First Quarter LSDOS Newsletter

LONE STAR DUTCH OVEN SOCIETY 26719 MAPLEWOOD DRIVE, SPRING, TEXAS 77386, 281-292-3960 MARY MERRIWETHER EDITOR

THE DUTCH OVEN March 2012 What’s Cooking in the Newsletter STATE OF THE OVEN Letter from the President –Mansel Clay

NEWSLETTER ITEMS: National DOG News …

Greetings All: Spring is coming early to Texas!! After months of drought and hot weather, it looks like we are starting the new cooking season with some good rains over most of the state and cooler temperatures. Hopefully we will not experience the same kind of summer as we did last year. The winds are still extremely high and makes cooking a challenge with charcoal. I urge everyone to use special precautions as we all gather for our DOGs. There has not been much going on since the last newsletter, but things are fixing to pick up with spring and summer coming.

If you are traveling this summer and will be in the area of other chapters, check to see when the chapters are holding their DOGs and go visit, I know they will enjoy the companionship. It makes it nice to have other chapters visiting each other and keeps communication open between fellow cookers.

The LSDOS Membership Meeting will be held at Lake Texoma on June 23, 2012. We will be camping at the Burns Run West area of the Lake. If you have not made your reservations yet, contact Greg Petrey. At last count, there were still two sites open in the second reserved area. It would be great to have to reserve the third area. Although there are several group areas, they are all in walking distance of each other. We have reserved the large pavilion in Group Area 1 for activities.

Hope everyone of you has made plans to come and join the

LSDOS Chapter News With Recipes and Pictures

LSDOS Board Minutes Renew LSDOS 2012 Membership Membership Form on Website FUN, FOOD, and FELLOWSHIP as we meet for the annual Membership Meeting.

Mansel Clay--President LSDOS

Send prayer requests to: Shervonne Davis: 979-776-1191 or shervonne@tamu.ed Remember to register and make your plans to attend u the 2012 National Dutch Oven Gathering at the Canton Civic Center in Canton, Texas – October 19- 21, 2012.

Look for more information in the newsletter.

NATIONAL NEWS 2012 2012 National Dutch Oven Gathering Steve & Leslie Lovett – 2012 National Chairpersons

Canton Civic Center Canton. Texas

Update on the 2012 National Dutch Oven Gathering Greetings Dutch Oven Friends! Steve and I continue to make progress on our plans for the National DOG in Canton. As of March 5th , we have received registrations from 60 families and individuals with 44% coming from out of the state. It is exciting to open the mail and see new registrations coming in every week from all over the country! Here is a chart showing the distribution of people coming from out of state: You are invited to join the 2012 NDOG Yahoo Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/2012NDOG_Canton_TX/) to share information and ask questions regarding plans for the NDOG. The “People Map” application has been a fun addition to the group as people from around the country show where they live and a bit of information about their interest in Dutch Ovens.

We have enjoyed visiting different groups around Texas, including a wonderful weekend with the Sam Houston chapter and a Dutch oven demonstration in Dallas with the Collin County chapter. We had fun meeting old and new friends and shared lots of excellent food The 6th Annual North Texas Big DOG will be held in Canton March 16-18, 2012 and will be a valuable opportunity for a practice run for the National DOG. We will learn about the logistics of parking RVs “rally style,” how to set up the common cooking area, and how to best utilize the space inside the Civic Center. I look forward to sharing the details of our Regional Big DOG in the this newsletter and sending an update as we get closer to the National DOG! Be sure to read the Prairie DOG write up.

LSDOS CHAPTER NEWS Tejas Chapter Tom DeBourg– Advisor

936-687-2156

Crocket, Texas poppatom1948@yahoo.com

HELP HELP HELP CHAPTER ADVISOR NEEDED Tejas Chapter Looking for New Advisor As advisor to The Mission Teja s Chapter of the LSDOS I have been trying to find someone who is on the membership roster who would be willing to take over as the chapter advisor. I am making this plea here because my e-mails to members have not given me any positive response. One of our Tejas members, who was on the staff at Mission Tejas State Park, was excited about taking over, but fortunately for him but unfortunately for us, he went back to school to become a Park Service Ranger and because of this change, he also moved to a different park. Tim would have been a wonderful advisor. He is young, strong and a very good cook using Dutch Ovens! I hope he continues his membership in LSDOS because he would be an asset to any chapter. Back to the point of this note; I have degenerative arthritis, scoliosis and as a result Titanium rods in my back and unfortunately my back has

2 2

Tejas Chapter [continued] degenerated to the point where I cannot do any heavy lifting, and sitting or standing in one place for longer than 15 minutes is excruciating. I would be willing to assist or help in any way I could if someone could take over the actual “heavy” work involved with setting up and doing the teaching.

I have really enjoyed my time with LSDOS and also acting as advisor to the Tejas Chapter but I can no longer do the lifting, packing, unpacking, standing and cooking and because of my being forced by health issues to be on disability I cannot afford the money it takes for the food, the travel back and forth to some of the demonstrations, let alone money for the cook books, printed material or for that matter even the membership. It would break my heart to see the chapter close. Johnny Tatum, Gale Merriwether (God bless him!) and I put a lot of energy into getting things started and a number of members worked very hard at keeping it going! Susie Perry did a wonderful job of keeping things going and expanding our membership while I was in Boston for my heart surgery.

If anyone who reads this would be willing to keep LSDOS Tejas Chapter at the Mission Tejas State Park going, PLEASE contact me; Tom DuBourg by email ( poppstom1948@yahoo.com ) or by phone at (936-687-2156 during daylight hours) or you can contact Mission Tejas State Park for information. I would like to say here that the park staff has been VERY supportive and accommodating for our needs and has promoted our demonstrations with signage and also on their website. Gary, the present Ranger, is awesome in his excitement and support of all of our efforts on behalf of LSDOS.

Toledo Bend Chapter Carolyn Chandler – Advisor

936-598-5349

Center, Texas ccmd45@yahoo.com

January 21 DOG: What an unusual January DOG....the weather was nice!

No snow, sleet or rain...You might could say it was pretty near perfect. We had 9 cookers and quite a few visitors with about 31 total. Preparing the wonderful black pots of food was: Brenda & Ed with Chicken & Vegetable Soup (and a plate of deviled eggs prepared at home), Mike and Linda made Pork Meatballs with Tomato Sauce and also fresh garden cabbage. Calvin and Barbara made Venison Stew, cornbread and Apple Fluff. Paul and Jackie made White Chili and a Cherry Chocolate Dump Cake. Carl made Elk Steak, Larry and Melba made Hamburger ala Boy Scout. Mike made Jambalaya, Danny Paul had homemade rolls, Carolyn & Charlie made Pinto Beans with Sausage and cornbread. Visitors George and Nancy Stevens were so gracious to bring jugs of iced tea, glasses and ice. George also brought his famous Shrimp Dip. Danny Paul and his lovely wife Sally entertained us with his guitar and songs. Everyone was glad to get back to doing their black pot cooking after the extended burn bans of last summer.

