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Steve Releases “Red’s Camp: The Story Of A Northwoods Deer Hunting Camp”

In the 1940s, Dorsie “Red” Ratliff, a hard-working man who survived the Great Depression and toiled in a coal mine before becoming a logger in northern Wisconsin, had a dream of starting a deer hunting camp. Eighty years later, the camp Red founded is still alive and well. Based largely on the camp’s daily log, Red’s Camp is its story.  

Red’s Camp: The Story Of A Northwoods Deer Hunting Camp is a 240-page paperback book packed with more than 100 photos. Through its pages, readers can “meet” Red Ratliff, visit the original camp and see the camp as it exists today, read the daily log that has been maintained for 50 years from 1975 through 2024, and enjoy exploits that require more explanation than the camp log allows.

Red’s Camp was edited by Steve Heiting, a member of the camp since 1989 who has 40 years experience editing magazines and newspapers. The book was published by Pinemere Press of Minocqua, Wisconsin.

“This book is more than a simple account of the camp’s successes and failures,” Heiting said. “Readers will learn about big adventures and major happenings within the camp, and examine the changes that occur over time and how they affect the deer and the people who hunt them.”

After joining the camp, Heiting found he enjoyed it so much that he purchased a share of ownership. He continues to hunt from the camp and has not missed a season.

“I think after readers have finished Red’s Camp, they will understand why a simple cabin in the woods has been home for generations of hunters for a couple weeks each November,” he said. 

A digital edition of Red’s Camp will be available at a later date.