By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

Kids splashing in the water, the aroma from hot dogs roasting on nearby grills and boating during the summer months has been part of the enjoyment at Pebble Lake just south of Fergus Falls for many decades. 

This reporter, his wife Sharon and son Mark were at Pebble Lake both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, July 28 and 29. It was Heaven on Earth with wonderful swimming and sitting in lawn chairs while viewing the beautiful sunsets.

Pebble Lake’s waterfront, two miles south of Fergus Falls, buzzed with activity during the morning hours in the 1950s and 1960s. Swim classes, under the direction of summer recreation director Odis “Oats” LeGrand, were held at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. 

The wave of baby boomers desiring swimming instruction at Pebble Lake, under the direction of LeGrand, topped 2,000 kids in 1962. They represented children born in the years following World War II, starting in 1946. 

For many lifeguards and swimming instructors, it oftentimes was a 12-hour day, from 9 in the morning for swimming classes until the beach closed at 9 p.m. Close to a half century ago the Pebble Lake beach was three times what it is today, and extended three times further into the lake itself. 

As many as five lifeguards were on duty during the weekends. Middle school and YMCA pools weren’t available in Fergus Falls until the late 1960s and early 1970s. The city added an aquatics center in 2025 near Kennedy Secondary School, resulting in a decline in the number of swimmers at Pebble Lake.

Even so, these days you still see kids splashing in the water, the aroma from hot dogs roasting on nearby grills and boating just like many years ago.