Skip to content

Top Navigation

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Home
  • Garden
  • Holidays
  • Videos
  • current issue
  • Sweepstakes
  • Road Rally
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Midwest Living

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 11 Extraordinary Outdoor Travel Experiences to Try This Year

      11 Extraordinary Outdoor Travel Experiences to Try This Year

      Have you ever slept in a treehouse? Paddled by moonlight? Seen the Milky Way? We challenge you to try one of these activities. Read More
    • Meet Five Midwest Cake Creators (and Try Their Recipes)

      Meet Five Midwest Cake Creators (and Try Their Recipes)

      One has conquered the world of plant-based baking. Another runs a microbakery from her home. Two own businesses with their spouses. And the fifth is a James Beard finalist chef. The common thread? Absolutely delicious cakes. Read More
    • The No-Fail Relish Tray Recipe is Here

      The No-Fail Relish Tray Recipe is Here

      For many Midwesterners, holiday feasting kicks off with a relish tray. We dare not mess with an icon—at least, not too much. Read More
  • Travel

    Travel

    See All Travel
    Des Moines' Hottest Food Neighborhoods You Need to Know About

    Des Moines' Hottest Food Neighborhoods You Need to Know About

    Korean egg sandwiches, Australian baked goods,Southeast Asian bing bing wraps—here’s an in-the-know guide to eating your way through this culinary capital.
    • Weekend Getaways
    • Family Travel
    • Around the Region
    • Beyond the Region
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Missouri
    • Nebraska
    • North Dakota
    • Ohio
    • South Dakota
    • Wisconsin
    • Free Travel Info
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food
    The Delicate, Spongy Basic Crepe Recipe You Can Master at Home—Plus 4 Ways to Upgrade It

    The Delicate, Spongy Basic Crepe Recipe You Can Master at Home—Plus 4 Ways to Upgrade It

    With encouragement from the owner of a Kansas City, Missouri, creperie, you’ll perfect these delicate pancakes in no time.
    • Comfort Foods
    • Desserts & Baking
    • Breakfast
    • Quick & Easy
    • Chicken
    • Soups & Stews
    • Midwest Favorites
    • Fruits & Vegetables
    • Fish
    • Grilling
  • Home

    Home

    See All Home
    Boost Your Home's Curb Appeal With These Ideas from a Minneapolis Makeover

    Boost Your Home's Curb Appeal With These Ideas from a Minneapolis Makeover

    With fresh paint and a terraced slope, a Minneapolis stucco goes from mousy to magnetic.
    • Quick Decorating
    • Featured Homes
    • Organizing & Storage
    • Outdoor Living
    • Seasonal Decorating
    • Room Decorating
  • Garden

    Garden

    See All Garden
    How to Plant a Rain Garden

    How to Plant a Rain Garden

    Turn a wet trouble spot into a lush and Earth-friendly oasis by capturing the rain.
    • Container Gardens
    • Flowers
    • Featured Gardens
    • Midwest Gardening Calendar
    • Garden Ideas & Inspiration
  • Holidays

    Holidays

    See All Holidays
    Brighten Your Front Door with This Colorful Easter Egg Wreath

    Brighten Your Front Door with This Colorful Easter Egg Wreath

    For this do-it-yourself spring wreath, we bundled inexpensive paper-mache eggs in fuzzy, vibrant yarn.
    • Easter
    • July 4th
    • Thanksgiving
    • Halloween
    • Christmas
    • Valentine's Day
  • Videos

    Videos

    See All Videos
    Chef Jorge Guzmán's Step-by-Step Guide to Making Tamales

    Chef Jorge Guzmán's Step-by-Step Guide to Making Tamales

    Tamales are a project, but many hands—even tiny ones—make lighter work.
    • Brighten Your Front Door with This Colorful Easter Egg Wreath
    • These DIY Orange Beeswax Candles Will Make Your Home Smell Amazing
    • Ring in the New Year with This Glam Star Garland
    • How to Make a Modern Fruit Cake Box
    • An Eye-Catching Oval Treat Box You Can Make
    • Make a Colorful Paper Raffia Wreath to Welcome Fall
    • How to Make a Dried Floral Arrangement
    • How to Make an Easy Pina Colada
    • How to Make an Amazing Pavlova
    • How to Make Pumpkin-Spice Icebox Cake
    • How to Make an All-Butter Pie Crust
    • DIY Pistachio Wheat Stalks for Fall Decorating
  • current issue

