Too Much at Stake
Page 17
But Warren Nelson—a "man of the cloth"—had canvas in his blood after spending summers with his dad traveling to county fairs across southern Minnesota. He proposed a Chautauqua-style entertainment venue that would draw visitors from across the Upper Midwest to enjoy a variety of original productions, regional artists, and national headliners. The first tent and the first season topped Mt. Ashwabay in the summer of 1986, offering 42 shows with 5,218 tickets sold. In 2009, 26,825 tickets were sold to 74 shows!
Funding provided critical financial support, but sweat equity was just as critical. When Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua was incorporated as a non-profit corporation, officers Betty Ferris, Carolyn Sneed, and Tom Lindsey devoted countless hours to administering this new entity. Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua had dozens of branch offices—the living rooms, dining rooms, cabins, and cars of everyone involved. Musicians, fans, and townspeople pitched in — literally—to set up the tent at the beginning of the season and to help keep things running smoothly throughout the summer.
A tradition of well-organized community support saved the life of Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua in 2000 when the tent burned to the ground in the middle of the night as a result of an electrical short. Shrewd planning and some good luck had provided a back-up tent. The season lost only one night of performances.
Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua continues to advance its own mission and stay true to the ideals of the original Chautauqua movement by touring during the offseason, to schools and community theaters throughout the region. Tent Show Radio is beamed into the homes of families on 53 public radio stations across the country. The Lost Nation String Band is still together and their music is heard on CDs, videotapes, DVDs and mp3 files—media that didn't exist when they first started performing together. Digital images have replaced thousands of slides used to illustrate songs and stories of the past in our Chautauqua Original Musicals.
At the start of a new decade, the magic of Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua nestles comfortably next to its competitive cousins—radio, television, and the Internet—to tell stories of those who walked the land and paddled the rivers and stared at the stars and dreamed of what the next day would bring.
A lot of strong individuals like Betty Ferris, Carolyn Sneed, Carol and Jerry Carlson, Phillip Anich, Therene Gazdik, Sally Kessler, Liz Woodworth, and Cheryl Leah, also contributed great talent and gritty determination over the years to build the organization into what it is today. Betty Ferris collaborated with Warren on the historical research and writing and has been the archivist and the photo technician for twenty-five years. Carolyn Sneed, the long-time executive director, oversaw the nuts and bolts of the organization for many years. Carol and Jerry Carlson, the real life caretakers of the ski hill and occupants of the A-frame, have overseen food service on the grounds since the beginning. Phillip Anich, the operating manager and performer and Sally Kessler, Liz Woodworth, and Cheryl Leah are some of the wonderful creative talents who still perform regularly at the tent.
The summer of 2010 marks the twenty-fifth season of facilitating the production and presentation of quality, affordably priced entertainment, suitable for the entire family. Through the commissioning of new productions, focusing on themes of regional historical and cultural significance, Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua serves as a base of support, offering artistic employment opportunities to local and regional artists and technicians.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO ORDER TICKETS TO A SHOW GO TO: or call 888-BIG-TENT or 715-373-5552
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Co-authors Deb Lewis and Pat Ondarko really are best friends who live in Ashland, Wisconsin, on the south shore of Lake Superior. They have previously penned Bad to the Last Drop, a mystery novel set in Ashland. When not escaping into the adventure of mystery novel-writing, Deb is a practicing family law attorney, and Pat is a Lutheran minister. Too Much at Stake is the second in the series of Best Friends Mysteries. They are working on their next mystery novel, Now and Zen.
Table of Contents
Dedication
A Note from the Authors
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Epilogue
Recipes for When a Lot Is at Stake
A Preview to Now and Zen
About Big Top Chautauqua
About the Authors