Author: Sue Ahrendt

On most of my drives and tows I get asked a lot of similar questions, such as “Where are you from?” and “How did you come to find a job like this?” With my answer of being from a small town in Southwest Iowa and I found the job on the Iowa State online Job Board I am asked another question. “So..you have been up here before right?” When I answer them saying that this is my first time ever in the Boundary Waters, I get a different reaction every time it seems. Sometimes I get a confused look and others they are more excited for me working here for the summer than they are excited to go out on their trip.
There was one drive that I remember specifically, I don’t quite recall their last name but it was a man and his wife that I had just picked up from Poplar, and was bringing them back to Tuscarora. When I was asked those three questions, the wife was so happy for me, she had a smile from ear to ear. She told me how much she loves going on these trips and being up here for a week, she couldn’t imagine how much fun it would be to live here for the summer.
It took that group for me to realize where I really am. I am in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, people from all over the United States come here to vacation and I have gotten the privilege to work here for the summer. I have made so many new friends and acquaintances that I wouldn’t have even dreamed of making. This area has some of the nicest and most polite individuals I have ever met. I had no idea that I would have this type of experience being here at Tuscarora. I tell people that I was just looking for something new and different when they ask why I chose to work here. That is exactly what I got.
I didn’t have much canoeing experience before coming to work at Tuscarora. But, when I leave here I will leave with more knowledge than most people gain in a lifetime. I can’t even fathom the idea of not coming back up here, not necessarily only to work, but just to enjoy the experience and the wilderness. There is hardly anything else like this in the world, and I wake up to it everyday. I consider myself a very lucky individual to have gotten this chance to help the Ahrendt family continue their tradition of running great Outfitter. I have had multiple groups tell me that would recommend Tuscarora to anyone, not only for the equipment, but also for their hospitality and kindness.
I will never forget this summer, there have been so many things happen to me that I don’t think it would be possible to forget it. I have new friends that I plan on staying in touch with and they have made an impact on me more than anything else has this summer. Everyone up here is awesome and I can’t even think about not staying in touch. With a number of returning staff members each year, it is hard to think that this isn’t a great place. No one would keep coming back to a place that they didn’t love. I will always keep my memories from Tuscarora, through pictures and stories. I look forward to coming back here in the years to come.

(click on the photo below in order to see Mike up on the top of the cliff—far right)

Sue’s Note: Staffer Mike sent in these reflections from Iowa the other day. Maybe you can appreciate what an honor it is for us to share our summers with these good young people.

I went to school in the city, with desegregation and diverse playgrounds. Sometimes I hung with a group of girls who could REALLY jumprope. We usually played “Queen Bee” –a sort of tag/follow the leader game in and around the jumprope and the twirlers. I could compete, but I was rarely “Queen Bee.” When they did Double Dutch—with two ropes at once—-they twirled so that you could hardly see the ropes…and their feet danced so fast—it was SOMETHING. And my feet—not speedy enough, sometimes close, but my awkward whitegirl form was enough to send them into peals of laughter. It wasn’t quite as pathetic as it sounds—and they weren’t exactly cruel. I think they sort of admired that I was willing to look like such a fool. But they were doubled over, in an almost-wet-your-pants kind of laughter. Some days I played kick ball with the boys, and I wasn’t the queen bee over there either, but I could catch the kickball, so they let me play. And sometimes I played this tag game on the manhole covers, back by the school power plant. I remember some nasty fights at that school, and it was a little bit of a jungle of tough playground politics, but I’m sort of proud of that goofy looking freckled girl with crooked glasses that was me. I learned to manage just fine, and it was just OK.

15 years later, I found myself after school one day jump roping with other teachers in the gym. There…I learned Double Dutch! So very empowering! I LOVED it that I could do it. (maybe still my form would have set Charlene and Shirley and the others off, I’ve long since lost track of them). It wasn’t even that hard. I vowed that my children were going to learn Double Dutch…. and their friends…. and my nieces and nephews. Kind of a mission…

So here at Tuscarora, in the basket by the Trading Post, there are two jumpropes. If you want, I’ll teach you. I’ll bet you can do it…just check out Mike. Would you have believed it? Shelby can even dribble the basketball at the same time. But most of us aren’t exactly graceful, speedy, or doing the magic dance that those girls at Field School could do. But we can do Double Dutch, and we manage just fine.

Maggie:

When Maggie applied for this job, I sent Cass and Linsday to recruit her heavily through facebook—I knew she’d be a hard worker, and I was right. Her snappy assertive feistiness brightens up the place for all of us. Maggie knows how to laugh loudly at life. If you have visited, perhaps you’ve heard her laugh from the crew cabin, or coming off the lake when she’s fishing.

Mike: It’s really fun to hear how excited Mike gets about Pizza Ranch. He always wears a hat with a fish hook in it, he’s a trustworthy towboat driver, and we’re very fond of him. And what makes us laugh? Oh, say when he’s complaining about a mouse in the boys dorm. “Do you keep any food in there?” we were asking as we were figuring a solution. “Oh NO…says Mike. Just a few snacks…” He’s been in competition with Daniel all summer over fishing, and who knows what else.

