Chip the Chicken
Chip
For years, tourists figured Frankenmuth was all about chicken dinners, Christmas lights, and festivals.
But folks around here have started whispering that something stranger was brewing under all the tinsel and sauerkraut, and it had nothing to do with the beer.
At first, nobody took it seriously and assumed some kids were just playing a prank. It was just a chipped lawn chicken, you know, one of those cement little figurines.
"I heard some rustling in the flower garden, it was just outside my bedroom window. Nothing showed up on the cameras. But my chicken is gone. It was a present from my daughter nearly 25 years ago" Mrs. H told authorities.
A few days later it turned up resting under the pines by the old story log. (a hollowed out log that has a notebook tucked inside. Kids and adults stop and add to it as they went by).
People would smile as they walked by but gave it no further consideration. Then each day the chicken would be in a different spot. Always under the pines, but aside a different tree. Creating a game of hide and seek with the daily walkers who passed by. Then one day he was just gone.
Not long after, it stopped feeling like a prank.
Things started to feel a bit off.
Perhaps that cement chicken, known around town as Chip, didn’t just disappear.
Perhaps he escaped!!!
​
02
The Guild
Since 1975, the Woodcarvers Guild of Frankenmuth has been more than just a gathering of hobbyists. It’s been a keeper of stories. Not etched in stone, but carved in wood. Every cut of the blade, every curve in the grain, whispers a tale of heritage, imagination, and community.
An old storage shed was transformed into a carvers’ sanctuary. Within its walls, signs were intricately made for various shops in town. Benches were crafted for weary tourists to rest. Rough blocks of wood became animals, faces, fairy tales, and timeless scenes. Each finished piece stood as a frozen moment, a story made permanent in oak, basswood, or cedar.
The Guild became an escape for creative minds and skilled hands. A retreat where the scrape of knives against wood was joined by the warmth of camaraderie. A pot of coffee brews in back, cookies are set out for sharing, and a fire is blazing in the cobblestone fireplace in the cooler seasons. It is here that seasoned masters and eager beginners shared not just techniques, but stories. Tales of childhood, tradition, and the characters that inspire their carvings.
Decades later, the spirit remains unchanged. Newcomers are welcome to visit or obtain a membership. To walk into a carving session is to step into a living workshop of memory and artistry. It continues to be what it has always been: a place where trees are given new life, stories find their shape, and time stands still in wood.
It was here that Chip’s story began.
With one simple carving.