February 18 DOG: Well we knew it would happen and sure enough, we woke up during the night to rain, rain and more rain. By around 9:00 a.m. it was just a sprinkle and Barbara, Calvin, Charlie and I sat at Boles Field to see if anyone else was coming. By 9:40 no one else had shown up, so we started calling folks to tell them we were going home...After we had made some phone calls, several more members arrived ready to cook, so back to the phone we went to tell those called that we were cooking. The wind was brisk and the temperature dropped so we set our cooking tables up under the pavilion and soon had a nice roaring fire in the fireplace. One of our members, Carl who

3 3

Toledo Bend Chapter [continued] lived nearby, was nice enough to go home and get a load of firewood for us.

I think the fire in the fireplace was the hit of the day. There was 8 there to cook and one of our members brought from home. Pots today were from: Nora who made Pork Loin with Apricot & Rosemary Glaze, Jo made Sweet and Sour Pork Chops, Calvin & Barbara prepared Wild Rice Casserole and their delicious Ham Balls (which was a request for them to make again), Brenda & Ed made Black Bean Soup and brought a King Cake with them, Carl fried fish, Winnie made a Chicken Casserole, Danny Paul madehomemade hot rolls and Carolyn & Charlie made CheesyPotatoes with diced ham, Hominy & Green Chilies and a Lemon Cake (cake made at home!) and Judy brought Chicken Spaghetti, garlic sticks and a coconut cake which she made at home. We had only 7 visitors and a total of 20 in attendance today. Danny Paul brought his guitar again and sang a few songs as we finished up the meal. We always enjoy the entertainment he brings to us.

March 17 DOG: We had a wonderful day for the DOG this month. The weather was perfect and we had a nice crowd of cookers and visitors. Since this was St. Patrick's Day, there was lots of green around. Cooking today were: Wade and Nora cooked Porcupine meatballs, fresh smoked sausages and peach pie, Brenda and Ed made a Chicken and Gnocchi soup and a Peppermint Pound Cake, Winnie made Irish stew and Irish Soda Bread, Billy and Lenora made Cabbage Stew and a Pistachio Pound Cake, Calvin and Barbara cooked Swiss Steak ,Brown Rice and a Pistachio Cake , Linda and Mike made Texas Highways Meatload and White Beans & Ham, Judy brought Pork Tenderloin and Cherry Pie, Jo made Cabbage and Beef, Carolyn and Charlie made Corned Beef and Cabbage, Cornbread (also a white sheet cake tinted green made at home) Our visitor, Thomas made a bacon wrapped, boudan stuffed, roasted chicken with squash...We had 13 pots on the table plus all the cakes.

We had 28 visitors and 15 cookers ...Everyone enjoyed the "Fun, Food and Fellowship"

CAJUN CABBAGE

HOT FUDGE CAKE

1 lb. Ground beef 1 medium green pepper, chopped 1 medium onion chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 (10 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chilies 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce ½ cup uncooked long grain rice 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon dried basil ½ teaspoon dried oregano ¼ to ½ each of white, black and cayenne pepper 4 to 6 drops hot pepper sauce 1 cabbage chopped 1 cup shredded Colby cheese

½ cup baking cocoa 1 cup brown sugar 2 cups water 1 pkg. Mini marshmallows 1 chocolate fudge cake mix 1 cup chopped pecans whipped cream or ice cream Mix cocoa, brown sugar and water in 12” Dutch oven and sprinkle marshmallows evenly on top.

Make cake mix according to package instructions.

Pour mix over marshmallows and spread to cover completely. Sprinkle pecans on top. Cover and place about 7 coals on bottom and 15 coals on top.

Cook beef, green pepper, onion and garlic.

Drain. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, rice and seasonings. Top with cabbage and cheese.

Cover and bake for about 1 hour with enough coals for a 350 degree oven.

Bake for 30 minutes or until done. Serve warm, topped with whipped cream or ice cream. To make it even richer you can also sprinkle chocolate chips on top before cooking.

4 4

Blackhawk Dutch Oven Cookers Chapters Lesley Tennessen – Advisor

847-909-9274

Northern Illinois & Wisconsin dutchovendiva@gmail.com

Blackhawk Dutch Oven Cooks by Lesley Tennessen We celebrated the New Year on January 1st with a version of the The FROZEN DOG. Our challenge is with our fellow cold weather, snow burdened, wind loving chapters. Our day started off brisk and cold with snow flurries. We had 11 folks cooking everything from stuffed mushrooms, cheesy potatoes. 3 cheese biscuit bites. A chili stew. Cornbread with maple syrup and hand ground flours (corn and wheat). A Spam and Apple crisp! Black eyed pea casserole.

Laura Tobin was busy with Cub Scout Pack outdoor day on Jan 28th .

She made some great Apple Cobblers with winter, snow and nice strong breezes. Lesley Tennessen was out at Klondike Boy Scout Winter Camp on the same day teaching Dutch Oven 101 with a Crescent-mania class. 3 first time cooks. We made Chicken Rollups, Apple Cinnamon Rollups and Stromboli. All deliciously consumed by participants and staff!

Feb 4th was our next DOG down in Winchester, IL! Good folks to cook with. It’s our version of Hearts R Healthy Dutch oven cooking. There were 9 cooks making Curries with Chicken, 2 varities, sweet potatoes, meatloaf, veggies, side salads were brought in by visitors, breads. Hot Lava Cake was a huge hit. In all, 27 people came by the church and we all enjoyed the great fellowship. The beginnings of a new collection of cooks.

And again on Feb 18th up in Mchenry. More great food, and this time we had some tremendous weather AND great food!

Chicken Marsala, Southwest Vegetarian Stew, Southwest Cowboy Stew topped with cornbread, Hillbilly Cake made with white cake, pineapple and coconut, pumpkin pies, chocolate bread, roasted chicken with rice, sparkling potatoes. 10 cooks and 20 tasters! We had 3 brand new cooks join us too! Great teaching from Gwen helped achieve perfect browning on that cake! Thanks Gwen!

Tina and Lesley participated in a World Yoga Day celebration on Feb 25th . We made seven dishes, all vegetarian! Curries of roasted cauliflower, and another with potatoes. Baked egg rolls. The fab chocolate bread makes an appearance again! Lentil ‘meatloaf’. Quinoa patties, Sweet potatoes. Squash and Yam medley. Hustled for 2 hrs and presto…meals and dishes for 20 folks.

This was to benefit Reporters without Borders project.

March is Maple Syrup Time and so Lesley and Tina M go to National Maple Syrup Festival.. There are 4 days of the festival, March 3, 4, 10, 11, Lesley will be joined by Tina Misicka and Steve Meneely of Indianopolis Indiana to do demonstrations and food sampling at the Burton’s Maplewood Farm in Medora, Indiana. We do everything with Maple Syrup, our special secret ingredient to all the dishes ranging from beef stew, chicken gumbo, cornbreads, gingerbread, oatmeal cookies, breakfast potatoes, maple bacon sticky buns, cakes, frostings. We have sampled out, on a single day, to over 800 people!

Our next few DOGs are in March and April. We will meet on March 31st . We will also be featuring Garlic Mustard cooking again in April at the Hawthorn Hills Nature Center. Get that pest out of the woods and into our pots! Use it like greens in all your cooking. Our section of cooks up in West Bend, Wisconsin have a DOG planned on April 21st .

