An Essay Contest Brings Back A Lot Of Memoires

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

   This may be a submission for an essay contest, but I think it's my favorite post yet. I went through old family photos looking for Coleman gear and decided I need to do more posts about camping when I was younger. Coleman gear has always been a big part of our camping gear. The main reason of course is because it is dependable and lasts a long time. The other reason is because my brother's name is Coleman and my grandpa's middle name was Coleman so it was a lot of fun to have stuff with their names on it.
   In the 2 pictures below you will see my dad with some Coleman gear. You have to look hard in the background to see them. The picture on the left, on the left side you can see the old Coleman cooler we had forever and the photo on the right, on the right side you can see an old Coleman water jug. I can remember that green cooler on almost every camping trip and picnic we went on as kids. Even though I don't remember the water jug, it still brought back memories for my husband, because he remembered his grandparents having that same water jug.

 The baby in the stroller in this next photo is me and my dad is sitting on that same green cooler. The green Coleman cooler made a great place to sit, a great table for kids to eat at and was the perfect size and shape for storing food for a camping trip or a picnic. It had one of those trays to keep stuff on top out of the ice or keep your worms away from your food. I always thought that little white tray's only purpose was to keep the worms away from your food. I had no idea it was also used to keep your eggs safe at the top so they wouldn't get broken, your lunch meat and cheese towards the top for easy access or even keep dry goods like bread from getting smashed during the drive.

 Here is another photo of a picnic with the green cooler. Coleman the cooler is on my right and Coleman the brother is on my left (I'm the one with the puffy hair).

   I have to admit I was a little jealous that my brother's name is on lanterns, coolers and tons of other fun stuff and there wasn't anything with my name on it. It's still fun to find Coleman gear for my brother Coleman. In December, my brother received a Coleman camping toilet for his pop-up camper from his dear sister and brother-in-law. 

  The green Coleman cooler is gone (not sure where it went) and the kids have become adults but Coleman is still part of our outdoor gear. My husband's old Coleman stove is great when we don't want to cook in the motor home or the house. We bought the Coleman kitchen a few years ago and use it for camping and when we're cooking outdoors at home. The old stove and the newer kitchen, I believe, make the best breakfast ever!

   Sometimes we forget about some old memories and then something like an essay contest makes those memories come charging back. I could have written a book on the memories of that old green Coleman cooler and start a new book on the new memories created with the Coleman kitchen and stove. Even if I don't win any of the great prizes, remembering the camping and fishing trips, picnics and road trips was a lot of fun. Thank you Coleman for sponsoring this contest.