormalfiles.org\/index.php\/evidence\/bena\/","title":{"rendered":"Bena"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\nBena,\nMN Big Winnie Store<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn\nNovember of 2014 and March of 2015 the Midwest Paranormal Files\ninvestigated the Big Winnie store and RV park located in Bena, MN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\ncan find them online here.\n<\/a>http:\/\/www.historicwinnieresort.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe\nstore is a registered historic site and has been serving customers\nsince 1932. The area has a rich Ojibwe history as well as well as\nbeing a logging and resort community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nNear\nthe store are the remains of a POW camp. Opened in February 1944, 220\nGerman POWs moved into a CCC camp that borders the property. All that\nremains now are some remaining basements and foundations. The\nproperty had 80 acres with over 30 cabins, and at one time, a mess\nhall where loggers and trappers could eat a meal. That mess hall is\nnow part of the store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThis\nis an excerpt from a paper written by the Germans at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBena,\nin the northern part of Minnesota, was shaken out of its peacefulness\nby the arrival of about 220 POWs in early February of this year. The\naforementioned POWs were supposed to find accommodations in the\nformer Civilian Conservation Corps camp in order to follow the lumber\ntrade from here out into the giant forests. The camp sits about 150\nmeters to the right of the road which runs from Deer River in the\ndirection of Cass Lake. The north side is bordered by Lake\nWinnibigoshish, while the woods stretch for miles on the east and\nwest sides. As usual we had to have a major cleanup upon arrival, in\norder to bring the camp to a condition which one would call cozy at\nhome. If one recalls the 28-degree [Fahrenheit] temperature on\narrival day, and how everything was wrapped in a thick blanket of\nsnow, then one can recall the mood of the time, which was the result\nof this sudden weather change from the hot camp in Concordia Kansas\nto the rough, inhospitable climate in northern Minnesota.\u201d (This\nfrom Drahtpost #2 translated by Marty Pauley)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe\nBig Winnie store is a unique store West of Grand Rapids done in the\nBavarian style. There are rumors that the architect Frank Lloyd\nWright may have been involved in its design since he was staying on\nLake Winnibigoshish during the early 30s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nArnold\nDahl, along with his partner, Matthew Wooley, purchased the store\nfrom Dahl\u2019s father in 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIt\nhad fallen into disrepair when they decided to take on the massive\nproject and renovate it to the way it is today. Arnold and Matthew\nattempting to preserve as much of the original character as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nArnold\u2019s\ngreat-great-grandfather, Ernest Flemming built the store in 1932.\nMany generations of Arnold\u2019s family have managed the property which\nmay have led to some of the paranormal activity we were there to try\nand document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nClaims\nat the property involve hearing footsteps, catching the sounds of\ndisembodied voices, and smelling perfume. They even caught some\nsuspicious activity on the security cameras which they were generous\nenough to share with us. They took video of the monitor with their\nphone so they could show us. We tried hard to debunk this. We put a\nmeter that is sensitive to vibration on the shelf. Then we jumped,\ntried shaking it, waited for the train, nothing would set it off. Nor\ndid it result in any bottles falling off. It looks as if it came off\nthe shelf with a bit more force than gravity alone. There are a lot\nof bottles and collectible glassware on this shelf. Why would only\none bottle fall off?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n