Still up and running after 80 years
CRYSTAL FALLS -- According to Fortune Lake Bible Camp, the best way to celebrate history is to recreate it. Sunday marked its 80 year anniversary with a blast from the past.
"Food, music, fun, and gospel all go together in this site today and that's our history," explains Reverend Bob Langseth.
Created as place of refuge during the Great Depression, Lutherans would flock to the camp to escape their economic troubles.
"They had up to 200 to 500 cars during those first 10 years onsite at the special events, and so we got the car parade as the starting point of that just to bring back the memories of how people came here in droves to hear the mission of the gospel and be blessed by it," Reverend Langseth added.
The celebration kicked off with the Fortune Lake 500, an event where antique automobiles--that raised $500 for the camp--could parade around the lake. The camp was able to get 80 cars to participate, representing 80 years of worship. Many of them from the same era the camp started.
With an outdoor sermon, music, and food, Lutherans came from far and wide to enjoy the celebration.
"Fortune Lake is owned and operated by 92 congregations of the ELCA across the Upper Peninsula and northeast Wisconsin. And so people will be coming from all those areas as well as far away as Chicago and Milwaukee because they have had some historical connections with Fortune Lake," explains Camp Board member Ruth Waimenen.
The camp hopes that the event kicks off another successful 80 years.
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