Caitlin

It is very comforting to have Caitlin’s little voice at the other end of the walkie talkie whenever we need someone in the Trading Post. Mostly though, I love to watch for the jokes that appeal to her. Here’s one the other day:

What did the urologist say to his patient? You’re in trouble. Good joke, —but the really funny part is to watch her crack up. Caitlin came from Palmer Alaska, and I think she could get into it with Paul about her former governor, but she just makes little side comments with snappy eyes. And laughs at the ironic stuff.

Justin (a.k.a shnookums): Justin makes lots of pies, and I really like that in a guy. He’s incredibly talented…no matter what he does. So he throws his creative competence this summer into searing the beef just perfectly, then adding a little ginger and baking it, so it is absolutely tender. We’re so lucky to have him—I wish you all a Justin–but we’ll keep ours as long as we can.

Andrew has arguably had the most wildlife encounters of all of us because he often ran the snowmobile trail—my favorite story was of the grouse chasing the bear (and I actually believe it). Andrew and I took a very pleasant tow boat ride at dusk, to bring a new canoe to an unfortunate camper group in July. It did my heart good to see him so thrilled with the BWCA…so appreciative of the subtle majesty of Saganaga on a calm summer evening.

Jen is a good sport about life. Pretty much game for anything, steady, cheerful, pleasant, rugged, optimistic. She has many stories and experiences, and she’ll shrug and tell you, if you ask (like…did you know she was in the Air Force?) She’ll go blueberry picking or portage anywhere or hike or camp or….

Lindsay is particular about perfect food packing, and Tuscarora guests benefit. We try to have her review her tidy packs with the clients. For one, she’s good at it, and knows how to steam the buscuits just perfectly, or to mix the corn so carefully packed with the Turkey Wild rice. But another reason; after I’ve unloaded the pack, it looks as though 3 packs have just exploded, and how am I going to get all that stuff back in, in perfect order, so these people can eat their way to the bottom of the food pack? Linsday’s blogs probably convey her enthusiasm for the northwoods best—or, ask her about the moose she ran into on the way to the crew cabin in the mist, or the baby grouse she saw…she’ll light up and animate her way through those stories too! Stay tuned–in her future is a small business—“Lindsay’s gormet camping food” or something catchier…

Sarah came here from Pennsylvania. As her why? She’ll just shrug. She’s spent the summer figuring out what Minnesota-nice really means, and wondering why nobody takes the last piece of pie. Here she’s recycling peanut butter tubs into a trap. Very creative, but I don’t think the Minnesota minnows fell for it.

Cass:

Here’s the thing, when someone is genuinely empathetic as Cass is, you want to go ahead and tell her everything. They should have sent her to Guantanamo Bay from the get go, because I think she knows all that goes on within say…a 30 mile radius of the OG dorm. Honestly, everytime she leaves I think “Oh no, what are we going to do without Cass?” Lucky for us, she comes back—this is her 5th summer…and we’re working on next year.

Paul

Well, our secret is that Paul runs outfitting and Cass runs housekeeping, and so together…they could run all of Tuscarora. We think that Louisiana winters and Minnesota summers could make for a real nice life. I have a soft spot for Paul, and all he does around here, and how he internalizes the whole place with high standards. On first glance you might misread a southern crotchetiness, but can’t you see the twinkle in his intelligent eyes through his beard? That’s why my kids are drawn to him—that’s why I want to ask him what he’s thinking about what news he’s just studied. Stay tuned, because Paul owes me a blog, and I know he’s good for it.

So there they are…I think I was stalling on staff introductions, hoping that they would never actually leave….but they will…and we miss them already. We’re ever so grateful that they’ve made us a part of their lives this summer.

It’s that time of year again….when we’re all scooting around trying to take care of everyone and everything….and when I hear these guys outside the outfitting window…stopping whatever task that they are doing to answer questions, or help someone so kindly—it gives me a little lump in my throat. We’re SO lucky to be surrounded by such good people—and if you ever feel a little bleak about the younger generation, come and hang out with us for a few days. These guys will fuel your optimism. They’re awesome.

This year, I’ve particularly noticed how lucky we are that these people are modeling young adulthood for our kids. They know how to work and they know how to play….Daniel was sitting on my bed the other night explaining his ideas about work to me. I was doing my darndest to keep my eyes open….it seems in the summer, chatting time comes after 10:30 pm. So—I give it a good shot. Anyway—he’s explaining about scrubbing lifejackets with a young friend of his (who was feeling a little less enthusiastic about the whole thing). And he said—well Mom, if I don’t do it right, then Paul is just going to have to do it all over again. What a waste of time. So I figure, either I do the job right, or I might as well just go fishing. Almost as eloquent as Ben Franklin—and this, he learned from the staff—as he spends good chunks of time working with them. Tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to each one…

photo by TomYounger