Then we go to Apple River Canyon State Park in Stockton, Illinois for a camping weekend. We will be joined by the Iowa Prairie Rose Chapter filled in mid-May and have several DO meals planned.

Looking ahead for many good times with our Dutch oven friends.

Keep cooking and keep enjoying

5 5

Little House Cookers Chapter John Frerichs – Advisor

507-7622-8492

Rochester, Minnesota owl_c2598@yahoo.com

The Little House Cookers Chapter had a pretty slow winter this year. I'm sure many of us had our pots out at home from time to time, but we weren't able to have an "official" DOG. This would have been the perfect year to have multiple winter DOG's too with the mild temperatures and the lack of snow this year, but life and circumstances get in the way sometimes.

John, MaryAnn and Jackie Frerichs did represent the Chapter and did some dutch oven cooking for Dell Lutheran Church near Frost, MN. The church was kicking off a new Outdoor Ministry and asked if we would do some dutch oven desserts to go along with the supper that they were serving that night. We made 10 pots of cobblers which included Peach Cinnamon Crunch, Caramel Apple Cobbler, and Mixed Berry Lemon being made.

Our next official Chapter DOG will be held in June at Oxbow Park near Byron, MN and we're looking forward to a great summer.

Heart land of the Prairie Chapter Rhonda Cobb – Advisor

580-762-9847

Ponca City, Oklahoma rtrcobb117@yahoo.com

Since I did not get around to covering the last quarter of last year, I guess that is where I should start.

October was an important month for us. Along with the Dutch Oven Wranglers from Kansas we hosted the Mid State Dog at the Prairie Rose Campground at Benton, Kansas.

We had a 3 pot cookoff that was fun and eye opening for the new people visiting. 3rd place went to Terry Cobb and Jerry Pace, 2nd place went to Bill Ryan and Leslie Lovett, and 1st place went to Kristi Hawkins and Lorri Lyn. Every team there made great food and the judges had a great time judging the food.

Several demonstrations took place also, including cooking turkey in a trashcan, by Bear Hood and Terry Cobb, cooking over a Volcano by Greg Jacobs, and cheese making by Jerry Pace. We will be hosting this years Mid state DOG on July 13-15 at Osage Cove group camping at Kaw Lake, OK. This was the site of the 2009 National DOG for those of you that were there. Please put the date on your calendar and come and join us.

With winter approaching and cold wet weather we are blessed to ha ve a wonderful location to have our winter DOG's. Vance and Debra Johnson have an event center located in Newkirk, OK and have been gracious to let us use it for all our winter DOG's. Rick and Carol Moberly hosted the November DOG at the event center, our annual Christmas party in December hosted by Terry and Rhonda Cobb at the event center was well attended and included many of our Dutch Oven Wrangler Friends for the food and dirty Santa gift exchange. January DOG was hosted by Mike and Christine Hirsh, with the February DOG being hosted by Tom and Denise Vroman. We cook outside but bring the food inside to eat. Cooking in February was 29 degrees. Thanks to Terry Cobb that was not a problem as he built us a huge roaring fire outside by the cooking tables to stand around if we got cold. The March DOG will be hosted by Roy and Jo Neal, and that will finish up our winter DOG's.

April will find us at Coon Creek Cove on Kaw Lake camping and having our DOG there. We welcome all who want to come and join us, there is always more food than can be eaten.

6 6

Village Creek Cookers Chapter Robert (Bo) Clark – Advisor

409-246-3748

Lumberton, Texas clark4113@earthlink.net

Greetings from the Village Creek Cookers: We actually had to cancel our cookout last week because of rain. We will cook the 17th of March. No rain out last year, as everyone will remember. On March the 24th we are scheduled to do a demo for "Friends of the Park" at Dam B. We will be doing peanuts as appetizers, then chili beans and rice, cornbread and lots of cobblers. Some of our members have plans to attend the National DOG in Canton in October. It looks like our largest cookout may be on the same date. Case Knives sets the date for the Mott's Hardware Knife Show in Spurger, Tx so that people can be there. So, some of our cookers will be in Canton and some of them will cook for the Knife Show. We have been having 20 to 30 people at our cookouts. In Feb, we had 22 present and not 1 visitor. That is scary. Visitors are the life blood of a chapter. I can't remember a time last when we had no visitors.

We have added Dee Sims as a Co-Advisor. He plans to be in Canton and he is interested in some of the state DOGs. We are doing this so that he will be able to represent our chapter in voting and other matters.

Here are a couple of recipes that we like.

Red Beans & Rice 1 lb of Ground meat, browned 1 lb Red Beans 1 onion, chopped 2 Tbs. chili powder 1 tsp Tony Chachere's cajun/creole seasoning a dash of Cajun Chef Hot Sauce a little Catsup to give it a little tomato taste Cook beans according directions on package. Add remaining ingredients after beans come to a good boil. May need to add water during cooking. Cook until beans are soft and mash easily against the side of the pot. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Chicken Casserole 3-4 boneless chicken breasts 2 Tbs. butter 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 c. sour cream 1 pkg. (tube) Town House crackers 1 stick butter (Melted) Cut chicken into chunks and brown in Dutch Oven with 2 Tbs. butter.

In large bowl, mix together soups and sour cream.

Pour soup mixture over chicken.

Sprinkle crushed Town House crackers on top of casserole.

Pour the melted stick of butter over the crackers Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (or until bubbly) Until next time Bo Clark V.C.C.

7 7

Magnolia Black Pots Chapter Biscuit T. Sims – Advisor

601-924-4264

Clinton Mississippi n5hbb@yahoo.com

Hey Neighbor!

We have not got anything new in Mississippi. It has been really slow.

Sugar Booger and I are headed to Arkansas Spring Break. Still working with The Central AR group. Helping plan next years DOG. We had this planned way ahead, so we cannot go to Canton. I am kinda hosting this one.

Hope you and yours are doing well?

GOD BLESS YOU ! The Happy Dutch Oven Cook Biscuit T. Sims

Southern Kansas Dutch Oven Wranglers Lyla Bybee – Advisor

( )

Wichita, Kansas lyla.bybee@yahoo.com

Sorry, I missed the deadline last time so we have to catch up. In October our chapter and Heartland of the Prairie hosted a Multi State DOG at the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon near Wichita.

We had participants from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas and Illinois. It was a weekend camping event and cookoff. A great time was had by all. The winners of the competition were Grand Champions, Lorri Lyn and Kristine Hawkins from Oklahoma, Reserve Champions Bill Ryan and Leslie Lovett from Louisiana and Texas and 3rd Place Terry Cobb and Jerry Pace of Oklahoma. All who participated in the competition did an excellent job and are to be commended.

They are all winners in our book. We are proud to say that our group gained 9 new teams as a result of the event.

Winners relax and enjoy the food when the competition is over!

On October 20, Lyla Bybee and Rhonda Cobb (Heartland of the Prairie) were featured on a KSN-TV cooking show, Baan Appetit, with host Barbara Baan.

They cooked a Triple Pork Delight. Barbara was so excited that she invited us to be on the show again in November. John Bybee and Everett Donham were featured on the show on November 10t h cooking a Lemon Injected Trash Can Turkey. Both videos can still be viewed by going to www.ksn.com, click on the Entertainment tab, scroll down to Baan Appetit, scroll down to each recipe. Recipes are included on the web site.

