3/28/08 Fireside Lodge Insider

Fireside Lodge Insider – 3/38/08

Greetings! My name is Tom Bradstreet. This will be my fourth season at Fireside Lodge, and my first as a fulltime staff member. I am looking forward to seeing some familiar faces this season as well as meeting all of our first-time guests.
I started coming to Fireside Lodge in the summer of 2005. I worked as a dock hand for three summers and enjoyed each season more than the last. Now that I am finished my undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph, I am free to devote all of my time to fishing, Fireside Lodge, living and working in the North, and sharing my excitement and experiences with all of our guests. I consider it a bonus that I have found someone who is willing to pay me to do this. I would do it for free, just don’t tell Alan and Audrey I said that! I look forward to sharing with you an internal, or ‘inside,’ perspective of new and exciting things happening at Fireside Lodge.

Many guests wonder what it is like to run a fishing lodge. It all seems so simple when the season is in full swing. My first summer at Fireside Lodge saw me living in brand new staff accommodations, learning how to maintain brand new guest cabins, working with a whole fleet of boats all with brand new motors, and sharing this experience with seven other staff members. This did not seem at all remarkable to me at the time, as I just assumed that was the way it had always been. I was, however, unaware of the amount of work it took to make the camp look and function the way it does. Alan and Audrey had sixteen years already invested in Fireside Lodge before I even knew of its existence. From what I understand, the operation has gone from one couple trying to manage a run-down camp with very old cabins to a flourishing fishing resort with numerous staff members and a substantial guest return rate. Even during that first summer I started to understand how much work and dedication it takes to run a successful operation. Living and working at Fireside Lodge is definitely a great lifestyle, full of variety and challenges.

As the ‘Fireside Lodge Insider’ is one of the new things we are trying this year, I think it appropriate to tell a little bit about how we came up with this idea and why we are implementing it in this way.
As mentioned above, a comment often heard around the lodge is “Wow, what a life this would be.” This is often said by guests on warm summer evenings while watching a beautiful sunset. It is true. Summer is a great time of year for us at the lodge. People are coming and going, tall tales are being told every night in the lodge, great memories are being made by guests, owners, and staff members alike…..but have you ever wondered what life at Fireside Lodge is like when the season is over? In my experience, it becomes a very quiet and peaceful place. It is almost as if it has gone to sleep for a while, in anticipation of another busy season. It is only after everyone leaves that one realizes that it is the people who bring the lodge to life each summer. That is why our mindset has to remain consistent throughout the year. We have to constantly try to improve the opportunities and services we provide for our guests, as well as add new and exciting things that will keep people coming back, and hopefully encourage others to give Fireside Lodge a try. The “Insider” and “Current Happenings” sections of our website are attempts to do just that.
The “Current Happenings” section is designed to let people know what is happening in terms of new projects, events, fishing and adventure opportunities, guest experiences, and the like. The “Insider” will provide a look for those who are interested at what goes on behind the scenes to make those events and projects become a reality. Entries in this section will include my personal experiences, or those of staff members, Alan, or Audrey. The goal is to provide people with a glance of what it is like to live and work at Fireside Lodge. I hope you enjoy this section of the website! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Tom Bradstreet