Outdoor Adventures with Pops and Coleman

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



Pops and me at 7 weeks old, probably already
planning our first outdoor adventure together.

      Fishing, family, and camping occupy most of the memories in the photo album of my mind. The memories, like vintage collages on a page, are starting to fade and warp around the edges. Some of the colors are washing out and the fine details are becoming hazy.  Yet particular memories and colors offer a little more clarity…maybe because I revisit a few from time to time to dust off the cobwebs when thinking of Pops, or possibly because of the vibrant colors of our adventures, like the iconic red, white, and green of Pops' trusted Coleman gear.



Fishing and getting filthy were always
tops on my list while camping with Pops.

     Dad, or ‘Pops’ as he liked to be called, worked hard, always declaring he was “up at four and out the door.”  Yet, he always made time for family, with weekends spent on the lake or the bank of the river, and summers spent on adventures in the woods.  With each passing year, more and more of the preparation responsibilities were passed down to me, but Pops was always sure to make the checklist.  His impeccable handwriting was a testament to his strict second grade teacher, and to this day I can vividly see the gear list beautifully spelled out on the lined yellow paper that was used exclusively for the most important of tasks.

The Coleman stove, Coleman lantern, Coleman heater,
and Coleman burner were must haves on our adventures.

     I diligently worked my way down the list, careful to check off each item as I pulled it from the sagging cedar shelf and placed it on the cold cement floor in great anticipation of Pops arrival home from work.  Coleman stove…check, Coleman lantern…check, Coleman tent…check, fishing poles…check, Coleman grill…check, Coleman ice box...check.  Each red, white, and green item gently clinking the floor like the tick of a clock bringing me closer to time with Pops.  It's no wonder why Coleman, camping, and spending time with Pops were closely intertwined in my childhood memories.  You see, we did not have another stove, lantern, tent, grill, or ice box.  They were all Coleman, yet Pops still spelled out those seven letters before each item as if without the word 'Coleman', the gear would not be worthy of the list.  I was young when I was first tasked with gear acquisition, so I too adopted Pops’ moniker.  To this day I still write ‘Coleman’ before the worthy gear on my list, always trying to emulate the perfectly curled ‘C’ like Pops used to make.

Outdoor adventures with Pops brought us
to many places, and almost always around water.

     As I progressed in years and camped with others, I found that my family was amongst a legion of families who used not just a ‘stove’, but a ‘Coleman stove’.  They too shared in the tradition of appreciating the trusted name that brought Pops and I comfort in the outdoors no matter where we went together.  From the giant Sequoia Redwoods of California that barely fit in the frame of my childhood memories, to the wild mustangs on the dunes of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Coleman is my outdoors.

My wife and I continue the tradition of going outdoors.
Coleman is a must no matter where we go.

     Since Pops passed eight years ago, the only items I have from those old days of outdoor adventures are memories and some of the trusted Coleman gear.  Of course, the outdoor adventures live on, and when my wife and I go camping with friends, I still neatly arrange the Coleman gear on the garage floor as I check each off of the list, almost as if Pops might pull into the driveway to join us.  A part of me questions if the older gear should stay at home, safely packed away, for fear I will lose what little I have left of days gone by with Pops.  But, it just wouldn’t feel right without at least one Coleman artifact bringing us all closer together in comfort amongst the newer Coleman gear.  Plus, I want my family and friends to see the vibrant colors of those trusted red, white, and green Coleman relics to help brighten the collages of memories they too build in their minds of outdoor family adventures spent together.

-Patrick Cooney



The final adventure and last photo I have with Pops
was at my college graduation.  My love of the
outdoors and Coleman stemmed from his example.



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

Pops teaching me how to fish.  Now my wife and I spend a
lot of our free time teaching kids how to fish.