Our regularly scheduled DOGS were hosted as follows: Oct 2011-John and Lyla Bybee, Nov 2011- Buster and Cheryl Johnson, Dec 2011- cancelled due to weather, Jan 2012 – Everett and Loretta Donham, Feb 2012 – John & Lyla Bybee, March 2012 – Brenda Ormsby (with friend Judy). Our April DOG will be hosted by John & Kim Willems.

8 8

Southern Kansas Dutch Oven Wranglers New members Jason Nguyen and Steve Denton will host the May DOG at Cowtown in Wichita. They are also working with Cowtown for our group to visit and do demonstrations in April. Way to go Jason and Steve.

We are also planning a fund raiser to be held in Tulsa, OK on Saturday, April 28.

We will be raising money for a 8th grade student in Broken Arrow to go on a European People to People trip this summer. Several members of our group will be attending along with some of our friends from Oklahoma and Arkansas. If you are interested in helping, please contact me via e-mail or phone (lyla.bybee@yahoo.com or 316-208-6869).

Several of us are planning on attending the “Cookin’ For Kids” competition in Arkansas on June 2. Hope to see many of you there.

Until next time, May Your Coals Always Burn HOT! Wildflower Chapter Dan & Kerry Poggemiller – Advisor

Austin, Texas kb5two@sbcglobal..com

512-921-7001

The first quarter of 2012 has not been a very exciting time for the Wildflower group. We’ve had many delays with events due to weather. So for now: STANDBY FOR NEWS! Hopefully the next newsletter with be filled with inspiration from Wildflower. So as not to be a total waste here is a recipe to try: Dawn’s Reuben” Casserole 1 can corned beef

Crumble corn beef across the bottom of the Dutch Oven. Add a

1 15-oz can sauerkraut, drained

layer of sauerkraut and sprinkle with caraway seeds. Follow this

Small bottle Thousand Island Dressing

with a layer of tomato slices. Cover tomatoes with the Thousand

1 package or tin of cornbread mix

Island dressing. Cover with a layer of Swiss cheese. Follow the

2 tomatoes, sliced

directions to make one package of cornbread mix. Pour the

Swiss cheese

cornbread mix over the Swiss cheese layer. Bake until the

caraway seeds

cornbread mix is golden brown on top.

Sam Houston Chapter Mary Merriwether – Advisor

281-292-3960

Conroe / Huntsville Area, Texas marymeri@att.net

The Sam Houston Chapter January 2012 DOG was held in conjunction with the LSDOS Board Meeting at Salmon Lake on January 14, 2012. We had a good representation of Sam Houston members who started camping on Wednesday and others came on Saturday for the DOG and the meeting. Our members enjoy gathering for our regular monthly DOGs, but we also enjoy traveling to support the LSDOS and other chapters’ events. The weather was great and the fellowship with others was even greater. Wish that more members had been able to attend.

Our late Valentine’s DOG was held on February 25 at the Willis American Legion. The camping started on Friday with four chapter families (8 individuals) and visitors Leslie and Steve Lovett from the Prairie Dog Chapter who came to share their information on the 2012 National DOG which will be held in Canton, Texas in October. Hope that everyone is planning on attending that event. On

9 9

Sam Houston Chapter [continued] Saturday we had a great day as the sun arrived and welcomed seven more chapter families and five visitors. There were twenty pots prepared and several salads to feed thirty folks----needless to say there was a LOT of good eating and fellowship.

One of the highlights to our gathering on Saturday was that we were able to attend a “Disposal of Unserviceable Flag Ceremony” that was held at the American Legion Post where we camp. It was a very impressive ceremony. Here is an excerpt from the Conroe Courier newspaper which cover the event. They burned 300 flags and have about 600 more which they will probably burn on flag day. They have been unable to burn any this past year because of the burn ban.

To enhance the fellowship and to put our priorities in prospective, we were invited by the American Legion officers to participate in the formal Flag Ceremony. The ceremony was an emotional experience as we watched each of the 300 unserviceable flags being placed individually into the burning flames. As the smoke rose, it reminded us of the lives (past, present, and future) that were represented by each flag for our rights.

Humbling pride and respect were joined with tears and prayers as we honored the flags that had flown proudly in recognition of our wonderful Country.

LSDOS member and Vietnam veteran Walter Fitzpatrick told the Conroe reporter that our organization is dedicated to preserving the historical practice of cooking using Dutch ovens and black pots. Fitzpatrick said he felt very honored to have been present to view the flag disposal ceremony.

‘There’s actually a lot of veterans in the society,’ Fitzpatrick said, ‘I think it’s a very fitting way to dispose of flags. We truly appreciated the opportunity to witness and participate in this special ceremony. These legion men are very dedicated people. It’s just like when a soldier or veteran falls, we honor them. This is how we honor our flag.

The Sam Houston March DOG will be held March 24 in conjunction with the Texas Wildlife and Woodland Expo. We will be doing Dutch oven demos for the public from 10:00am until 4:00pm at the Lone Star College on FM 242. This will be our third year to participate with the Wildlife and Texas Parks event. Each year the attendance has grown, and we have been able to share our love of cooking in Dutch ovens. For more information go to http://expo.tamu.edu or call 936-273-2261.

Collin County Dutch Ovens Dave Fox – Interim Advisor

72-569-9647

Fairview, Texas amendment2@aol.com

The Collin County Dutch Ovens met on New Year’s Day and had a DOG at the usual spot at Brockdale park on Lake Lavon.

Despite being the day after one of the biggest party nights of the year, we had 10 people and the weather was cool but nice for a Jan 1. Then some of us who had too much fun decided to meet again on the 21st for a PUP (Practice Until Perfect) and we made some breads. At the Jan and Feb DOGS, I was able to use my firebox that one of our members, Bill Carmickle, helped me put together. Twenty three people met on Feb 4th at Brockdale for our monthly DOG. One was a visiting radio personality with a local radio station. Our DOG on March 3rd went well. Eleven people came and there were 8 pots on the table. We are also demonstrating at Ray’s Sporting Goods in Dallas for a new bridge opening on the same day. We had 3 teams for that and cooked sourdough biscuits & honey, yummy soups, pork chops and taters, jambalaya and more. Many positive comments about that demonstration, and we passed out a number of trifolds and flyers pertaining to the National DOG this year in Canton, TX. Also in March on the 13th to the 18th, some of us are attending the Regional DOG and practice for the National in Canton, TX. On April 7th , we will hold our monthly DOG at Outdoor fest in Allen.

10 10

Collin County Dutch Oven Chapter [continued] Mike Churchill’s fantastic Green Chile and Tomatillo pork Recipe: CHILE VERDE PORK Ingredients 4 pounds pork butt, cut into 1-inch cubes, 1/4 cup white vinegar trimmed of fat 4 yellow onions, chopped 1 cup chicken stock 4 Anaheim chiles 2 tablespoons ground oregano 2 jalapeno, minced 2 tablespoons ground cumin 4 tablespoons garlic, chopped ½ teaspoon salt 1 pound tomatillos, husk removed 1 tablespoon ground black pepper 1/2 cup white wine Directions In a medium Dutch oven, heat the oil, add the onion, peppers and garlic. Saute until translucent, do not brown.