    current issue

    See All current issue
    About Us

    About Us

    • March/April 2022 Issue
    • January/February 2022 Issue
    • November/December 2021 Issue
    • September/October 2021 Issue
    • July/August 2021 Issue
    • May/June 2021 Issue
    • Summer 2022 Issue
    • Fall 2022 Issue
    • Winter 2022 Issue
  • Sweepstakes
  • Road Rally
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Midwest Living
  2. Homes
  3. Homes Featured in Midwest Living
  4. We Bought a Camp!

We Bought a Camp!

By Writers: Trevor Meers & Carol Schalla; Photographer: Kevin J. Miyazaki/Redux; Producer: Tara Okerstrom-Bauer
Skip gallery slides
Pin
The real deal

Rather than let a storied Wisconsin getaway fade into the forest, a Chicago couple bought Camp Wandawega and set out to rebuild the rundown property as a vision of what summer camp used to be.

Start Slideshow

1 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

The real deal

The real deal

David Hernandez wants you to carve your initials into his furniture. He'll probably even loan you a pocketknife if you reach the bunkhouse and realize you have no way to leave your mark in the bunk bed rails. This is summer camp, after all. And at Camp Wandawega, camp rules are the rule.David and his wife, Tereasa Surratt, bought the 25-acre camp in southeastern Wisconsin in 2004 with a plan to renovate a piece of history. They eventually began inviting friends, then paying guests, to come and stay. They call Wandawega a resort, but they want potential guests to understand exactly what they're signing up for. There's no A/C. Ladybugs usually hang out on the pillows. And the website promises, "If you're the type of person who thought that the Waltons were a bunch of pampered little brats, then we believe you will enjoy your stay at Camp Wandawega." 

Pictured: This vintage Boy Scout tent, with World War II-era cots, is one of three at the camp.

1 of 19

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Saving a legacy

Saving a legacy

The 86-year-old camp has had many lives. Trap doors in the floor of the main building hint at its life as a Prohibition-era speakeasy. The long line of small rooms in "the hotel" echoes a stint as a brothel. And an altar under big pine trees reveals its more recent role as a Latvian church retreat. In the 1970s, David came to Wandawega on family retreats where Latvian moms from Chicago led their kids through summers of flag raisings, canoe outings, crafts and flying above the lake on a tire swing. By the 1990s, the camp had fallen into deep disrepair, and David saw a chance to save a legacy. So he brought Tereasa (then his fiancée) up from Chicago for a look."It had ceilings falling in, and it was full of raccoons," Tereasa says. But then she saw old photos of the place and heard David's stories about four generations of his family coming to Wandawega. And she signed on. "The deal I made with him was that we really had to commit. ... And we did."

Pictured: Tereasa Surratt and David Hernandez with daughter Charlie.

2 of 19

3 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Island of nostalgia

Island of nostalgia

After nine years of work by David, Tereasa and practically all of their friends and family, Camp Wandawega has emerged as an island of nostalgia that seems like equal parts movie set, pop-culture museum and archaeological site. Tereasa crafted each of the property's unique spaces as an authentic set piece picturing a moment anywhere from the 1920s to the 1960s.With a budget of $200 per room, she went to work. Sometimes the camp provided treasures, like the large Fiestaware collection discovered behind a false wall in the kitchen. Tereasa estimates that a quarter of the decorating items were found on-site. Other pieces came from her tireless shopping of flea markets and secondhand sales (she lays out her strategies in her book Found, Flea & Free). 

Pictured: Yellow chairs in the dining hall echo Fiestaware found behind walls.

3 of 19

Advertisement

4 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Throwback vacations

Throwback vacations

As the camp gradually came back to life, David and Tereasa (who still live in Chicago) began hosting overnight guests-guests who see the charm in a throwback vacation that requires a hike to the shower house. They can choose one of the hotel rooms, one of several small cabins, a teepee or a Boy Scout tent."People say, 'It's open air and bugs can get in!'" David says. "Yeah, that's how camping used to be." 

Pictured: An early-morning canoe ride is one of many simple pleasures.

