Wandawega Blog Archive

Thank you, Chef.Our old friends at @stockmfgco bringing the community together again here Including our buddy @juanmanjuan of @elchechicago and our dear @mindysegal of @mindysbakery @goatboyintl @monteverdechi and so many more.Last nights@wearecabinboys over the Bonfire so many good things that we will never take for granted Nobody works harder than chefs and their crews in the kitchen – we are damn honored get to help Stock host those who have hosted us for so many years.All this leaves us wishing that these fall nights and early morning coffee walks would never end.Thank you @garrettsweet for sharing your pics. Thank you to all those who have come through our gates the past 20 years. We have 5 weeks left in our highseason before we kick into our slow season for guests. So many plans & dreams for 2023-And they are all born from the thing that matters most to us- growing with- and from- community.

September 14, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

Fall season is coming for us!As were prepping for a full couple of months, were also deep in planning for our annual upgrades well be offering for spring season.Starting with the Canteen, to augment our daily brew, were in ideation for our new little brew your own coffee station. (Cause not everybody loves our basic black offering).Were making room in our little coffee corner to stock it with a dozen new options to self-brew a cup at a time. (And for the days when guests get up earlier than we do & the big pots not yet percolating). Its still gonna be free, just a little step up.Heres our running list of options so far, catering to the different drinkers here, and asking ourselves & guests:WHAT KIND OF DRINKER ARE YOU?FANCY PANTS:* LAVAZZA espresso* CAFE BUSTELLO* ILLY Classico OLD SCHOOL:* FOLGERS 1850 classic* MAXWELL HOUSE house blend* KRISPY CREME MODERN URBAN:* STARBUCKS Pike Place* DUNCAN breakfast coffee regular TEA:* TAZO English breakfast* TWININGS Earl Grey* BIGELOW peppermintHOT CHOCOLATE:* SWISS MISS* ENTENMENNS* HERSHEYSCIDERS:* MOTTS hot cider* GREEN MOUNTAIN spiced apple Photos by @bobcoscarelli and @aimeemazzenga+ mug shot by @stemsandforks

September 11, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

Hosting the amazing crew from @studiogang is always one of our biggest honors. And nothing is more fun than architects in the wild . (Zoom in on shot 3 to see what they got up to this time)9 years and running, their programming just keeps getting better.We will never understand why some of the most accomplished architects (who can choose any space in the world to host their creative retreat) would come here- but were humbled and grateful every time they return. The creative culture that they cultivate is GOALS.Thank you, Jeanne & Mark

September 10, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

Growing Wandawega.We are grateful to friends who have helped us grow this little place. Over the years, weve had different folks at different times come through these gates, each contributing something that has helped this little camp grow into something bigger than us. So we are thrilled to share our latest contributor, @marshmcgann and her contribution: THE CAMP POLLINATOR GARDENWe partnered up with our long-time friend and co-worker Cynthia McGann to bring more color, bees & butterflies to camp. (The dream is that at this time next year, well have enough to keep our little flower cart stocked so that guests can make their own cabin bouquets from our own field.)Shes started with the hillside that our canned ham is perched on (were off to a good start – this crop will put on a show well into September) And now shes already working on plans for another extension. Her nearby starter plant production garden is already overflowing with strawflowers, zinnias, calendula, rudbeckia & sunflowers, and more – its so hard to pick what we want to feature next.My grandpa Schnepper (and avid life long WWII era gardener) used to say that: its not the garden, its the gardener. We agree. Cynthia is such an inspiration in so many ways : Food Rescuer, Master Urban Farmer & Executive Director at Good Worx Inc. And her new upstart: @flowerfarmstudios. And shes a badass:When shes not growing good through gardening, shes crisscrossing the country in her tiny Airstream trailer (shes already logged over 16K miles & hit 8 National Parks – in her first year of towing). But what is most impressive is her non-profit @sunnypatchproject : DuPage County’s first community garden to grow with and for at-risk families and local food pantries. Its produced over 9,500 lbs. of garden shares since 2015 learn more at GOODWORXINC.orgTo plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow Ms. Hepburn said, and we agree. Thanks Cynthia for helping us look forward to all the springs. We promise to keep up on the watering ..First pic @lori_seidemann

September 9, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

Does anybody else remember these from their childhood?I grew up seeing them in my dads welding shop, my grandpas barn, and grandmas garden shed. They were a staple of rural midwestern childhood. Every lumber yard, cabin, and camp had them. But you cant find them anymore. So we started looking years ago and finally found the OG maker: Fulton Corp. Theyve been in operation since 1906 making match strikes out of the same factory in the little town of Fulton, Illinois. They also still manufacture old school supplies for hardware stores, lumber yards, & farm stores. We found some of their original factory photos and this excerpt in the Fulton Journal, December 8, 1916: A splendid industry founded in 1905, and among the articles of utility that was first invented and made was a handle dustpan.They were commonplace because they were free promotional giveaways that feed stores & rural businesses would give to their customers to stay top of mind.Ours is anything but fancy. Just like us. One of our favorite, simple little additions to our little camp store.pics 1/3/8 by @stemsandforks

September 8, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

We couldnt find them.Weve been searching for a match maker to make these for at least a dozen years… with no luck for years.Turns out that manufacturing was banned because the methods they used to make them were starting fires in the factories making them.So we finally found a maker who found a way to print them again with a match factory in Germany! So after lots of screwing up the design and rebuilding it again- we finally figured out how to make our own little people book version. Feature matches were popular from the 1940s-60s (these days, you can still find them in antique stores, eBay and collector sites).Ours feature:> Map to find this teeny lake> The top 9 activities to do here> Our mantra ALL ARE WELCOME…> People Diversity that the old school feature matchbooks didnt ever include, but should have. Sadly, most advertising from the 30s to the 60s only depicted one race and orientation.MATCHBOOKS are under-rated tools: campfire building smores making lantern lighting *Smokey says he will break your legs if you dont use these with caution & respect for the environment.sold in pairs of 2 in our campstore.Photos 1,4,6,10 by the lovely Betty @stemsandforks

September 7, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

The ranger station: Our 70+ year old tow-behind vacation travel trailer once used for post-war families on camping trips is now only outfitted to carry:Chocolate.Grahams.&Mallows.She may be retired from the road, but now gets more mileage hauling more of the necessities for more campers.@prezpipe prezpipe thanks for giving her a test drive.

September 5, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

GUESS WHAT The top three spots are that folks seem to gravitate towards when they first visit usThe AframeThe Treehouse The Pier The most lovely couple just promised each other their whole futures – and they hit up all three. Ande+Rich 4-ever.@katesengerphoto

September 4, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt

Fall is coming.Where did you go, summer of 2022?(feels like you did a drive-by this year)So now were Looking forward to a packed fall season to close out the high season. Pumpkins and cider and chefs and wellness retreats and artists in residencies.Then the leaves all hit the ground Well take again the 6 months to Plan & Dream.Build & repair.Grow & pull back.Re-set & re imagine.As has been our annual traditional & process for nearly the past two decades. Were setting our intentions for what we are putting in place for next year & until were raisins – a future of endless seasons with new mission, purpose & commitment. It all starts and ends with who will be joining us. Thank you for sharing your stay with us through your lens, @hellomasamadre @dltandrea @rodrigo.dlt

September 3, 2022 • Published by Tereasa Surratt