Remove and set mixture aside.

Lightly grill the Anaheim chiles and tomatillos on open flame until lightly charred. Remove from heat, place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap to keep warm for 20 minutes.

Add pork butt to Dutch oven and cook over high heat until browned on all sides Add the onion-pepper mixture and tomatillos to the pork. Mix thoroughly and then deglaze with white wine and vinegar. Let reduce for 5 minutes, then add chicken stock, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper.

Let simmer for 1 hour. Serves 12 From food network CARAMEL APPLE SOPAPILLA CHEESECAKE Tom and Pat Pollard: Ingredients: 2 cans of Crescent Rolls 2 cans of Apple Pie Filling 2 sticks of butter 1 Large Tub of Cheesecake Filling Cinnamon 1 Tbs Sugar Jar of caramel sauce

Directions: Layer the following: 1 cut up stick of butter -- 1 can of Crescent Rolls --Sprinkle with cinnamon 1 tub Cheesecake Filling -- d rizzle caramel - 2 cans of Apple Pie Filling 1 can of Crescent Rolls - 1 cut up stick of butter - Spinkle with Cinnamon and sugar - drizzle caramel on top.

Cook for 30 minutes At 350. Top should be golden brown.

NOTE: We get the cheesecake filling at Brookshires in the sour cream and dips section Old San Patricio Black Pot Cookers Chapter Janis Westmoland – Advisor

361-547-5476

Mathis, Texas westmoland@the-i.net

Hello all, We held our January DOG and First Cook-Off Competition on the 21st . at the Old San Patricio Museum here in Old San Patricio, Texas. The response to the cook-off was amazing; there were 4 categories: entrée, dessert, bread and appetizer. The Black Potters did great, all four of the categories were represented with twelve entries of delicious and unique dishes. Everyone had such a wonderful time; we are looking forward to the next competition to show off our black pot dishes. First and Second place ribbons were awarded to the winners.

Our February DOG was a wash due to 50 mile an hour winds, I was the only one cooking. Some of the members show up to visit, also had some visitors.

11 11

Old San Patricio Black Pot Cookers Chapter [continued] Our March DOG was just held last Saturday and Sunday. We held a Demonstration DOG at the 40th Annual World Champion Rattlesnake Races here in Old San Patricio, Texas, two days of solid cooking, mainly breads and biscuits. There was a wonderful turn out on Saturday, lots of interest. It is so amazing to me that so many people have not seen a Dutch oven; really fun to watch peoples reactions. This was our second year and are planning on participation again next year.

Kokomo Kookers Chapter Mike Soupley – Advisor

765-437-0015

Indiana msoupley@comcast.net

2012 Kokomo Kookers Camping & Cooking Schedule th

*Salamonie Reservoir May 4 and 5th we will cook on Saturday the 5th starting to cook around 10:00 am and will eat around 12:30 – 1:00 this is the weekend of the Hoosier Heartland at Salamonie. There will be booths and venders to look at, on Saturday and Sunday. * Mississinewa reservoir May 25th 26 th and 27th we will cook on Saturday the 26th and most likely on Sunday the 27th we start early cooking and eat around 1:00. * Mississinewa reservoir June 29th and 30th we will cook on Saturday. We start to cook around 10:00 and eat around 1:00 we will most likely cook on Sunday as well! * The Dunes State Park July 21st & 22nd we will cook on Saturday. We start to cook at 10:00 and eat around 1:00 * Chain “O” Lakes State Park August 18th & 19th we will cook on Saturday, starting at 10:00 pots on the table 12:30 to 1:00 pm * Twin Mills Campground September 1st, 2nd and 3rd. We will start cooking, Saturday at 10:00 and eat around 1:00 we will most likely cook on Sunday as well. * Brown County State Park September 22nd & 23rdWe will start cooking at 10:00 and eat around 1:00 *Prophets Town State Park October 19th & 20th We will start cooking on Saturday at 10:00 and eat around 1:00 NOTE: Please e-mail Mike @ msoupley@comcast.net for details and or directions. All these are camping dates, you can join us camping or just stop by and watch us cook OR bring a pot and participate. Good or bad we will show you what we know.

Prairie Rose Cookers Chapter Ron Groenendyk – Advisor

( )

Iowa rjgr2973@iowatele.com

October marked our closing DOG of the season, our BRRR DOG hosted by Bob and Lola Ivins. This years BRRR DOG was held at Lake Miami just East of Lovilia IA. We should have had jackets on, but it was unusually warm for this one and I think almost everyone was cooking in t-shirts this year and even sweating a little. No one was complaining about the warm temps.

We had a large group of cooks at this one: Ron Rupperecht and his family, Ron Groenendyk, Loren Bolkema, Gordon & Meg Crawford, Bob and Lola Ivins, Mike and Wanda Anderson, Dennis Laughlin & Michelle Shock, and a host friends and family of Bob’s. Thank you Bob and Lola for again hosting this DOG, and thanks to all who made the trip.

March 2012 begins our season with the 2nd annual “Cabin Fever DOG” hosted by Les and Kim Ferguson. What a nice way to start the year, kind of the same way we ended 2011, with unseasonably warm temps!! Again no complaints from any of the cooks at this one. It was a bit on the windy side, but sunny and dry. While at this DOG, I saw an ant, box elder bug, spider, and a fly………..so our little friends are enjoying the early warm up too.

We had a nice group of cooks: Les and Kim Ferguson, Ron and Judy Groenendyk, Mike and Wanda Anderson, Dennis Laughlin & Michelle Shock, Marlyn Hoksbergen, Chester and Norma, Julie Reed who was an onlooker last year but decided to join us cooking, and Rex and Sally Fine along with Shelly and Sherry who were observers. Rex and Sally enjoyed themselves………they bought a 10” oven just the other night and are anxious to begin their new hobby!!! Good Luck Rex and Sally!!!

12 12

Prairie Rose Cookers Chapter [continued] THIS YEARS LIST OF DOGS/COOK-OFFS May 18-20 – Spring Fling, Apple River Canyon State Park, Stockton IL. We have teamed up with the IL group to host this for a second year.

June 16 – Spring Into Summer Cook-off, Jefferson County Park, Fairfield IA. This is a great event. Therese Cummiskey and her crew put on this well run event. Several of us will camp the weekend at the County Park too, so feel free to join us. Contact therese@jeffersoncountyconservation.com for more cook-off details.

July 28 – Summer DOG, Oelwein City Park, Oelwein IA. This is our fourth year for this DOG. Several of us will camp at the City Park. This year we are trying something different, we have the shelter reserved that is in the campground. Pots on at 3pm August 10 – Walnut Acres Campground DOG, Monticello IA August 18 – Wood Duck DOG, Black Hawk Park, Cedar Falls IA. We have the Snag Creek Group site reserved again for this one, camping is $16 per night per unit and there’s plenty of electrical hook-ups and a water spigot. Showers in the main campground. Our DOG will be at the Wood Duck Shelter. Pots on at 3pm September 15 – Big Grove Cook-off, Fremont IA. This is a great event that Ron and Judy Groenendyk spearhead. It is also the one and only fundraiser we have for our chapter. The funds from this event cover shelter rental and other expenses that the chapter incurs. Please come cook and help support our chapter. Registration information will be available on our site shortly.

