There is always that one summer that changes you. (Do you remember which one it was for you? ). We hope that our little 9 year old remembers 2020As the summer of fireflies and glow sticks, smores and spending so much time with mom & dad.We when our campers send us their pics. So this is an open call – DM us your best memory from your visit with us so we can feature our favorites here.These memories from campers: @hunteratha1 @thewanderboys @alexperry80 @erockstaab @erockstaab @crystaltranrealestate @benleberofficial @_fishin_addiction @alacraterentals @melhog @mutantmachine We dream of summers that last forever.
September 7, 2020 • Published by Tereasa Surratt
What was in the Labor Day time capsule: .Its the holiday weekend here at Camp Wandwega in 1974. (Someone uncovered and gave us this shoebox of memories – every photo is of David, growing up here).The picnics, the mud fights, riding with his cousins in the back of the pickup through cornfields…It spans decades of labor day weekends at camp. .(We found the common denominator in these Polaroids as a lesson that were here to learn)They say the way to grow a business is to look to the future.But what if your heart is in the past?(And youre not sure if bigger is better for the life you want?)Were leaning in to who were meant to be, which is what this little camp has always been -embracing small for going on a hundred years now.This new forced social distancing reality has made us realize that.Smaller groups.Smaller events.(And the seemingly littlest lake in the county, with the smallest fish.)isnt a bad thing (unless you are a hotelier with investors & aggressive expansion plans, which were not)..The smaller moments with the bigger people in our life is what were embracing now.The smaller fleeting moments are the big picture for us, and now its what we now see when look to the future..We have a different meausuring stick for growth when we think about the future of this little mom & pop business.This last picture is of Charlie & David taken yesterday.She is now 9 years old (going on 19). .Its a time warp, because ( it really is just the reverse of the same picture of David and his mom taken 45 years ago).She is her fathers daughter.This weekend we have a full camp of folks doing the same little things we see in all of these pics- a good personal reminder of what this place – and we – are here for. Happy Labor Day, friends and to embracing the little things in life
September 6, 2020 • Published by Tereasa Surratt
Launching today -So happy to finally get to introduce the Fairibualt Woolen Mills x Camp Wandawega new blanket! We partnered with our favorite U.S. mill to create / customize for camp a little collection of three classic woolen products.FIRST UP: The Camp Foot Soldier Blanket.Youll find these in the footlockers of our WWII bed frames that outfit our Boyscout platform tents. And youll find them on some beds and wall hooks in cabinsand yes, youll find them in our online Camp Store. We love them, almost as much as we love the historic mill that made them. ABOUT THE BLANKET:Since the 1890s, Faribault Woolen Mill has been making blankets for the U.S. military and its academies. The Foot Soldier Military Wool Blankets were originally created in 1917, and have since maintained the same construction. Made with pure wool, the U.S. Navy Gray blanket is a piece of history. Featuring the U.S. logo & WANDAWEGA script in the center. ABOUT THE MAKER:Nearly 150 years ago, the Faribault Woolen Mills was founded by Carl Klemer in Minnesota. The brand began as a supplier for locals and people heading west, and turned to producing blankets for American servicemen, making 100,000 pieces each year. Recognition of the quality and craftsmanship represented by Faribault Woolen Mills increased demand until the mill was making more than half of the blankets produced in the USA. Today, Faribault Woolen Mills continues the tradition of heritage quality from its Minnesotan hometown.DETAILS MATTER:COLOR: U.S. Navy GrayFabric: Double-cloth weave for warmth and breathability. 100% wool.Wash cold. Line dry.Made in the USA.Dimensions: 66″ x 84″*We’ll be introducing the other products in the coming week one by one (because every little product is so special to us).Thank you @michberthiaume @bbildsten
September 5, 2020 • Published by Tereasa Surratt
The best part of owning a camp is that we get to give it away to causes & creatives. This years artist in residence program is taking a different shape. Weve partnered with @THEJAUNT to invite 4 local artists here for a week to make art… 25% of all the proceeds of the presales on thejaunt.net are donated to 4 local good causes:Social Works Chicago @socialworks_chi socialworks_chi. kellyLGBT Detroit @lgbtdetroit BakpakBrave Space Alliance @bravespacealliance. DavidDetroit Black Community Food Security Network- dbcfsn.org Ellen THE ARTISTS@ellenrutt DETROITWith an abstract vocabulary of shapes, textures & primary colours, Ellen creates her own language through mixed-media paintings, murals, installations and a variety of wearables. Through her work Ellen tells a symbolic narrative of connectivity and dissonance, through which she questions the ways we create meaning from non-sense. Her work often features an immersive, performative quality, encouraging participation.