Not many camps can boast the kind of food we eat here at Highlands. At many camps, food is prepackaged, frozen and fast. At Highlands, meals are homemade. Meatloaf is mixed (70 lbs. at a time), cakes are made from scratch, and hundreds of pancakes are lovingly flipped – for groups of 150-180 people, three times a day! WOW. And the woman that makes it all happen is none other than CH Hall of Famer, Lois Craig. For 24 summers Lois, with her team of kitchen assistants, has been fueling the bodies and minds of our young men. We thought you might like to get to know her a little better.
TB: Lois, I’ve never known Highlands without you, and I’ve been here for 15 years. How long have you been coming to camp?
LC: This summer will be my 24th summer. My parents were good friends of Snow and Mim (Sharon B.’s parents). After graduating from Illinois State University, I started teaching home economics in the small town of Bath, Ill.. I started cooking for camp that summer of 1974 and continued until 1976 when I met my husband, Dale. We visited a number of times when my kids were growing up. On a camping trip with our two kids Lindsay and Andrew in 1990, I was really surprised that so many of the people I had worked with in the 70’s were still here! Kent Overby took Andrew, and sold him on being at camp. And I have been coming back since 1991.
TB: What’s your favorite thing about being on staff?
LC: I really enjoy working with a great group of people and spending my summers out of central Illinois.
TB: There are so many great things that you prepare, I’d be hard -pressed to pick a favorite. What’s your favorite meal at camp?
LC: Meat loaf is my favorite, and penne pasta with meatballs is a close second.
TB: I always knew you loved to sew, knit and bake, but I was shocked to learn you played the flute!
LC: And the piccolo! I played in high school and college. I always thought it would be funny to play Brahms lullaby instead of Taps at night!
TB: You mentioned to me you like to read. What about TV?
LC: I just finished “Catching Fire” the second book in the “Hunger Games” series, and NCIS is the only TV show I try not to miss.
TB: I know it’s hard to beat being the head chef at Highlands, but if you could trade places with any person for a week, famous or not, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?
LC: I would like to be Guy Fiere for a week. I love to travel, and to do that and eat great food at the same time seems incredible!
TB: Ok, last question. Finish this sentence: Not everyone knows…
LC: I’d been to 48 states, and many parts of Canada and Mexico by the time I was 16. My husband of 35 years, Dale and I added Alaska to that list. I have yet to go to Hawaii. Another thing that not everyone knows is that I have two brothers and two sisters and I’m the only one who never went to camp.
TB: Well we fixed that didn’t we!? Thank you so much Lois for your commitment to Highlands. You are truly one person we couldn’t live without here at Camp!
Do any of you CH fans have special memories of Lois? Maybe you’d like to throw out a big THANK YOU? We’d love to hear about them on the blog. Leave us a comment!
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[image link=”https://www.camphighlands.com/wp/wp-content/themes/camp-highland-for-boys/images/lois/lois01.jpg” caption=”Lois with her husband Dale”]
[image link=”https://www.camphighlands.com/wp/wp-content/themes/camp-highland-for-boys/images/lois/lois02.jpg” caption=”Lois and baker, Marcella, stand with their beautifully decorated Camp Highlands birthday cakes”]
[image link=”https://www.camphighlands.com/wp/wp-content/themes/camp-highland-for-boys/images/lois/lois03.jpg” caption=”Lois making french toast for 150 and the great spread for the end of term banquet”]
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Remember, if you have questions on the end of term festivities, take a look at yesterday’s post.