This is not a complete list of events. I have just posted the scheduled DOG’s and Cook-offs that we have set up so far For more information and to see updates in our schedule, please visit our yahoo group. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/iowadutchovencooking/ We are a group of people that all enjoy this hobby. We love getting together and sharing ideas and recipes. Anyone is welcome to attend any event we host. All skill levels welcome.

Have a great cooking season……….

Michelle Shock, Co-Director North Texas Prairie Dog Chapter Greg Petrey – Advisor

Dallas – Fort Worth, Texas grpetrey@yahoo.com

817-281-7619 Submitted by Leslie Lovett

January 14th, the Prairie Dog Chapter gathered at the Log Cabin Village in downtown Fort Worth for our third annual DOG and Demonstration. We had ten outdoor kitchens set up and 14 Dutch Oven Chefs cooking all sorts of delicious recipes. Some dressed up in late 1800 period attire and there were plenty of Texas size cowboy hats. We were delighted to have several new members cook with us and one family joined LSDOS! During the afternoon, our group gave 15-minute presentations on the History of the Dutch Oven, Care of Dutch Ovens, Temperature Control, and Tools and Implements. At the end of the day, the museum staff reported that they had 128 visitors and thanked us for providing an entertaining and educational program for their visitors.

In February, the Prairie Dog Chapter met in Dallas at White Rock Lake for a Valentines Dutch Oven Gathering. The night before our gathering, the temperature dropped suddenly to below freezing with strong winds. The high was 28 degrees with a stiff wind out of the north, making it a very challenging situation for Dutch Oven cooks.

13 13

North Texas Prairie Dog Chapter [continued] We had to move from the original site that was on top of a hill and exposed to the wind coming off of the lake to a new location that was less windy. The move pushed back our targeted-serving-time (TST) but was worth the delay to get out of the high wind. Seven brave members of the groups showed up, each saying that it was crazy for us to be cooking in the bone-chilling cold. We put up some tarps to break the wind a little. They helped, a little!

March 16-18 the Prairie Dogs joined members of the Colin County Dutch Ovens and the Dogwood group for the 6th Annual North Texas Big Dutch Oven Gathering in Canton, Texas. We were delighted to welcome new friends from Arkansas and Louisiana and Austin! We had 21 RV rigs set up, two tent campers, and a dozen cook stations set up together.

Dinner Friday night, 39 people ate out of 26 pots and Saturday at lunch we had 51 folks enjoying a wonderful variety of dishes from 32 pots. Bret Martin, from Arkansas, won the grand prize – a Pony Express 12” Dutch Oven (no longer in production). He was thrilled since it was his first Dutch Oven! He promptly went out and baked a dump cobbler and told his wife he was hooked!

Sunday morning those who were able to stay for breakfast enjoyed all sorts of tasty bacon, sausage, and other meat products donated by Petit Jean Meats. Sunday morning's raffle was for a dozen bacon roses that were beautiful and unusual! The winner of the raffle was Tim, the maintenance staff from the City of Canton. The smile on his face was priceless! Thank you Ray and Alma Pruitt for bringing Petit Jean meats to the Regional Big DOG!

LSDOS PROSPECTIVE CHAPTER NEWS River Valley Black Pot Cookers Ray Pruitt – Interium Advisor

501-242-2763

Arkansas ?????????@??????

The River Valley Black Pot Cookers are a new cooking group currently being formed in central Arkansas. My wife, Alta, and I visited my sister in Kansas during Thanksgiving and decided we wanted to locate a group in Arkansas that we could join. My sister is President of the Southern Kansas Dutch Oven Wranglers. Bill Ryan put us in touch with Eric McCallister of the Central Arkansas Dutch Oven Group. We visited a meeting and have cooked at their monthly DOG’s a couple of times.

We hosted the February DOG at Morrilton and had a great turn out with 44 people and 23 pots. We are proud to say we had visitors from Kansas and Oklahoma to participate in the DOG. We were very happy to meet Terry and Rhonda Cobb of Heartland of the Prairie. During the DOG in Morrilton we found that several people in the area are interested in being a part of a group.

Therefore, we decided to start this new group.With the help of the Central Arkansas group we will be hosting the Central Arkansas State DO Championship on June 2, 2012 in downtown Morrilton. This will be an IDOS Sanctioned 3 Pot Competition. Entry fee will be $20. Entry forms can be found on the IDOS web site. The payoff will be 1st Place (in each category) $100, 2nd Place (in each category) $50 and 3rd Place (in each category) $25. In addition the Grand Champion will receive an additional $300 and the Reserve Champion will receive an additional $175. This event is being called “Cookin’ for Kids.” All money raised will be used

14 14

River Valley Black Pot Cookers [continued] for school supplies for needy children in Conway County Arkansas. For more information call me at 501-242-2763 or e-mail lyla.bybee@yahoo.com, emccallister@ymail.com or cookinforkids2112@yahoo.com.

In addition to the IDOS Competition, we will be having a “Just for Fun” competition immediately following the last entries being turned in to the judges. There will be not entry fee for this competition. Petit Jean Meat packing company in Morrilton will be furnishing the meat for each team in this completion. It will be a People’s Choice competition. We hope everyone attending will participate in the completion. For details contacts are the same as above. Petit Jean has provided a list of the items that may be used in the competition which is included on the entry form.

We already have entries from Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. We are looking forward to meeting many new DO cooks at this event.

See you all soon!

Overmounatin Cast Iron Chapter Ray Partain – Interium Advisor

???-???-????

Knoxville, Tennessee partaomr@yahoo.com

January 27th we gathered at University of TN for an organizing DOG where we helped cook for 200+ students, family, and friends of the UT Wildlife Students Assoc. We all voted to form a Chapter named "Overmountain CIA"(Cast Iron Assoc.) with LSDOS. Ray Partain was nominated for interim advisor. Chapter members/cooks present: Chris Ogle, Amanda Ogle, Kenny Goodman, John Goodman, Scott Dykes, Joe Elkins, Chuck Chandler, Pete Wyatt, Ray Partain, Sterling Daniels, and John Mike.

We look forward to our affiliation with LSDOS.

15 15

LSDOS MINUTES WINTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING January 14, 2012 Salmon Lake Park, Grapeland, Texas Greg Petrey certified proxies. John Frerichs of the Little House Cookers to Rhonda Cobb (John’s membership renewal had not yet been received, therefore his proxy was not valid.); Lyla Bybee of Southern Kansas Dutch Oven Wranglers to Patti Corcoran Anne Ackel of Saltgrass to Shervonne Davis; Ronda Barnow of Amber Waves to Rhonda Cobb. Shervonne Davis, Brazos Valley gave her proxy as Chapter Advisor to Kathy Maurer but retained her proxy as board secretary.

The LSDOS Winter Board of Directors Meeting was called to order at 3:02 p.m. by President Mansel Clay. Members present were: Mansel Clay, Rhonda Cobb, Mary Merriwether, Greg Petrey, Shervonne Davis, Patti Corcoran, Bruce Bonnett, He welcomed all members and invited non-board members to speak up although only board members could vote.