4 of 19

5 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Stewards of tradition

Stewards of tradition

Keeping old-school camping alive means David and Tereasa are forever on the search for another cabin to rescue and move to the property to create one more walk-in time capsule. "We don't really think of ourselves as the owners," David says. "We're just the stewards trying to pass it on to future generations."

For information: wandawega.com

Pictured: The lodge features worn leather seating, blanket-covered cushions, vintage taxidermy and an antler chandelier. The Vs in the old Wandawega entrance sign indicate the time Latvian priests owned the camp. Click ahead for more photos of Wandawega.

5 of 19

6 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Family memories

Family memories

David's family stayed in the hotel's rooms when he was a kid. See a video about the camp's history

6 of 19

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

In the trees

In the trees

Friends built "Tom's tree house," named after Tereasa's dad, with salvaged items. A ladder forms a railing for the loft filled with books, many about Wisconsin and bought for under a buck each.

7 of 19

8 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Video: Tree house tour

Camp Wandawega co-owner Tereasa Surrat gives a tour of the property's storied Tom's Tree House and its handcrafted elements.

8 of 19

9 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Summer fun

Summer fun

The tree house provides fun all summer for friends, family and guests.

9 of 19

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Flea or free

Flea or free

A simple line of lanterns creates an artistic composition against newly exposed, white-painted rafters in one restored cabin. "As a rule of thumb, we didn't want to pay retail for anything. Everything was happily found, free or flea," Tereasa says.

10 of 19

11 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

What a find!

What a find!

An old Girl Scout camp yielded this outhouse-turned-shower building. Inside, spigot handles affixed to walls act as towel hooks.

11 of 19

12 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Budget bedding

Budget bedding

Retro style comes from decorative pillows made from old blankets, sweaters, embroidery and, in this case, crazy quilts.

12 of 19

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Revival

Revival

Hudson Bay blanket-covered cushions and fresh paint gave new life to a wicker rocker found on-site. (The badminton rackets are ready for use!)

13 of 19

14 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Free art

Free art

Old camp photos-on a clipboard or hung with clothespins-are easy wall decor.

14 of 19

15 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Bathing beauty

Bathing beauty

A 1950s bathing suit and oar personalize the shared hotel bath. Other uses for oars around camp: wall hanging, coatrack (with hooks) and sign (paint on paddle).

15 of 19

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

16 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Designer look

Designer look

Grouping sports collectibles in one room increases their stylish impact. Arrows in a thermos are an everlasting alternative to flowers in a vase.

16 of 19

17 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Telling a story

Telling a story

Late '50s boy-theme curtains inspired this room. A totem pole lamp and a throw covered with vacation pennants create classic camp style.

17 of 19

18 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Spell it out

Spell it out

Letters from letterman's sweaters appear around camp. In the lodge, a letterman's sweater was used to upholster an old chair seat. The bench cushion pictured is a salvaged and recycled mattress (with fabulous ticking and embroidery) found on-site.

18 of 19

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

19 of 19

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Pop art

Pop art

An avant-garde wall arrangement of arrows is chic and cheap. Frankie, the camp dog, stands guard.

19 of 19

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Writers: Trevor Meers & Carol Schalla; Photographer: Kevin J. Miyazaki/Redux; Producer: Tara Okerstrom-Bauer

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 19 The real deal
    2 of 19 Saving a legacy
    3 of 19 Island of nostalgia
    4 of 19 Throwback vacations
    5 of 19 Stewards of tradition
    6 of 19 Family memories
    7 of 19 In the trees
    8 of 19 Video: Tree house tour
    9 of 19 Summer fun
    10 of 19 Flea or free
    11 of 19 What a find!
    12 of 19 Budget bedding
    13 of 19 Revival
    14 of 19 Free art
    15 of 19 Bathing beauty
    16 of 19 Designer look
    17 of 19 Telling a story
    18 of 19 Spell it out
    19 of 19 Pop art

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Midwest Living

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Contact Us
    • Help
    • Free Newsletters this link opens in a new tab
    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Renew this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Affiliate Program
    • Free Travel Info this link opens in a new tab
    • Special Promotions this link opens in a new tab
    • Sweepstakes this link opens in a new tab
    • Video
    • Home Advisor this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Sign Up
    MeredithMidwest Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Midwest Living. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.midwestliving.com

    Sign in

    View image

    We Bought a Camp!
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.