The Ham Lake forest fire has been burning 300 miles north of us since May 5. At present it is mostly contained; contained means that the perimeter is blackened and hose is laid down. The fire may not be controlled, meaning it will not flare up again until late summer or fall. At times this fire has been a roiling two mile wide blaze, pushing its way across the landscape. There have been accounts of people driving through the smoke and flames as they evacuated their homes, taking with them only their children, pets and some important papers. Some of these same people returned to find their homes miraculously unscathed and others returned to ashes. Of the more than 138 structures burned, many were lost in the first week of the fire, near the end of the Gunflint Trail. Here the raging inferno incinerated buildings with disregard for the sprinkler systems and other fire suppression efforts that many had tirelessly worked at since the 1999 blow down. Included in these early loses were 44 structures at Wilderness Canoe Base (WCB). This loss connects the fire tragedy to North Minneapolis and is told in a story that has a 51 year history.
WCB is at the north end of Seagull Lake on the mainland, and two islands, Fishhook and Dominion. Aerial shots show significant damage to both Dominion and Fishhook Islands, and minimal damage to the mainland. Lost are the saunas where campers cleaned their bodies and buoyed their spirits when they returned from the “trail.” Lost are the signposts from the sauna to the lake, which read in the scattered billboard fashion of a Pall Mall ad “Cleanliness is next to Godliness;” but without a sauna, cleanliness is next to impossible. Many an adolescent matriculated into adulthood (or was it insanity?) when they took the winter plunge from the sauna into the lake. On cold days (-0 and below) you would not want to be the first one to take the plunge, as the ice would have skimmed over the surface of the ice hole. On Dominion Island the chapel still stands, alone. The chapel has been the place at WCB where people gather for First Word, Sunday service, weddings, memorials, special music, anniversaries, contemplation and sometimes Last Word. It may not be a mystery that the chapel remains - it did not have solid walls - it is an open air chapel. But then again…Fishhook Island also burned significantly. Gone are the Trailshack, Loon Bay, Morningside, Cradle Knoll and more. The main lodge, Pinecliff, still stands; almost as an echo, across the water from the chapel. It is something to be thankful for.
WCB grew out of the efforts of three LutherNorthwestern Seminarians Ham Muus, Bob Evans and Oz Anderson. Inspired by mentor professors, they wanted to do something for North Minneapolis youth and for other young people who were having trouble finding their way in life. They were on a mission of renewal; for others and for themselves I would guess. The original purpose of WCB was: To allow, encourage, and provide for meaningful life experiences for problem youth and youth with problems in relationship to a Christ who understands, who cares, who forgives, who directs, who strengthens, who restores, who gives life. Liberty Lutheran “gifted” them with an old hotel on Plymouth Avenue. This hotel was the first home of Plymouth Christian Youth Center, (PCYC) and explains the name of the organization which is neither on Plymouth Avenue nor in Plymouth, Minnesota. This is the place where their dreams became a blaze, that has spread a fire much bigger than the one that burns 300 miles north.
Anderson and Evans took out the first canoe trip in 1953, and in 1956 Evans and Muus purchased the land on Seagull Lake which would become the “Base” for future “Wilderness Canoe” trips. Eve and Russell Blankenburg, who owned the islands, were inspired by these young men and their dream to help young people. In the sale of their land the Blankenburg’s became an integral part of the “host of witnesses,” as Muus refers to the early supporters of WCB and PCYC. In 1957 the summer camp headquarters were the “Big Green Tent” and needed water was hauled up the hill from Seagull Lake. It was rustic, but it was amazing. The first campers arrived from Red Wing STS on June 18. 120 campers came to the woods that first year.
For 51 years young people, and adults, have been visiting WCB and embarking on adventures into the woods. Groups have come from all over the world, but it is important to note that many thousands of North Minneapolis youth have gone to the camp to find a piece of themselves in a deep way that does not always happen in the city. The groups have come from PCYC, New Directions, Project Success, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, YCC, Red Wing STS, Kinship, Sauk Centre and more. Many thousands more have come from churches in Minneapolis and around the Midwest. For the young people who could not afford a trip like this there have always been camperships. This was so that no one would be turned away. Currently, WCB is leased from PCYC and operated by Camp Wapogasset.
WCB has had tragedy before, I’ve been there. Wilderness has had fires before. The first Pinecliff Lodge was disassembled and moved from Basswood Lake to Seagull Lake. This was a remarkable feat that one would not embark upon if its total difficulty could be assessed. One winter night it burned to the ground and that same night director Muus and others poured the foundation of the next Pinecliff, warmed only by the embers of the burned lodge. They did this in anticipation of the 400 campers who were coming the next summer. From its beginning WCB was a camp etched out of the woods of those islands. Buildings have been built and rebuilt before. It may be easier this time, as the woods are thinner and the brush gone; and it may be sadder. People will come to help and some may be from North Minneapolis. This is because the most important part of WCB did not burn. It lives on, scattered across the land, in the memories and witness of those who have been there before. That can’t be killed. That will rise again.