Camp 26: Chico's Haven and a Family Legacy
This story explains where my respect and love of hunting, the outdoors, and powerful familial bonds have come from.
Once, this land was a logging camp in the Northern Midwest of the United States. With one action that has blessed my family and me for a few generations, and hopefully many generations to come, it became my family's land. My Grandfathers Father, with a keen vision of the future, decided to purchase the land. All the while selflessly knowing that he himself might not get to enjoy the fertility of the land, but his sons and their sons and all of his descendants will have been gifted something greater than money. The logging camp known as camp 26 came under new ownership in the early 1930s when my great grandfather purchased it, and it quickly became the hunting property for the family, a whole 80 acres of hunting land.
With the remnants of the logging camp already there, the groundwork of a hunting shack was already laid. This shack has continued to thrive, the original shack had to be replaced, but to my family and I, the building itself is not the "Hunting Shack." It is the property and the fun times that we have all enjoyed there.
Anyways, my grandfather's brother Lawrence, whose nickname was Chico, quickly was caught up in the wilderness and adventure of the land and took to hunting with his pump-action 35 Remington, the gun that I use to rifle hunt the thanksgiving deer season every year.
The young Lawrence found the honey holes where the best deer could be found, and one ridge he frequented even came to be known to us as "Bloody Ridge," which ironically enough was a battle in the Korean War that my grandfather fought in while serving in the Marine Corps. Lawrence continued hunting and enjoying his time in the sweet silence of the forest until he was interrupted by a minor event we call World War II(note the sarcasm). Alongside General Douglas Mcarthur, Lawrence fought in the pacific theater of World War II with the 3rd battalion of the Second Marines. Lawrence was, unfortunately, killed in action in 1944 on the island of Saipan. He was 21 years old.
As I am writing this, I can not help but think that I, as a 22-year-old, have been blessed beyond degree by the actions of my ancestors. This year Uncle Lawrence would be 98 years old. As news of Lawrence's death soon got home, what better way could there be to honor him and his memory than by naming the land he loved most after him. Camp 26 became Chicos Haven, and I can not help but feel like I know this man who died nearly 60 years before my birth. The property that has been in my family now for four generations has been my favorite place to go ever since I was small.
Every Thanksgiving, all of the guys from the family, including the many cousins I have, would meet up at the shack at Chicos Haven, cram into a tiny little trailer, and hang out for a week. Hunting only plays in our heads as the background music when we get to come together as a family and sit with no distractions and have a good laugh. Telling stories about the past and telling stories of all the idols from our family that we young men have to look up to. I can remember every event I had had there, from spotting the first deer before my dad could as I sat next to him in our box stand to finally being able to pose with my first buck as if I had shot him with my 22 Long rifle. Then finally, to shooting my first deer all on my own with the iconic 35 Remington.
The property has continued providing food for even my family almost 100 years later. I can still remember the first year I was finally able to join my dad, go out to the hunting shack, and finally be a part of the guys. In the first year out there, all of the young men are taught the inner workings of the property and hunting. Learning all of the landmarks like Shay's Crick, Tin Cup, and my favorite, Bloody Ridge. The end of the first week comes, and my grandpa gathers all of the young boys there for the first time and quizzes them on the importance of our family history and our property landmarks. If you pass, you have officially become a part of the men of the family. If not, welp, better luck next year.
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Welcome to Chico's Haven!
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