Minutes: Shervonne Davis presented the minutes from the 2011 Winter Board of Directors Meeting. Greg Petrey made a motion to suspend the reading of the minutes because they were printed and allow time for attendees to review them. Mary Merriwether pointed out that they had been printed in a past newsletter, as well and seconded the motion. Rhonda Cobb made a motion to accept the minutes as presented. Mary Merriwether seconded. Motion passed 12-0.

Financials: Greg Petrey discussed financial transactions for the 2012 National DOG. There were two transactions, both previously approved by the January 2011 board and the June membership. There was $500 for funding and $500 for merchandise. Shipping of the merchandise caused the final total to be $520.24.

Greg handed out financial statements. We ended the year in the black with $395.75. There was $8, 826.97 in total income and $8431.22 in expenses.

Committee Reports: At the Summer Meeting, a committee was appointed to discuss ways to support at-risk chapters with fewer than three members. Dave Fox asked Greg Petrey to share the findings of the committee with the board. There were ten primary findings: · It is possible that non-renewals were driven by extreme political posturing in the past. We’d like to have input on this, also considering age, health and other barriers to membership renewal. · We want to encourage past members to return. To encourage all members to ‘come home’ we’d like to create a letter to re-invite past members. · We do not want to make membership odious – too difficult to be members · We need to educate chapters and members by making it easy to use the group locator, work on tax-exempt status, etc. · We need to show chapters and members the benefits of membership in LSDOS. · In the past, the bylaws stated that 3 members were necessary to start a chapter and to maintain a chapter. At some point this was removed. We believe it should be added with a provision that a chapter that falls below the minimum shall become a sub-chapter of a supportive chapter. · We need to establish a path to minimum membership compliance including sub-chapter membership with voting rights held by supportive chapter during the period of non-compliance. This is to ensure the equality of voting by chapters and prevent a chapter with few or no members from having equal voting to a chapter with many members.

Rhonda Cobb wondered if this should be presented to the general membership at the summer meeting. The consensus was yes, it should. Discussion ensued. Joe suggested that we should be careful about bringing up past history and opening old wounds.

Mansel said we should not even bring up the past but leave it in the past. Patti said that formalizing the suggestions would help.

Rhonda made a motion to ask Dave Fox and the committee to formalize the recommendations and present it to the membership at the summer meeting. Mary Merriwether seconded the motion. Motion carried 12-0.

Mary Merriwether reported on New Chapters. There is one prospective chapter forming in Dickinson but they have not responded to email or phone calls nor renewed their membership yet. Early in January we had only received 38 renewals so far, but according to Greg, there are 73 renewals as of this morning. We expect approximately 220 members plus the seven existing lifetime memberships. One chapter consists of only one member, one of the lifetime memberships. Several chapters have members but no chapter advisors. About 18 chapters have less than three members. Some chapters have no renewed members.

16 16

Winter Board of Directors Meeting Minutes [continued] hervonne asked if we could get a list of the at risk chapters. She suggested a note in the newsletter suggesting that others visit these chapters. Rhonda and Mary were concerned that we should not pinpoint these chapters.

One chapter that is struggling also has an advisor on a fixed income and unable to renew. Rhonda mentioned someone doing a sponsorship or Shervonne suggested several donating towards that renewal. The member is reported to be in very bad health and possibly only leaving home for medical appointments.

The Tejas chapter, for example, only had one member last year and the chapter advisor also didn’t renew last year. Some members of Tejas have been participating in other chapters in order to cook. Charlie mentioned that moving Tejas events to the Tejas State Park probably hurt that group due to distance.

Website: Greg included printouts of web statistics in the packet. Traffic is down slightly but we still have an extremely popular site. We have about 50,000 visits per month in 2011 and about 54,000 visited for the first time. Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. is the busiest time. A lot of government or military websites explore it. France and the Seychelles are the source of the most hacking attempts.

Charlie suggested changing the order of recipes to help in showing a new image to visitors. Greg said he can randomize them so they appear in various order. Fifty percent of users bookmark the site.

Greg would like to encourage chapter advisors to submit updated information about their chapters. He is still looking for the best way to post and retrieve the newsletter. He is currently using a magazine style format. A mobile app should also be developed.

Larry suggested finding a way for visitors to enter their zip code and be contacted by a nearby chapter advisor.

Returned Check Policy: The District Attorney would not handle a recent hot check written to LSDOS because we do not have a written hot-check policy. Greg offered a guideline as a motion. Rhonda seconded. Motion carried 12-0.

The policy will be posted on the website. Rick said that if it is on the membership form, it would make it a legal document. Greg said this is a very rare situation but the DA wouldn’t handle the complaint since we didn’t have a policy.

Newsletter: Mary reminded us that it is our newsletter and that we should let her know if it needs changes. We need to send comments. Rhonda said if we advisors would send our write-ups, it would not be a problem. Patti said the newsletter is great.

Rhonda thanked Mary for doing the newsletter.

Old Business – General Membership: Terry and Rhonda said they were suggesting Burns Run West at Lake Texoma. Ronnie Brown laughingly suggested Spokane, Washington. The best weekend is the fourth weekend in June, with the meeting on Saturday, the 23. The park offers RV hookups, cabins, tents and has showers. Rhonda made a motion that the General Membership meeting be held at Burns Run West at Lake Texoma at 3:00 on June 23, 2012. Greg seconded.

In discussion, Joe asked where the majority of members live. He noted that not many chapter advisors were in attendance today.

He is concerned about the bulk of the membership being able and willing to attend at Texoma. Patti had looked at seventeen parks in the Waco and Dallas area to find a central location but in the past some people still did not attend even when it was held right at their back door. Motion carried 12-0.

New Business – 2012 Annual Budget – Greg said the proposed budget was extremely conservative. In the proposed budget, Greg allowed for a slight decrease in income due to reduced cookbook sales and memberships and reduced several expenses to allow for the decrease in income. The proposed budget for 2012 was for 10, 550, a decrease of $1,260 from the 2011 budget. Greg wondered if someone in LSDOS is an insurance expert and could evaluate if we have the right kind of insurance. Greg offered the proposed budget as a motion. Rhonda made the second. Motion carried 12-0.

Dissolution Clause Added to Bylaws - Greg says this makes it clear that no individual would receive any assets upon dissolution.

The board would determine what 501.c3 non-profit would receive any assets at time of dissolution. Greg offered the proposal as a motion. Mary made a second. Motion carried 12-0.

501.c3 – Mary asked the status of the 501.c3 non-profit application. Greg said the request would be filed first to the state and federal second. It would take at least six months after submission. Rhonda reminded us that the National DOG in Ohio was told that they could not be open to the general public. At the General Membership meeting, we had voted to support the 2012 National

17 17

Winter Board of Directors Meeting Minutes [continued] DOG only if the general public was allowed to attend. She is recommending that insurance be purchased as part of the LSDOS donation. Charlie said he had been able to purchase insurance for a cost of $50 for $100,000 in coverage for a three day Gold Wing event.

Shervonne made a motion that Rhonda explore the cost and possibilities of insurance and present the information at the General Membership meeting. Greg 2nd . Motion carried 12-0.

