Indian Point Lodge

This is the third post in a series on the history of Pontiac, by Tim Morgan (owner, Pontiac Cove Marina).

I was planning to write about each resort in the order they appear on the brochure, but in memory of my brother, Dan, who passed away on August 30, I decided to skip over to our beginnings in the resort business in Pontiac.

Standing left to right: Joe Morgan, Alice Morgan (my parents) and Gloria Davis (cousin).

Sitting left to right: Ray Davis (cousin), Dan and me.

Indian Point Lodge as described in the brochure: modern, individual housekeeping cottages, overlooking Bull Shoals Lake. Meals optional. Spacious grounds, ideal for family vacations. Freezing service, weekly and family rates. Joe and Alice Morgan, Pontiac, Mo.

When checking the patents for Price Place, Ark. - the area south of the Missouri line in Pontiac - I found some familiar names. They include Burgess, Degast, Johnson, Lantz, Mahan, Mefford, Owen, Price, Terry and Wilbanks. The name Price Place must have come from Matilda Price. I always thought Price Place was just the name of the church and cemetery, but it must have been for the entire community. Our property was originally patented by John Terry on February 1, 1901. Our neighbors to the south were Terrys as well. No doubt John was their ancestor. The Terrys sold the property to Frank and Martha Stafford on August 8, 1934 for $150 (40 acres). The Staffords sold it to my parents on April 22, 1952 for $2,300 (20 acres). Obviously the big "Lake Boom" must have increased the land values.

Frank Stafford was a hillbilly (and I do not mean that in a derogatory way). He was very helpful to my parents. He could not read, write or count. When my parents were going to fence in a portion of our property, he walked the perimeter and broke off a small piece of twig for each post needed. When he got back to the house he handed the pile to my dad and said, "This is how many posts you need." He also sold bait. It was on the honor system: the customer would count out his own bait. It would make my dad mad when people would take advantage of Frank. Frank always wore bib overalls. If he were coming to our house for dinner, he had a new pair he would slip on over the everyday pair. You could see the dirty edges of the old pair hanging out underneath the newer pair. He had an old jeep to get around in, but he could not drive.

Left to right: Frank Stafford, Dan and me.

After purchasing the property in Pontiac my parents met the original owner of the boat dock, Mr. Funchis, and thought they had made a terrible mistake. They went home to St. Louis, where my dad was a city policeman, and considered selling the property in Pontiac. The next year Frank Stafford wrote my parents and said Sanford and Jimmy Robbins had purchased the dock, and they were really nice people. I guess that was all they needed to hear, because we then moved to the lake in 1953 and built Indian Point Lodge. What is now called Buzzard's Bluff was then and sometimes still called Indian Point. We had three individual cottages and a couple sleeping rooms in the house, which were actually my brother's and my bedrooms. We served meals family style in our dining room. Dad was also a fishing guide. My brother and I mowed the grass, helped with the dishes and helped clean cabins. Not being able to survive in the resort business alone, Dad went on the road selling paperback books and Encyclopedias.

In 1963, Mom and Dad took over the operation of the Green Trees Cafe (now Just Jackie's) in addition to running the resort. The restaurant was open daily and had a full menu. My brother and I waited tables and washed dishes. We all saved our tips, and after the first year we had enough money to buy our first boat: a 16-foot Lone Star. The next year we were able to buy an 18 HP Johnson. It always seemed to me that when the sink was piled high with dishes we would look around and my brother would be gone. He would go to the dock, hang out and help them clean boats. He loved being around the dock.

We also sold Budweiser products. In 1964 you Cardinal fans will remember the great comeback the Cards made at the end of the season to get in the World Series against the Yankees. We got two tickets to the seventh game. Of course no one thought it would go that long, but the rest is history. (That may be the reason I still drink Budweiser products.) Later in 1964 the current owner of the boat dock, George Labuta, came to my Dad and said, "Joe, you need that boat dock. With those two teenage boys you have it would be a perfect fit for you". Dad made a deal with him to trade in the resort on the dock, and on November 15, 1964 we began our journey in the boat dock business.

Mr. Labuta never ran Indian Point Lodge as a resort. He moved a couple of the cabins farther apart and set them up to sell off individually. The property now has three separate owners. The main house belongs to Jonas Smith, and the bulk of the property and two cabins were sold to Bob Kirgan, who built a house near the Corps property that is visible from the lake from the south half of Twin Coves (or "Catfish Cove").

The resort was located about a mile down the gravel road, where Highway W ends at the Arkansas line. This is how the original house looks today:

My brother, Dan (right), and me in the Florida Keys in 2005. More soon... CTM