Too Much at Stake (25 page)

3. Beat the egg whites in a mixer until they make soft peaks. Then add the yolks and beat just until they are incorporated. Set aside.

4. Put the cheese, milk, onions, and oil in with the corn. Then add the cornmeal or flour and stir it well. Finally, fold in the eggs gently. If it's still really liquid, you may add more corn-meal or flour, but if it's oatmeal consistency, it's fine.

5. Spray the Pyrex with cooking spray or rub a little corn oil all over the bottom and sides of the pan. Pour in the mixture and bake for about 40 minutes to an hour, until the top and sides are brown and it's set in the middle (meaning it won't jiggle when you shake the pan). If you put in a toothpick, it will never come out completely clean. The chipa should be more like souffle and less like cake or bread.

6. Eat it while it's hot and steamy, or cold as leftovers. Good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Here's the recipe, but if you just want to try them, several places in Bayfield have them on their menu. Seriously. My favorite is Gruenkes. Tell them Pat sent you. Don't knock 'em until you've tried 'em.

1 lb whitefish livers

2 Tbsp. flour

4 Tbsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Dredge livers in seasoned flour and brown them in butter and oil but don't overcook. Serve hot.

The day the woman disappeared, Captain Mike got up early and took his two black labs out for a run. Just like he always did.

He ate his oatmeal, grabbed his thermos of hot coffee, and kissed his wife absentmindedly. Just like he always did.

Checking the sky for weather, he started to get into his old red Ford pickup.

Just like he always did.

On this day, he noticed a mature female eagle overhead and stopped for a moment to follow her flight as she soared, riding the winds off the big lake. Breathing in deeply the scent of water and sand, and still captivated by her, he watched in awe as she dipped to the water's edge, effortlessly picking up a large whitefish.

What might it be like,
he thought enviously,
to fly with those great powerful wings on the currents like she does?

Smiling, he started his old truck. Turning left, he headed to the lake and his Madeline ferry, parked at the Bayfield dock. He was eager to get the old girl out and fly, in his own way, on the waves of Lake Superior. Eighteen years as a ferry captain and his heart still beat a bit faster at the thought.

Just like he always did.

But this day wasn't like any other day. It was an ordinary day turned extraordinary by one single event. This was the day that what he "always did" changed forever.

"Culture under the tent" enjoys a rich tradition in the Midwest. In 1874 the Chautauqua Assembly of Lake Chautauqua, New York, offered adult education in the sciences and the humanities. Soon after the turn of the century, traveling Chautauquas took the form of tent shows moving from town to town during the summer, offering lectures and entertainment. The town of Bayfield hosted several Chautauquas during the years preceding World War I.

Warren Nelson, a southern Minnesota farm boy, set the enterprise in motion with his vision to have a tent show at the base of the ski hill overlooking Lake Superior. Warren and his long-time partner, Betty Ferris, along with a few friends, moved to the area on a whim, set in motion by their love of the spectacular pristine beauty. They were attracted to a county with the proud distinction of having not a single stoplight located in its borders.

The origin of the current house show band started when Warren met Jack Gunderson, and later, other members of what was first called the Lost Nation String Band. That band evolved into what is now the Blue Canvas Orchestra: Bruce Burnside, the late great Don Pavel, Cal Aultman, Tom Mitchell, Bruce Bowers, and Severin Behnen. In recent years, Ed Willett and Andy Dee have joined up.

Some of the current members of the house show band have performed together for over thirty years. Because of that, their musical performances feel like the satisfying perfection of fine aged wine.

A permanent Chautauqua landed in Bayfield in the summer of 1986 after the talents of Warren Nelson and Betty Ferris and the Lost Nation String Band attracted the attention of community leaders in Bayfield, Ashland, and Wash-burn. The group had received rave reviews for their original musical histories produced and performed for three specific occasions:
Souvenir Views
for the Washburn centennial celebration;
Whistle Comin' In
for the Ashland centennial; and
Riding the Wind
for the Bayfield all-class reunion. Audience response to
Riding the
Wind—presented in the Bayfield High School gym—was so overwhelming that the group was asked to add an extra performance. Bayfield resident Mary Rice, along with the MAHADH Foundation (established by Mary Andersen Hulings and A.D. Hulings) offered to build a permanent theater that would showcase the myriad talents of these creative, experienced artists.

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

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.