Our Friends, the Lutz Family

We at Belize River Lodge have been blessed with meeting and getting to know many anglers and travelers who love Belize over the years. Some people we see many times over many years, and we look forward to their visits to catch up on what has happened since the last visit – vacations, weddings, children and grandchildren are all stories shared over appetizers and dinner at the Lodge. The Lutz family is one of the families that we look forward to seeing and somehow, we always find something to celebrate – once an engagement, a 60th and 90th birthday, a year delayed due to Covid, and this past year, a faithful employee trip that fell on Fat Tuesday. Michele and I were teasing . . . Let the Good Times Roll!

The Lutz family had visited BRL in October of 2022 and had a long discussion with Marguerite about the jackfruit tree. It is not native to Belize; however, we have had one on the property for years. When it is in fruit, we have given jackfruit to Taiwanese, Hindu and vegan friends, who have enjoyed the bounty of this one tree. Sadly, we have never learnt to prepare jackfruit ourselves, but these friends have sent sample dishes which we have enjoyed.

After a lengthy Jackfruit discussion in October, a late season hurricane, Hurricane Lisa, hit Belize on November 2, 2022. Marguerite and Mike have weathered many storms secured in the main lodge building and have felt safe and comfortable. Hurricane Lisa barreled in at high tide and with a strong storm surge and while notated as a category one hurricane, winds gusted well over 100mph. Marguerite said that the waves looked like the “reef” crashing along the sidewalk at the height of the storm. The following morning, the storm had passed, and when they looked out, Marguerite, Mike and the staff who stayed at the Lodge saw destruction. There were downed trees everywhere, and of course the power was out, so no water (pump and well) and no internet. Many of the stately Royal Palms fell along with our beloved jackfruit tree and many others. Every sad story has a happy ending.

The positive side of the hurricane damage, no damage was done to any of the Lodge buildings, however, there was massive debris clean up. After digging out and doing the initial assessment, we sent out an email letting everyone know that the Lodge was as safe as could be and we were waiting for electricity to be restored before we could host guests, for about a week. We mentioned the tree damage and the loss of our beloved jackfruit tree. We sent a few emails with updates and Michael and Michele Lutz reached out and wanted to give their parents a Christmas gift by way of a donation to Belize River Lodge so that we could replace the jackfruit tree that everyone had just had a lengthy discussion about a few weeks before.

Michael and Michele generously donated a sum of money on behalf of their parents, Cal and Georgie, Christmas gift. With this donation, we were able to plant 9 Jackfruit trees around the Lodge property, along with Wild Fig Tree, Mamey, Lime, Lemon, Orange, Tangerine, Tangelo, Pink Grapefruit, Passion Fruit, Avocado, Breadfruit and a few Sweet Habanero. We were also able to add a seating area by the Polly Palace, under the mango tree, in Honor of Cal and Georgie Lutz. Please stop, have a seat and we hope you read this tribute. Thank you to the Lutz family for adding to our beautiful Belize River Lodge and also being long time BRL friends.

Cal and Georgie Lutz – A Christmas Gift

Their love affair started as a blind date on Friday the 13th almost 7 decades ago. Calvin Lutz, an airplane mechanic in San Antonio, TX asked Georgie Mulcock a student at Trinity College on a blind date – and not only did they fall in love, they traveled the world together including spending numerous holidays at the Belize River Lodge (BRL).

The Belize River Lodge (BRL) holds a special place in the hearts of the Lutz family – Calvin, Georgie, Mike and Michele. Over the years, it has been our home away from home, a great place to escape to a tropical oasis and enjoy all the beauty, fantastic hospitality, and fishing, truly paradise on Earth.

November 2022, during a late season hurricane, the BRL lost some decades-old trees, including a magnificent Jackfruit tree and it seemed only fitting for the Lutz family to help replace some of the beauty lost in the storm.

Their son, Mike Lutz, inherited his father’s passion for fishing, and together, he and Cal have spent countless hours flyfishing for the bountiful, and sometimes elusive tarpon, that the BRL is renowned for. We hope that everyone who reads this inscription enjoys the BRL as much as we do, and visit often to watch the new trees grow up and take their rightful place in the BRL lore.

The two photos show the cool, shady seating area overlooking the place of the original Jackfruit tree. There are 8 others planted around the BRL property.