Coleman Products Maintain the Camping Heritage

From my earliest memory right up until present day all of my outdoor memories are centered around a crucial part of equipment, the cook stove.  For my family, the Coleman cook stove was a focal point of our long outdoor heritage.  Whether we were pan frying trout on a back country sand bar that were so fresh they were curling out of the pan, or warming our hands after a cold spring rain that made starting a fire almost impossible, or maybe just the wonderful aroma of bacon wafting across the frozen expanse of the lake that lured us back to the ice shack much like a rutting buck is pulled to doe urine in a scrape, the Coleman stove was always with us.  

The look of the stoves have changed with each generation, but all are still fully functioning no matter what age they are or how much abuse they have experienced.  My family has a tradition of fishing and hunting in a remote location known locally as Beaver Brook.  The area is only accessible by canoe propelled several miles with a setting pole or "pick poling".  Due to the work involved to to access this location, we typically spent the night.  When my great-grandfather first made the journey up to this area, he cut a few trees to make a camping site, set up his Coleman Stove and laid a piece of canvas on the ground.  Over the years our camping arsenal has grown to include many of the fine Coleman products and the camping site is much improved with such amenities as a clothes line and a fire pit, but the stove remains the focal point.  Thanks to the great products that Coleman has produced I have some wonderful memories of one my favorite spots in the world with my family members.  Words cannot express the joy and serenity that the thought of these memories rekindle.

There is something about being outside camping that requires all members of the party to each shoulder their own part of the work burden and at the same time lean on each other to accomplish everything, followed by relaxing time to reflect.  This draws people closer than anything else I know of, as well as giving each individual a great sense of personal accomplishment.

"Sponsored by Coleman and hosted by the Outdoor Blogger Network, this is my submission for the Coleman Camping Heritage Essay Contest."

Even though I wrote this article for a contest, it truly reflects my honest opinion of the Coleman line of products and I appreciate all of the work that they have done to promote camping both past and present.