The Lodge: A Family Project with Big Goals and an Even Bigger Backstory

When Jim Curtis was approached by the One Wish Foundation out of Pennsylvania, he jumped at the opportunity to make a child’s wish come true. Mason Smith was 12 years old and had been battling Leukemia for seven years. The foundation wanted to grant him a trip to northern New York to arrange a turkey hunt, something he’d been wanting to do for a long time. 

Jim and his wife Karen farm 1,500 acres of land, which made a perfect location for Mason’s turkey hunt. The Curtis family welcomed Mason and his family, along with professional hunters and the One Wish Foundation founders to their land to make the boy’s wish come true. The group left with a successful hunt, as well as a unique connection that no one expected.

“Let me tell you about our daughter”

What Mason and the One Wish Foundation members didn’t know is that the Curtis family had a special tie to what Mason was going through. Jim and Karen’s 18-year-old daughter Samantha (Sami) had passed away one year prior, after a two-year battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. When they heard about Mason’s story, they felt an instant connection. Not only did the families have a pediatric cancer connection, but Sami was also passionate about hunting. In fact, one of her last wishes was to hunt elk in Colorado. 

“I couldn’t believe they contacted us without knowing our connection to cancer and Sami’s story,” Jim says. “After we heard each other’s stories and started talking, we instantly felt a connection.” 

The One Wish Foundation had lofty goals of providing land where children like Mason could fish, hike and participate in a variety of other outdoor activities. Coincidentally, this was a project that had been on the Curtis family’s mind ever since their daughter passed away.