@kellyknaga CHICAGOIn her work, Kelly investigates the natural and digital landscapes through the play of shape, image, color, line and pattern. Her work utilises historical and sometimes fictional references through anthropological studies, mapmaking and storytelling. She is Dir.of Design Education at IUN & other design organisations.@davheo CHICAGOHaving recently been named as part of the next generation of Image Makers, David an upcoming artist who utilises the symbology inherent to historical paintings and illustrations of mythology and folklore. Utilising history to create mix of grand mythical meta narratives to serene frames of domestic daily life. Depictions of horses, dogs and tigers are typologies of the people he encounters in night life.@bakpakdurden DETROITWith a primary focus on the human figure, Bakpak, uses a range of mediums including oil and acrylics paint, graphite and photography to create their hyperrealistic and conceptual style. With an eye for detail and emotion their engaging subjects shine a spotlight on human feelings, moods and experiences. She also creates murals & continues her work within community, queer, and mental health advocacy
September 4, 2020 • Published by Tereasa Surratt
THEYRE FINALLY HERE! The Camp Wandawega Homer Laughlin Collection. .This started with an obsession in 2015 to find the perfect diner mug. (The kind you see in old school roadside cafes, that havent been improved on in a century). They earned the nickname hammer mugs because they are virtually indestructible you could literally drive a nail with them. This made them the go-to in every blue collar diner, where they could survive multiple drops from overworked waitresses and overtired truckers.Our search led us to a company thats been making them since 1871. The folks at Homer Laughlin China dug up their Green Bay Stripe paint color from the archives, and took the time to school us on the difference between traditional underglaze and real hand pinstriping (versus the fast & cheap methods most employ today in overseas factories).Its not cheap. Or fast. Or easy. We might be crazy, but weve convinced ourselves that a swig of straight black coffee somehow tastes better out of one of these. (Try it when you visit us next – some of you will think were obsessive, but some may get why we spent years obsessing on how to get this right.)Thank you, @hlc_dinnerware. Thank you for every last one of those hand glazed, finished, pinstriped plates, cups & mugs. It helps makes us feel like weve just taken camp one step closer to what it must have felt like to have dinner at the Wandawega Hotel back in its glory days. We are grateful to know there are still American companies like yours employing 4th generations artisans 140 years later, and thriving.The Homer Laughlin for Camp Wandawega line of bread and butter plates, hammer mugs and cups are finally now available on WandawegaCampStore.com. The boxes have filled up our kitchen already, so were looking forward to sharing them ! Like everything we ship from the store, it comes boxed up in a little camp swag love #HomerLaughlin #homerlaughlinchina And Fun fact: they also make @FiestawareChina @fiestatablewarecompany #homerlaughlinchinacompany #fiestaware
September 3, 2020 • Published by Tereasa Surratt
Our little A-Frame got a new color and coat inside this past weekend. Shes also got a new name. Arrowhead (because, well, its kinda shaped like the arrowheads we find around here) but more because we just got our new National Park font stencil kit in, (so everything here that doesnt have a name or sign already is about to get one). #RouterSignHappyLucky for us, her good outlook makes up for her diminutive size. Photos @katebe_
September 1, 2020 • Published by Tereasa Surratt
SINGLE SERVICE ? ? (its the little things)We started rolling our own house TP because we couldnt find packaging that wasnt wrapped in bad fonts & god awful graphics..And when you are forced to stock a dozen + shared bathrooms with five stacked roles at a time… piles of toilet paper become a focal point whether you like it or not. (So we just had to start embracing the TP towers.)We decided to throw them on our online camp store, too. (In the most utilitarian style custom cardboard boxes wrapped up like presents with a little swag tucked inside)We wanted to see if anybody else also wants something in their bathrooms that is slightly less ugly..Turns out that they do, because somehow our Camp Toilet Paper is suddenly our best selling item on the campstore site. .I guess Its the simple things (and now nothing surprises us anymore). Buyer beware (zoom into the label on these shots to read the instructions). We pulled our language form 1920s packaging when TP was introduced to the public. Single Service (apparently back then it needed to be explained….?) What was the alternative? Was there a double service option? .Google it if you want want some instant gratitude for being born in this century.
