In 1937 Bill and Mabel Harrison came to settle at Fawcett Lake. Other than a Métis Settlement there was little there. The main occupations were commercial fishing and trapping.
Bill, whose nickname was Shorty, (due to his height or lack thereof) trapped to earn money for the homestead. Picking wild berries and making jams and jellies as well as fishing and hunting stocked the larder.
Gardening was a bit trickier due to the amount of rabbits who thought they were entitled to Bill and Mabel’s hard work. Their solution was to row to the east island and to make a garden spot there using a spade shovel, a hoe and a rake.
Bill several in the 1st and 2nd World Wars. During this time they left the homestead and moved about 10 miles from Fawcett Lake. In 1954 they returned to run the store. In addition they bought fur from the trappers and began guiding for fishing tours and moose hunting. Commercial fishing was reduced to 3 days a year.
It was during this time that they began to acquire boats for the resort. They ended up with so many broken paddles to go with them that they named it Broken Paddle. The resort is in private hands now but the name sticks to this day.