Merchandise for the 2012 National DOG – Rhonda said we need to find a merchandize item for the 2012 DOG. Last year we did 175 towels with the logo. Shervonne made a motion that Rhonda explore merchandise for the 2012 National DOG. Mary 2nd .

Motion carried 12-0.

Rhonda reported that Lesley Lovett had noted that 45 sites (approximately 100 people) were already registered for the National DOG. Pioneer had offered to be a sponsor. She reminded us of a regional DOG to be held at Canton in March as a dry run to test the logistics. RV sites are $16, tents are $10 and we have 158 sites available.

During the meeting, Greg had run an algorithm using the zip codes of our membership, excluding the Australia member, to find the geographic center of our membership. County Road 1510 in Point, TX is the geographic center of our membership.

Elections – Greg reminded us that this is an election year for the elected officers but that could change if the 501.c3 is approved.

(This would require membership to elect a board, then the elected board would select the President and other officers from among those elected.) We may end up electing ten ‘directors’. The October newsletter will include ballots. According to bylaws, all nominations must be made at the General Membership meeting in June and the names have to be presented at that meeting.

Joe expressed a preference to have the meeting minutes from both summer and winter meetings to be read at each meeting for better continuity and to help get information to members about when and where decisions are made.

Mary made a motion to adjourn. Rhonda seconded. Motion carried 12-0.

Minutes respectfully submitted by Shervonne Davis.

18 18

Travel ---- Visit a LSDOS Chapter Near You TEXAS

Abilene – Key City Kookers Chapter – Gary Archer -- 325-232-3078 – garcher@xanadoo.com Amarillo/Vega – Canadian River Dutch Oven Group – Skip Kendrick -- 806-267-2567 – kendrick@amaonline.com Austin - Wildflower Chapter – Dan & Kerry Poggemiller -- 512-344-9539 – poggemkl@sbcglobal.net Bastrop – Independence/Lost Pines Chapter – Ken Brown – 830-875-3995 – kbrown@bcsnet.net Bryan/College Station - Brazos Valley Chapter – Shervonne Davis - 979-776-1191– shervonne@tamu.edu Center – Toledo Bend Chapter – Carolyn Chandler - 936-598-5349 – ccmd45@yahoo.com Collin County – Collin County Dutch Oven Cookers- Dave Fox – 972-569-9647 – amendment2@aol.com Conroe/Huntsville – Sam Houston Chapter – Mary Merriwether - 281-292-3960 – marymeri@att.net Corpus Christi - Pioneers of the Gulf Coast Chapter- Karen Howden - 361-986-1268 - Jhowdencc@aol.com Crockett - Tejas Chapter – Tom DuBourg – 936-687-2156 – poppatom1948@yahoo.com Crosby/Highlands - San Jacinto Sons Chapter – Jerry Harrison – 281-328-4420 – jdh0716@comcast.net Dallas/Fort Worth – Prairie Dog Chapter – Greg Petrey – 817-281-7619 – grpetrey@yahoo.com Early – Heart of Texas Chapter – Mansel Clay - 325-646-9210 – trevmclay1@verizon.net Houston – Saltgrass Chapter – Anne Ackel -732-392-9906 - beeaarr@aol.com Kerrville - Hill Country Chapter – Butch Mize - 830-866-3396 – blackpotwizard@yahoo.com Lumberton - Village Creek Cookers Chapter – Bo Clark – 409-246-3748 – clark4113@earthlink.net Mathis – Old San Patricio Black Pot Cookers Chapter- Janis Westmoland – 361-547-5476 – westmoland@the-i.net McAllen – Rio Grande Valley Chapter- Randy Ashley – 956-664-9018 – rashley@rgv.rr.com Nacogdoches – Piney Woods Chapter- David Jones – ???-???-???? – kdavidjones@hotmail.com San Angelo – Concho Valley Chapter- Melvin Rose – 325-942-1844 – melvinrose@yahoo.com San Antonio - Bare Pots Chapter- Bill Brummel – 210-675-3468- billbrummel@hotmail.com San Antonio – San Antonio Chuck Wagon Gang Chapter- Yvonne Newton – 210-509-9437- ynewton@swbell.net Sherman – Sherman Dutch Oven Cookers- Paul Martin – 903-546-9062 – plmartin139@yahoo.com Texarkana – Caddo Area Chapter – Jackie Burke – 903-838-5997 – flojack@txk.net Traveling Dutch Oven Cookers – Patti Corcoran – 936-295-4695 – lwpmc@yahoo.com OUT OF STATE CHAPTER

California – Bay Area Dutch Oven Gypsies – Gavery – 503-504-9855 – gavery@gavery.net Carolinas – Long Leaf Pine Chapter – Keith Hansen – 864-978-2088 – keith@LetsCookDutch.com Illinois – Northern Illinois Dutch Oven Cooks – Greg Jacobs – 847-970-7852 – gkjacobs2001@yahoo.com Indiana – Kokomo Kookers Chapter – Mike Soupley – 765-437-0015 – msoupley@comcast.net Iowa – Prairie Rose Cookers Chapter – Ron Groenendyk – 641-660-3235 – rjgr2973@iowatelecom,.net Kansas - Amber Waves Chapter - Ronda L. Barnow – 620-431-0947 - rlb_51@yahoo.com Kansas – Southern Kansas Dutch Oven Wranglers – Lyla Bybee – 316-208-6869 – lyla.bybee@yahoo.com Louisiana – D’Arbonne Dutch Ovens (Farmerville) – Tom Miller – 318-397-0877 – thomasemille@comcast.net Louisiana – Bayou Pots Chapter (Shreveport) – Bill Ryan – 318-741-1180 – ryan98@bellsouth.net Minnesota – Little House Cookers Chapter – John Frerichs – 507-728-8492 – owl_c2598@yahoo.com Mississippi - Magnolia Black Pots Chapter – Biscuit T. Sims – 601-924-4264 - n5hbb@yahoo.com 19 19

Travel ---- Visit a LSDOS Chapter Near You (continued) O U T O F S T A T E C H A P T E R (continued)

Illinois – Blackhawk Dutch Oven Cookers – Lesley Tennessen – 847-909-9274 – dutchovendiva@yahoo.com Oklahoma – Heartland of the Prairie Chapter – Rhonda Cobb – 580-762-9847 – trcobb117@yahoo.com PROSPECTIVE

CHAPTERS

Arkansas – River Valley Black Pot Cookers -- Ray Pruitt – 501-242-2763 -- unavailable Tennessee – Overmountain Cast Iron Chapter -- Ray Partain - unavailable – partainr@yahoo.com Texas, Dickinson – Cracked Pots Cast Iron Cookers Chapter – Steve Smith (Interim) 281-910-3624 – jssmith@utmb.edu

IT IS TIME TO RENEW YOU MEMBERSHIP FOR 2012 Go to the LSDOS website for an application blank Bring an Interested Friend and Come Out to a Dutch Oven Gathering to Join in the

FUN, FOOD, and FELLOWSHIP

MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND THE LSDOS MEMBERSHIP MEETING BURNS RUN WEST - LAKE TEXOMA JUNE 23, 2012 CONTACT GREG PETREY FOR CAMPING RESERVATIONS

26719 Maplewood Drive Spring, TX 77386

20 20

21