 |
| Rod & Gun Court |
Rod & Gun is located on Highway W and County Road 607. I'm sure many of you have noticed the sign is still standing. There appears to be someone living there, but it has not been a resort since the early '90s. The property was originally patented by Moses Caulder on October 7, 1893. Caulder transferred the property to the Vanmeter family, who then sold it to J.C. and Gracie Drew on August 11, 1955. The Drews built the resort. The Drews only kept it for a year and then sold it to Dale and Pearl Bunn. The Bunns also only kept it for a year and sold it to Marvin and Dorsey Looney on May 31, 1957. Marv still lives in the Pontiac area. He walks almost every morning, and I stopped him one morning and got a little info from him. He told me that the Drews built the five cabins, and the other building was a "cafe and beer joint." I never knew that. (I guess that's one beer joint in Pontiac I missed.) Marv said when he owned it he added an office and bedroom and closed the beer joint and cafe. In 1958 they realized the cabins were over the north property line, so the Looneys purchased some additional property from the Art Mahan family. Then later in 1958 they sold the resort to Jack and Billie O'Neil. The O'Neils' son also ran the resort for awhile until they sold it to the Heston family in 1979. I remember the O'Neils as being very active in the community, but I do not remember the Hestons unless that was the name the other O'Neils held the title in. The Hestons sold it to the Perrys in 1985, and the Perrys sold it to the current owner, Butch Winslow in 1993. The Perrys kept it open as a resort, but I do not remember the Winslows ever operating it as a resort, so it must have ceased to be open as a resort around 1993.
 |
| From left: Marvin Looney, Jimmy Robbins and Leonard Ebrite. |
More soon... CTM
7 comments:
My grandparents were Jack and Billie O'Neal. We (my sisters and I) spent all our summers and major holidays at the Rod & Gun, and spent a lot of time at Guy Johnson's Store and at the Pontiac Cove Marina. The very best memories of my childhood were spent in good ole' Pontiac! I have some great pictures that belonged to my grandparents of the old place back in the late 1950's and early 1960's that I'd be happy to share if you'd like them. Really tickled me to see this post!
I would enjoy seeing them. If you can email a couple to me at tmorgan@pontiaccove.com, I will try to include them.
CTM
Tim, nice post! Loved hearing the history of the Rod and Gun -- a classic Ozarks resort. The man on the right in your picture is my grandfather, Leonard Ebrite. He and my dad, Joe, were good friends with Marv -- they had lots of great fishing trips together. Leonard grew up in Gainesville but moved to California in 1949 -- would come back every summer for visiting and fishing. My love for the lake was inherited! :)
We moved to Pontiac in 1987, and the Perry's were operating the resort then, and continued to do so for a couple of years after. I remember some deer hunters being there in about 1988, or '89. Had some Air Force cammies on when I drove by the Rod & Gun, and they wanted to know where I got them. Ended up selling all my extra-tall cammies to three guys who were about 5'7" to 5'10"!
You're right Walt. I was a little confused on my dates. The Perry's bought it in 1985 and sold it in 1993 to the Winslow's. I corrected the post.
CTM
Thanks Janet. I corrected my post.
CTM
My maiden name is Cher Perry, and I was born in ‘86. I have so many fond memories there of the property and the hunters hanging their deer on the trees. My mom ran a little store in the front office where she sold jewelry and her artwork. There was a fire that started from a spark in the fireplace. I think it was the winter of ‘92. I remember being taken out through the window and watching the fire truck and firemen from one of the resort rooms. There was a lot of damage from the smoke. We sold it shortly after that. It was a neat place to spend my childhood.
Post a Comment