Dear Partner,
For a long time, my dad would send out a Thanksgiving letter with a list of 100 things he was thankful for from the previous year. Somewhat in his honor, I’ve come up with 100 Memories I’m thankful for from a lifetime at Hiawatha. Some from the list may make sense to you; others may not. While this letter was written to you, I found it very therapeutic to me in many ways. I'm not sure I’ll try it every year, but for 2024 it seemed appropriate.
Pam and Ricky Henderson for purchasing and rehabbing my grandma’s old cabin, then selling it at an unbelievably low price to Lora and myself. It was a nicer cabin than I ever deserved.
Saturday Celebrations- too many to mention
Opportunity to hear great youth speakers as a kid like Ron Hafer, Don Lonie, Colonel McGuckin and Steve Engram. Hearing great speakers as I served on staff, Myles Gentzko, Terry Prisk, Charlie Scanlyn, Doug Routledge and more.
Mary Fix having dozens of great ideas she had to fight me as director to pursue.
Tina Shannon revamping the Sweet Shop
3 on 3 basketball with any of the Collins clan
Opportunity to see northern lights on more than one occasion
Dam Site Inn all you can eat chicken dinner
Antlers- wet burrito, cheese sticks, clam chowder soup
West Pier- cheeseburgers
Dairy Queen in the Sault
Jonathan, Guthrie and Natalie for Friday night conversations in my office the first year I was director.
Mr. & Mrs. Hopper for showing me what work looks like.
An evening when 70 kids stayed after a service singing praise and worship until the worship team ran out of songs.
Johnny Shev letting me use a motorbike with him to go on trails
The same day I did that Dusty Hopper took me in the middle of the woods and let me cut down a huge tree.
Trash runs to the bear dump as a kid-actual bears going through the debris less than a mile from the grounds.
As a staff member counseling 16 guys in my cabin
Meeting my wife
Seeing marathon softball evolve to what it is now with Cliff VanGieson rules and regulations in place.
Debbie Brooks- for decades of faithful friendship & devotion to family and ministry.
Joy Hopper and chocolate chip pancakes
Jennifer Marske- your cinnamon rolls were the best
Thursday night fellowships with folks from around the lake with delicious food.
Saturday Celebration when my dad had Benjy Gaither and folks left by the dozens when they found out he was not singing music similar to his dad.
Being a part of a service where Don Lonie spoke for the last time, and you could tell he didn’t want the evening to end.
Wendy Collins speaking at a special banquet we held for him thanking him for his years of service, and he encouraged us to finish well.
Giving is up 20% this year despite losing 25% of donors when we left Piatt Lake
Ron Fulger and Mark Brandel- they were my counselors when I was a kid- I’m sure they were delighted to have the director’s son in their cabin for a week.
Showing Joy Hopper how to use a chainsaw after a hurricane came through and knocked down a number of trees we had to cut up to get off the road.
Singing with One Voice to an overflow crowd for a Saturday Celebration (who cares if they were all there to see Kirk Talley- only a handful left when they found out he wasn’t going to make it)
Cutting all the grass on the grounds before camp started with a push mower all by myself in three days. Might be my greatest act of athleticism, unfortunately for me it came at a pretty early age of 14 or 15 but I’m still proud of it.
Mrs. Hopper yelling at me when I was a kid to get out of the kitchen, and to leave the milk alone, and yes, she knew who my dad was and didn’t care.
Unbelievable fun as a kid spending my summers at HYC
Jim Murray (lead singer for the Imperials- 5 Grammys/ 15 Dove Awards) helping the guys staff get the dock in the water before his Saturday night concert.
Endeavoring to capture a bear, who had wandered on the grounds and didn’t seem too concerned about leaving.
Meeting my wife- it’s been stated before, but it bears repeating- best decision of my life.
Guys that helped put the flooring down in the dining room when we were renovating the Miracle Building- they worked tirelessly to make it happen in 24 hours.
Group of staff that convinced me to raise money to renovate the Miracle Building
Moving all the pews out of the auditorium before we had raised any money to renovate anything.
The Miracle Building we’d just spent a couple hundred thousand repairing and renovating collapsing- you learn a lot by reading/ podcasts/sermons & notes- you learn exponentially more by living it. Some huge lessons learned- nothing lasts forever- people are more important than possessions-
Music playing “When All is Said and Done” at the end of each evening as we made our way back to cabins, and saw an endless array of stars above.
Too many Don Lonie stories to tell. I’m glad I was able to hear him for several years before he retired.