August 31, 2020 • Published by Tereasa Surratt
Tiny cabin, Many lives…Like most buildings on the property, the current guest welcome cabin has had a lot of different purposes over the past 95 years. When we first bought camp it was buried under a pile of tires (we stopped counting at 27) and so full of junk that we filled a 20 Yard dumpster until we hit the back wall. It was first erected circa 1925 where the main lodge patio is now (top image 4) – then moved sometime before the 50s. Then it was a garage.Then were told it served as wood shop.Then it became a junk storage shed from the 70s until we took over.We gutted it and made it a workshop.Next it was the Ural Shed (for Motorcycle storage.It would be a pop up bar for Jim Beam & temporary coffee shop for @intelligentsiacoffee-.Now its just our little hangout and welcome cabin..You hear folks describe old buildings as having good bones. This little guy was never graced with good ones, just old ones. But around here we respect our elders in all forms. Because anything that has served so many so well for so long – deserves to be around for another few decades..Welcome to the little welcome cabin.First 3 shots: @katebe_ No.8 bottom: @bobcoscarelli
August 30, 2020 • Published by Tereasa Surratt
Growing. On the drive home last night we pulled off to grab an ear of corn – and learned quickly that it was feed corn, not sweet corn. (Thats what we get for attempting to steal produce). And I shouldve known better – growing up in southern rural Illinois, my five siblings and I were sandwiched in between cornfields & soy. After the neighbor harvested, dad would throw us all in the back of the pickup to go gleaning. (Picking up the scrap corn that the combines left behind).Wed get enough to feed the horses for a season (it was also the only solution when you had a pasture-less winter ahead, and feed grain prices were unaffordable)..Growing up surrounded by fields taught us work ethic, resilience and a freedom you cant teach a kid as easily in the city. Charlie is already 9 and sprouting up mostly in Chicago for school – so she hasnt had as many of those learning opportunities . But now, with this pandemic, thats been changing. .Hopefully a decade from now when shes off to college the saying my aunt loved will ring as true for her as it did for me: You can take the girl out of the country, but you cant take the country out of the girl. If you also grew up in the sticks, – you know that cornfields will keep you grounded no matter how far you stray. (Just always keep an eye out for ticks) 4th pic: old shot of Charlie at one of our fav stops on the route from Chicago to camp: fourth generation Thompson Pick-Your-Own” strawberry farm with rotating crops (sunflowers are in season now).6th pic: Charlie walking the fields with one of our Chicago friends @nicolemarietoalson neighboring farms @bullagnes Since we bought camp, nearly a dozen city friends with kids have also found second homes (and lives) up here. We are all starting to see that these fields around here grow so much more than corn.
August 29, 2020 • Published by Tereasa Surratt
16 years ago today David & I tied the knot here.—-It started raining right before guests arrived,and did not stop until the sun went down.I wore wellie boots down a muddy aisle that was lined with daisies & friends.Wed only bought camp 6 months before (so it was still nearly a condemned property.).So we just locked all the building doors to all the cabins, threw down grass seed and a threw up a big tent.We rolled in racks of raincoats and umbrellas.We danced in 3 inches of water & finally coaxed a bonfire out of soggy logs with sooo many gallons of diesel fuel.We were cash poor from sinking everything we had into just getting this dilapedated camp.So the whole wedding was on a shoe string budget. (literally, $12k all in for food, booze, rental, band, flowers… everything.)We shelled out more for the porta potty rentals than we did my wedding dress & all bridesmaids dresses for my sisters combined.Our cake was $100 from a local bakery, we made our own table flowers from local green house, thrifted every Salvation Army in 3 counties for the tent & table decor and had a friend take our pictures.Proof that you dont have to have a big wedding budget or be fancy to have a nice wedding came when Martha featured a little story with a photo of a bride in a mud drenched dress on the tree swing There is an old saying: Rain on your wedding day is good luck. Its attributed to several cultures (but mainly from the Hindu) with the idea that since marriage is often referred to as tying the knot, a wet knot is harder to untie & signifies a strong marriage.Happy anniverary to us & to everyone who gets rained on the day of their wedding.As luck would have it, todays wedding forecast calls for rain here.I think were heading outside..It feels like a million years away, as these blurry photo will attest to. (The result of being 6 months in quarantine when all you can find are screen captures of old memories)
August 28, 2020 • Published by Tereasa Surratt
