Gull Lake, Wisconsin
715-575-5736
The Cabin's History
2000
Construction of the main home was complete, allowing the Grelyaks to open up "Gramp's Cabin" to renters from all across the country.
2020
Alex & Kaylie Cavender purchased the property from Donna Grelyak and began work on revitalizing the cabin and its beautiful lakefront.
2022-Present
The Cavenders began a new chapter in the history of "Gramp's Cabin" by renaming it "Meme & Papa's Cabin" in honor of their grandparents, Roger and Gayle Hess.
The Cavender Family
Alex & Kaylie Cavender
The Cavender Family was officially established with the marriage of Alex and Kaylie in 2016, but things really began when these two high school sweethearts met in 2007. After dating for almost 6 years, Alex finally proposed to Kaylie in June of 2013 on the annual fishing trip in Chetek, WI. After many tears, the answer was finally YES and 3 short years later they would be ceremoniously wed. Two moves, two children, two rabbits, three dogs, and four years later the Cavender Family would finally settle on the shores of Gull Lake in what they plan to be their forever home.
Gull Lake
50+ years of memories
What started as an adventure for Meme & Papa and their friends in 1966 has unfolded into a long family tradition. From 1966 through 2001 they made Piney Point their temporary home for one week each year. Unfortunately, the resort closed its doors, but that wouldn’t stop Meme & Papa from staying on the lake that they loved and moving next door to Shady Lane until its closure in 2006. In search of a new temporary home, Meme & Papa made the move an hour south and began staying on the Chain of Lakes in Chetek, Wisconsin from 2007 until 2013. At that point they discovered Gramp’s Cabin on the shores of Gull Lake and were able to resume their annual trips to the lake, which continued at Gramp’s Cabin through 2019. In the winter of 2020, the property was then sold to their grandson, Alex, and his wife Kaylie, allowing what was once an annual tradition to blossom into multiple opportunities to visit family on the lake that has always been their second home.
Who are
Meme & Papa?
Roger & Gayle Hess
Meme & Papa’s story began on July 24, 1965 with their wedding in Momence, Illinois. The following year they welcomed their first child and took a well-deserved anniversary trip to Gull Lake with several good friends. Between 1966 and 1972 Meme & Papa welcomed three children into their family. Over the next several decades, they continued to make the trip to Gull Lake each year with their children, friends, and extended family. Meme & Papa then welcomed their first of four grandchildren in 1989, adding yet another generation that is able to claim Gull Lake as their second home.
Just as they had done with their own children, Meme & Papa were able to imprint the importance of family on their grandchildren through quality time spent together on the lake. This, in turn, has led to two of their grandchildren proposing while on the annual fishing trip and all of them using it as a “testing grounds” for their future spouses. Meme & Papa’s children and spouses, as well as their four grandchildren and spouses all continue to join them each year on Gull Lake. In 2018, Meme & Papa’s first great grandchild, Alex and Kaylie’s first child, was baptized into a tradition that has now spanned more than 50 years and four generations. When Alex & Kaylie purchased the home in 2020, it secured Gull Lake as a place for the family to continue to grow and bond for generations to come.