Wandawega Blog Archive

So excited for the new @accidentallywesanderson book – just announced – coming out this October- presale is open !( And excited that we have our own little section in it; that has us over the mooooon. )* a few sneak peeks of some of the spreads they shared on the AWA site .Photos by :@nathanbobey (for DeptOfObjects.com)@nathanmichael (for our @topdrawershop collab)@lyndielou (featured in the AWA UK gallery wandawega room)

April 18, 2024 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram

>> BEFORE >>it was our Craft Cabin.We found this one abandoned so deep in brush & hornets nests that we had to crawl through an open hole of siding on the back to get in.. Barely a roof, a wall missing, no windows & spilling over with years of junk.(elbow grease & extended forks go a long way). One of the reasons we try to find & rehab the derelict tiny cottages is because they hold stories in their walls. From what the local seniors recount, this has been moved twice before originally a summer sleeping cabin and later then a fish cleaning shack.I have this crazy dream of making things in here with our someday with future grandkids. For now, we keepIt stocked for campers to get their old school summercamp crafts on – And wait.#BigDreamsLittleShacks…Shots 1 & 5 & 10: @bobcoscarelli

April 12, 2024 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram

GRAB ONE.NEW camper amenitystocking up our own little CAMP BAIT CANTEEN,Just in time for the season opener..OPEN 24/7 to guests.Take a canteen, use what you need. Restock the bait cooler for other campers.There. Youre welcome. What you can fish for in our lovely little Lake Wandawega Bluegill, Perch, Large Mouth Bass, Notthern Pike & moreNow for some useless night crawler trivia:FOUND under logs, – their presence indicates healthy soil, as they help aerate the soil and break down organic material.MOST COMMONLY used for bait are nightcrawlers ( Lumbricus terrestris )NIGHTCRAWLERS are larger and often preferred for larger game fish.STORED in bedding material like damp soil or peat moss in a breathable container….Thanks to:@chesperry at @rightwaysigns for our always on sign Camp staff for being worm handlers / models / bait stockers. @nathanbobey for making our favorite yet bumper stickers

April 8, 2024 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram

YES, CHEF!Big congrats to @timothyryanchi @geniekwon of @kasamachicago for being named top 20 restaurants in the US by @FoodAndWine – loved having them cook up a feast here for the @stockMfg @juanManjuan Campfire Jamboree last summer. Photos by @not.junk.food

April 7, 2024 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram

If anybody out there is reading this. (Praying that Instagram allows more than 1% of our followers see our post for once) We implore you to keep an eye out for any history on camp. (Aka: Wandawega Inn, Wandawega Hotel, Wandawega Lake Resort over the years)Photos. Postcards. Albums from grand or great grandparents who vacationed or had dinner here in the dininghall. any history at all. It all matters. No detail too small. For years we have been doing our best to be stewards of this property and its history. The @wisconsinhistoricalsociety have been a huge help, sending their researchers to advocate for inclusion on the state registry and then the U.S. Secretary of the Interior National Registry. As we are approaching our centennial year, were determined to uncover as much as possible.But its friends like Tim (@stockmfgco) who come through for us he just unearthed what is the first written correspondence from a guest here- that we have ever seen. Post marked August 1931- FlossWas writing her loved ones in Rockford :>>> scroll for what she reported >>>>In the details :Look closer. The original entrance that is now our canteen. The parking lot is (marked Wandawega Hotel on the gate is still used to this day. The newly planted baby pines are towering now, a hundred years later.We pay in gratitude, Good karma, a hefty mark up for what you find, good karma, our own camp Georges Nickel Bar Cream Ale created by our friends at @solemnoathbeer @hiddenhandbeer To learn more:The website – forWandawegaHistory.org Not For Profit The Book Saints & Sinners (in our campstore)The Podcast American Getaway (on Apple Podcasts and Spotify)

April 4, 2024 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram

.Built in 1925.Made tragic headlines in 1942.Modernized in 1961.Partial reno in 2017Today: Peeling back all the rest of the layers.Our lakeside cedar cabin has seen some sh*t over the years. First photo is of the proprietors inThe 40s. Around the time that a chicago murderer on the lam showed up blind chased by Feds from two states hunting him down (Tommy Lee Jones Fugitive style) they Caught up with him here. Within these walls is where he met his demise. The rest is history (as you can hear on our Podcast & book Saints & Sinners). We decided it was time to get out the sage & clear this joint. The walls are coming down. Weve got plans. Tent involve luxe walnut walls, green lacquer. Pendletons, hand knotted rugs.. Hopefully am antique taxidermy owl. Not quite sure what well find, but weve already discovered a window that has been boarded over from what looks like the 20s.Whatever we find- were prepared for. If weve learned anything from restoring this placeIts that you can never really bury the past, and sometimes its best to just embrace it.That said, after pouring through all the articles about what went down here, we may need more sage. Is the passage of 81 years enough time to clear a place ?

April 1, 2024 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram

Easter eggs.Going into the closet : As were gearing up for reopening. Were honing in on the *invisible details. The littlest things hidden around here that people sometimes find as a surprise.We call them Easter eggs.and they shown up in many forms around camp : from the air conditioning stick you find in our window sills to the vintage band aid boxes stocked with new strips, to the branded janitors department coffee mugs, camp bug identifier doornob hang tags. ID badges in the wardrobe dept, the nameson our sundries toothbrushes, the little maps printed inside our matchbooks, the story printed on the dininghall paper table placements, the story printed on the backside of our single use toilet tissue rolls. To the logo embossed into the tiny hotel soaps.we overthink pretty much everything around here. And its Easter, so we feelCompelled to keep up the tradition.Theres a reason that you cant find the old fashioned minimal advertisingwooden hangers anywhere but antique stores. They arent made anymore. From 1920s to the 1960s Laundrymats, dry cleaners and laundry services used wooden them as advertising giveaways. Later replaced by the printed paper versions. (Hotels adopted fancier models)Weve always wanted the ordinary blue collar style to stock the closets. Finally befriended a hanger manufacturer veteran willing to make us customs. One piece maple body + antique brass hook. We stained them walnut and then triple hand stamp. Each one tells a simple story:Wandawega InnElkhorn, Wis. Est. 1925From the Camp Wandawega Supply Co. Not every camper will find these in their closet.Happy hunting.RANDOM TRIVIA (about the most used and under appreciated tool)Why hanger?The word originated from the Old English word hangian, which means to hang.Invented by who?Issues in 1869 to O. A. North of New Britain, CT. a wooden frame with a curved shape to mimic the shoulders of a person. Why we love these Easter eggs: They give a glimpse into the history of advertising on a smallest of scales. Simple artifacts that document the most humble example of a marketing strategy for mom & pop businesses.

March 31, 2024 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram