Sailors' Secret Revealed

If you've been on the Apostle Island Sail trip, you know one of camp's best kept secrets.  Yes, the Canadians are exceptional trips, but every once and while, a diversion might be good.  In this case, it's aboard a 30 foot sloop or 40 foot cat.

Now, Yahoo Travel has posted one of the secrets. It's one of their top 10 "secret" islands to explore.

Take a look, then make sure to sneak away to the Apostles in the next year or two!

A Thanksgiving Recipe

I'm going to assume everyone has the turkey and stuffing handled.  However, if you're looking for an outstanding "comfort food" kind of dessert, check out the Apple Crisp from Mary and Ada's Cookbook (and yes we have a few remaining copies if you'd like to buy one.  Just email me!)

Apple Crisp
12 apples sliced and placed in 12"x14" pan
Sprinkle apples with 3/4 cup of sugar

Crumbs to put on top of apples
2 cups flour
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup melted margarine or butter
1 tsp cinnamon

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until done.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Chippewa Wanderings

It struck me on the flight back from NYC how remarkable it is that the Chippewa family, begun more than 76 years ago with just five boys from Tulsa, now represents countless US cities and more than 15 countries.  Certainly it hit me like a brick wall when I landed in Beijing earlier this month (thanks to Calvin W. and his family!) that the world is truly shrinking.  Just this week, I mailed three brochure to St. Petersburg, Russia.  Our one camper from Moscow a few years ago may have been just a hint of what's to come.

For three decades now, Mexican families have been trekking north to Chippewa.  JP visited Mexico City not too many years ago.  Now, even the small island state of Martinique is home to a Chippewa camper.  Simply Amazing!  Most remarkable is how relevant the Chippewa experience is across cultures.  Bring boys to Cass Lake, remove technology and immerse them in an adventurous and rewarding wilderness experience, and what remains are boys who grow together.

To of our many international campers, staff and alumni, thanks for making the journey and for widening the reach of our unique camping philosophy. In honor, I attach a photo from 1981 of Ricky G., our first Mexican camper with his very first fish caught in Lake Windigo.  (Turns out, his first summer was my first summer.  And yes, we were cabinmates in Bunkhouse Cabin.  Howdy Ricky!)

The Chippewa Train arrives in London - briefly.

Last month a brief, but fun, unofficial Chippewa rendezvous hit the shores of our Island Nation.

Long-time Chippewa Alum, Charles B (1990's) stopped off on his way from doing business somewhere in Europe for a couple of nights of fun in London - meeting up with Roger C (1990's), Jim F (2000's) and me (2000's).

As with all good Chippewans, the theme of the weekend had to be sport and competition - Friday night saw us in Central London for a spot of cricket - always a fun sight to see England winning, even more fun when trying to explain the rules of cricket to a foreign guest - apparently several 'ground rule doubles' were scored? We even managed an appearance on live TV.

Saturday brought more sports - following a morning of rugby (another England win), we headed to north London for a football match (ok, ok, soccer match) courtesy of Roger C.

So wherever you are in the world, have a look, you might find a Chippewa Alum or two

Submitted by SJT