Hoppy’s donuts, or truthfully- the ones Mr. Hopper would make
Mr. Kitely- for having a vision that went beyond your own personal acre around the lake
A well maintained and raked beachfront-sounds stupid, but once in Florida I saw ground crews using a four-wheeler with a grader behind it to rake the beach - the last couple of years I was able to do that on the beach at Piatt Lake- an irrational frustration would come over me when I saw others walk on the beach following my work with a smooth sandy beach/ but it’s something I was stupidly proud of (at least for a moment)
Junior camp with Captain Hook (As a kid, Randy Gilmer digging a hole to China to get away) and Charlie Marshall.
Junior camp with Pam Henderson for years and Rebecca Adkins more recently.
Nurses that have given of their time and talent to serve for a week during the summer.
Serving with a BWEA board, many giving decades of faithful service to this ministry.
Paul Douglas, who as a retired Louisiana resident, makes his way to MI the past five or six summers to volunteer.
Don and Pam Hibbard who spend several weeks every summer for many years now helping to volunteer.
My mom for getting my dad to camp several summers when he would have otherwise not made it on his own.
Mr. Kresge for giving large donations back in 1972 to get a Miracle Building started
Jogging around the lake and on more than one occasion being stopped by folks telling me about their prayers for the ministry at HYC.
Having the opportunity to see firsthand hundreds of people get saved through the years.
Seeing a lot of couples meet at HYC, start dating, and get married.
Seeing some of those couples have kids who then come back to HYC as campers and staff
Danny Daniels for wearing a tuxedo when he served in the Rec Hall
Gary and Lynnette Daniels- for the years you spent your summers serving at HYC.
Mackinaw Bridge- I can’t imagine having to wait for a ferry to take my car across like my parents and grandparents did.
Blaine and Hannah- their leadership has been essential during some difficult times.
These past few summers being at Bambi Lake and more accessible for families
Having A/C in the facilities we used last summer.
Having an enclosed gym for rainy days.
A regular donor of HYC who writes “We love you” on every check.
Getting to speak to the staff every Sunday this past summer
Having sometimes up to three cooks with Serve Safe certification in the kitchen this past summer. (trust me- that’s a big deal)
Calvary Church in Southgate work crew that every late spring heads to HYC whether at Piatt Lake or Bambi and generously has given of their time and talents to get work done around the grounds.
Ricky Henderson for helping me wash dishes when we had a YFC group w/ 150 kids rent the grounds for a week 15 years back.
Mr. Montague for helping my dad with so many building plans in the early 70’s and your wise words to me when I first took over for my dad.
Beth & Bryce Fox- huge help to HYC for a lot of years with speaking and singing
Friday A.M. Early morning dips/ we were ahead of the game in what many health gurus refer to as an ice bath nowadays.
The black trash van from 35 years ago. It was a miracle that vehicle made it all the way to camp that summer. It was held together with gray tape and crazy glue.
Roxanne’s Restaurant- unbelievable pizza and brisket less than 10 minutes from the camp.
McGowan’s Restaurant- chicken noodle soup was outstanding
Sisters/Arctic Inn- went there a lot with my dad when we would first get to camp each summer.
Pre-season football camp with St. Frances High School in Traverse City-great young men to be around
Pledge partners and donors like yourself, that have made this ministry happen for 61 years.
A great group of staff members this past summer.
Tamra Hall-for putting heart and soul into this ministry for nearly three decades
Opportunity for one more year of ministry in 2025
Meeting friends, I’ve had now for over 40 years
The staff interacting with Morgan each summer.
The guys who get the golf cart we use for Morgan operational each summer
Staff meetings every morning- my favorite time of each day was meeting with the staff.
Antlers with my dad- that’s different than regular Antlers because Antlers with my dad generally meant he was paying.
Putt Putt golf
Ski Nautique we had for a lot of years that Mr. & Mrs. Horne donated to us.
Counselor hunts, staff skits & bonfires.
God moments that weren’t put in the program or schedule for the week
When I was a kid, I had to get to the hospital in Detroit because of a heart murmur problem. I don’t remember a lot about it, but I do remember someone getting my dad the plane to bring me from camp to the hospital in Detroit. Even though it’s a distant memory- I’m grateful.
Fireside services on Friday evening, listening to camper testimonies.
Fireside services on Friday evening, sitting by Dan Stadt (too many laughs)
Couples softball- I’m pretty sure it was terrible in 1990 but enough time has passed that my memory has faded to make it an enjoyable memory from 40 years ago
Sundae celebrations on Friday evenings (generally whether my team won or not)
Mr. & Mrs. Hopper/ Mr. & Mrs. Williams/ Dusty and Holli- for the years you served as caretakers and took care of a number of different problems that came up on the grounds throughout the year.
Dr. Baker speaking for a pastor’s conference or Sunday morning service.
John Shev playing his trumpet
100. Dave Boyer when he performed with The Big Band of Praise
Praying you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Sincerely,
Craig