Holiday DOG

Members of the Cracker Trail Chapter of the Dutch Oven Society gathered for food, fun, and fellowship at Mary Holland Park in Bartow, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, November 18, 2012.  Four days prior to Thanksgiving, some of our members were out of town for family events and we had a rather small group.  It was a perfect fall day in Central Florida, we were comfortable in short sleeves and enjoyed the sunshine and a gentle breeze.  We were joined by two visitors, who cooked with us,  Matthew Dunbar and Darold Phillips.  They were enthused and may join IDOS and become regular members of our group.  Matt's family joined us at four o'clock for our feast.

Recipes are shown on the following pages, along with pictures.  Thanks to Larry Strayer for sharing his photos with us. 

We look forward to seeing you at the Cold Weather DOG, January 27, 1013, @ Hardee Lakes County Park, Fort Green, Florida.  This map, from the Hardee County Website may help you find the park.  As usual we will plan to start cooking about noon and plan to serve food about 4:00 p.m.  Remember that it gets dark early in January, so we will want to be finished before sunset. 

Hardee Lakes Park is approximately 1200 acres. It contains 4 lakes. Lake 1 is 120 acres, Lake 2 is 110 acres, Lake 3 is 97 acres, and Lake 4 is 47 acres.

The park has horse trails, a hiking trail, a Handicap-accessible hiking trail, a bike
trail, picnic areas, a picnic pavilion, a playground, and a boardwalk that winds
through the woods with an observation tower where people can watch wildlife.

There are 3 restrooms located throughout the park
and the restroom at the camping area has shower facilities.

Upcoming DOG schedule for 2013

January 27, 2013 Cold Weather DOG @ Hardee Lakes County Park, Fort Green, FL

February 24, 2013 Presidential DOG @ Paines Creek State Park, Bowling Green, FL

March 24, 2013 Spring DOG Walk-in-the-Water Preserve, Frostproof, FL

April 21, 2013 Down South Dog, Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring, FL

July 27, 2013 Mile High Dog, Balsam Mountain, NC

Larry Hooper Memorial DOG

The Annual Larry Hooper Memorial DOG was held Sunday, October 14^th  at Camp Wingmann in Avon Park, Florda.  We thank Vicki and Dave for inviting us to join them at the camp on a bright sunny day.  The covered gym provided a perfect place to fire up the coals and  cook up some Good Food with Good Friends.  A gentle breeze off the lake and open walls made it comfortable with  temperatures in the 80’s, a typical October day in the Cracker Trail Region.

We missed a couple of members who were unable to join us for our annual business meeting.  There were eight members present and a total of 11 guests joined us for the feast at about 4 P.M.

Our condolences to Debbie Barber, whose husband Tom passed away during the summer.  He will be missed by our members.

Thank you to Dave Colman and  Norm Church,  who served as Director and Assistant Director for the past year.  And, for years of service as Secretary and Newsletter Editor, a round of applause and thank you goes out to Stew Gaylord.  All three did an excellent job.  We look forward to the upcoming year with new officers, Norm Church, Director; David Higingbottom, Assistant Director and Celia Siemsen, Secretary/Newsletter Editor.

We wish everyone a year of Good Fun and Good Food with Good Friends in the Cracker Trail Chapter.

Mark your calendar with  proposed  dates  for  DOGs for the upcoming year..

November 18, 2012     Holiday DOG @ Mary Holland Park, Barotw, FL

January 27, 2013          Cold Weather DOG @ Hardee Lakes County Park, Fort Green, FL

February 24, 2013       Presidential DOG @ Paines Creek State Park, Bowling Green, FL

.March  24, 2013         Spring DOG Walk-in –the-Water Preserve, Frostproof, FL

April 21, 2013              Down South Dog, Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring, FL

July 27, 2013               Mile High Dog, Balsam Mountain, NC