Listening Point Foundation, Inc.

10/08/2026

“It is the intangible values of the land they need. The conservation of waters, forests, mountains, and wildlife are far more than saving terrain. It is the conservation of the human spirit which is the goal, and that is what is meant by the good life, one with the opportunity to find peace and quiet somewhere beyond where they happen to live.”
- Sigurd F. Olson, Reflections from the North Country

10/02/2026

“From the very beginning of our adventure with the point, we had dreamed of someday having a little cabin tucked back in the pines, a place we could come to on a moment’s notice… At first we thought of placing it out on the point itself, on the flat spot that lies like a hollow of a cupped hand back of the fringe of dwarf pines that border the sides. There it would be high enough to catch the vistas and have the feeling of space all around. But the more we thought about it, the more we were convinced it would be wrong, for nothing must ever change the point itself; it must remain a sanctuary forever, a place reserved for vistas and dreams and long thoughts…So we looked to the south, below the pines and the shelf of rock, where a huge glacial boulder had been dropped by ice. I had always liked that boulder and the way it sat so solidly at the base of the point as though it were a commanding monument marking a frontier, a line beyond which one must never go. The boulder guarded the point…While there would be no unbroken views from the windows, they would give us a hint of what could be seen by merely stepping out of doors.”
-Sigurd F. Olson, Listening Point

10/01/2026

Because he understands our problems
Because he is a vital part of our college
Because he is well liked by everyone
We, the students of Ely Junior College
Dedicate the Voyageur 1940 to our Dean

Sigurd Olson was the Dean of Ely Junior College (now the Vermilion Campus of MN North College) from 1936-1947

09/30/2026

“We brought the maples into the yard so that we could enjoy for a few short days in the fall the brilliant reds and yellows of their coloring, so they could remind us of the flaming pageantry of the entire north whenever we looked their way, the poetry of shorelines and protected bays, the magic of seeing alone and vivid splash of red against a whole hillside of somber green. We wanted them to remind us of the portages of October and old logging roads carpeted with their fallen leaves.”
- Sigurd Olson, The Singing Wilderness

09/29/2026

“I am beginning to see after all what my main interest in the out of doors has been. It is not a scientific interest as I thought for so many years and still thought until this year. What has kept me in the woods all these years is the love of beauty… If I was watching a beaver, it was not the beaver and its habits as much as it was the light on the pool, the dark mystery of the forest around the pool, the symmetry of the dam. If I was trailing a deer, it was not so much the habits of the deer as it was the vistas I gained along the ridges and through the trees. If it was ducks, it was more than anything else the view of a flock against the sunset or dawn in the rice rather than the birds themselves. In other words it was the scene as a whole which drew me…”
-Sigurd Olson, journal entry, 1931

09/23/2026

It was a joy to host this group of young philosophers!

09/12/2026

We had an incredibly successful Northwoods Dinner last night! Our keynote speaker, Stephanie Pearson, closed our evening with an important message from Sig.

“Freedom of the wilderness means many things to different people. If you really want to enjoy it, you must recognize your responsibilities as adult humans living in the world with others.”
- Sigurd F. Olson, Reflections from the North Country

09/10/2026

Our migrating friends came to say goodbye to the gardens at the Writing Shack and store up on supplies before departing for the season. We were grateful for their company this summer and look forward to seeing them again next year!

“Beauty never stands alone,
is so fragile it can be destroyed by
a sound or a foreign thought. It may
be infinitesimally small or encompass
the universe itself.”

- Sigurd F. Olson, Reflections from the North Country

09/08/2026