G & M Cabins — 1936, 1947

G and M Cabins — 1936, 1947. . , Tourist or motor courts such as the G and M Cabins present an excellent example of the transformation from mining-based economy to tourism which Lake City experienced in 1930s and 1940s. Special-built “auto camps” such as this , individual rental cabins grouped around a central shower house with men's and women's bathrooms , became increasing popular in the years immediately prior to and after World War II as the result of an increasingly mobile population, better highways, and an expendable income which allowed for vacations. A 1941 Colorado Transportation Department study found 53.4 percent of the motoring public preferred to stay in auto camps, compared to 17.2 percent who favored traditional hotels. , In addition to the G and M Resort (1936, 1947), other similar Lake City area auto camps include Harvey Blackburn's Trails End Cabins (built 1933, no longer exists), Vernie Ramsey's Ramsey Cabins (1935, modified), Joel Swank's Town Square Cabins (1939-1946), R.E. Gibson's Texan Resort (1946), A.L. Mullenix Wagon Wheel Resort (1948), Houghton and Begley's Alpine Village (1947-1949), and Kline Shaver Westwood Resort (1954). , G and M Cabins started as eight rental cabins , most along the alley at the rear portion of the property and consisting of one squared log and seven log-sided cabins , which were built by H.B. “Jimmy” Grant in 1936 and known as the “Occidental Cabins”. , Augmenting these were a series of log cabins, together with a central shower house and multi-level owner's residence with basement-level store, which were built in 1947-48 by two World War II Veterans, brothers Maxwell Hersinger (1904-1981) and Glenn, Hersinger (1912-1968). The brothers, who were initially drawn to Lake City by fishing opportunities, rechristened the auto camp the G (for Glenn) and M (for Max) Cabins. , As an example of the change from mining to tourist economy, land on which the G and M Cabins is located was originally occupied in part by two very early mining era commercial structures, Hinsdale House Hotel, a 2½-story frame hostelry which was built in 1876 and burned in 1901; located just to the south of the Hinsdale House was the two-story frame H.F. Sickles commercial building which was built in 1877 and was derelict in 1936 when it was demolished in the wake of the emerging tourism economy. , Glenn Hersinger retired from the tourist rental business in 1948, but his brother and sister-in-law, Max and Ima Hersinger, continued to rent cabins beginning at $4 to $8 a night until the resort was sold in 1967. Cozy log cabins at the G and M featured screened sleeping porches, wood cook stoves, and electricity which was generated 10 a.m. to noon, 6 to 8 p.m., with added hours on wash days. , Advertising in the 1950s urged road-weary motorists to “drive right up to your cabin door, walk right out to some of the finest fishing Colorado has to offer,” a lure which proved irresistible for generations of guests at Max and Ima's G and M Cabins. , [photo captions] , World War II Veterans Max Hersinger and Glenn Hersinger's G and M Cabins, pictured above in the late 1940s, were an abrupt departure from earlier mining-based commercial structures which stood at this location , the Hinsdale House Hotel, left, which from 1876 was one of Lake City's earliest hostelries, and the commercial Sickles Building, pictured below in 1936 as it was demolished to make way for the tourist rentals which were to become the G and M Cabins. , Max Hersinger, pictured top photo in 1966, was the long-time owner and, with his wife, Ima, creator of G and M Cabins, an auto camp mecca which attracted generations of visitors during the summer months. Center photo courtesy Jerry Koch, others, Hinsdale Museum.