The first sign of change - frost warnings will soon follow - is the departure of the 100-plus students, teachers and school administrators who have labored away their summer break in the resort employ.

Chances are the "kid" who saddled up your golf cart was a serious high school student, such as John Leitner, a junior at Pequot Lakes High School in search of a nest egg for his future college plans.

Or maybe the "cordial older guy" who kept order at the first tee was a long-time school principal, such as Ted Zarembski who has served the Transfiguration Church of Maplewood in that capacity since 1977. An avid golfer, the seasonal resident trades his summer labor for unlimited golf privileges and the chance to chat about the game with the resort's many visiting players. A favorite topic was the hole-in-one he witnessed at Whitebirch's 17th hole, a lofty shot by one of the resort's regular guests.

Then there's Maria Day, a Backus resident and the newest secondary learning disability teacher in the Crosby-Ironton public school system. She assisted in the resort's accounting department during her summer break.

The list goes on and the roll covers every part of the Breezy's operations. Perhaps no where did professional educators brighten the hazy days of summer more than at the two golf courses. There a dozen principals, teachers and teacher's aides descended like blossomed parachutes into the staff assembled by golf co-managers Doris and John Longnecker.

"We have come to know them like family," says Doris Longnecker, now in her third summer at Whitebirch.

Dave Gravdahl, the resort's general manager, encourages educators to take employment with the resort during the summer months.

"It's hard to find better prepared, more cooperative employees," he says, "and our guests receive high-quality service they have come to expect."

As a former principal in the Marshalltown, Iowa public school system, John Longnecker, with a little help from his wife, knows how to pick 'em. Consider some of the choices:

• Jeff Moen, a 1994 graduate of Moorhead State University, worked the pro shop at Whitebirch. He is a secondary special education teacher and coach at the Minnesota Learning Center in Brainerd, with experience in the New Ulm and Comfrey school districts.
• Suzanne Miller, who earned her master's and bachelor's degrees at St. Cloud State University, may have taken your golf reservation and accepted your payments at both courses. She is a long-time special education teacher in Arizona and Minnesota school districts who know serves the Brainerd system.
• Nic Anderson, a member of the Breezy Point City Council and teacher in the Pequot Lakes School District, ranged the courses keeping play on schedule. He even managed to play a few rounds himself.
• Geri Berezni, a welcome fixture at Breezy who returns each year, is a teacher's aide at Pequot Lakes Preschool. Her job is to make the pro shops glow with the warmth of her personality.
• Then there's Jodi Dickmeyer, an experienced sales manager who turned her passion for volunteer work into a full-time commitment. During the school year she is a teacher's aide in the Pequot Lakes School District.