Houseboat for Sale at PCM!

Help us sell our 64' Sumerset houseboat! Tell your friends or anyone who might be shopping for a boat like this. This boat is a 1990 model and in very good condition. It was a rental at PCM for many years and was then completely remodeled in 2006 with the following: new 4.3L V-6 Mercruisers with Bravo drives (now with 200 hours), new dash panels with gauges and electric shift controls. The latest improvements this year include: new gel coat on top, new side curtains and bimini top, new carpeting inside, new toilet. Stainless steel appliances and furniture are like new. Everything works. Almost everything was new in 2006 except the generator and heatpump - both are in good working condition. The boat can stay here in its uncovered slip (as shown above) at Pontiac Cove Marina if the new owner chooses to keep it here. Price reduced to $79,000. Any reasonable offer will be considered. Call 417-679-3676 or email info@pontiaccove.com for more information.

PCM: All About Fishing

It was all about fishing in the early years at PCM, and here is a little proof. These pictures are all from the late sixties and very early seventies. You might see some familiar faces or at least recognize the names of some legendary fishermen. I know there are many more that I have missed or who may have started fishing here regularly a little later on. Don't worry, we'll get to them later.

The pictures were taken with an old Polaroid camera. We would take a couple each time, give one to the customer and keep one for our photo albums. We still have the old camera, and it was working the last time we used it. Might be hard to find film for it now...

John Storie was an avid fisherman in the early years before he started building Champion, Viper and Hawk Boats. My mom used to say the first thing John would do when he came in the dock was comb his hair.

John Storie

Bob and Pat Schultz owned Home Comfort Resort (see previous post), and Bob also guided. Bob recently passed away. His son, Dan, still lives on the resort property.

Bob Schultz

When the Allbrights first came to Pontiac, they both worked for Anheuser Busch in St. Louis. My dad used to say that when Tony Jr. would come down for the weekend he would often go out on Friday and not come back to the dock until he had to go back to work.

Tonnie Allbright Sr. left, Tony Jr. right.

Ed Kolaks owned Pontiac Lodge (see previous post), Leo Vaughn was from West Plains and guided. Leo was an excellent fisherman. He would fish for whatever was biting. He had a great sense of humor as well. We sold sandwiches at the dock. He would come in and ask for dead bull with gut binder which was a cheeseburger to the rest of us.

Ed Kolaks left, Leo Vaughn right.

Anyone who has fished around Pontiac for the past 40-plus years knows this guy. He might have been in dental school when this picture was taken. If his dark hair didn't date this picture, his pants would have. Doc still catches fish year 'round.

Norman "Doc" Klayman

Jim Fudoli lived in Theodosia. He guided out of there as well as Pontiac. He was good friends with my brother, Dan, and spent a lot of time in Pontiac. Jim was kind of the hippie fisherman. He had long hair and wore red, white and blue tennis shoes.

Jim Fudoli

If you don't remember Gene Gunkel, you surely know his son, Bob. They fished here for many years before they finally moved here. Gene worked for me at the marina in the store, and John Lloyd was always there with his carpenter skills when mother nature would strike, which seemed to happen quite often back then. Gene left us way too early in life. John still catches his share of fish, year 'round.

Gene Gunkel left, John Lloyd right.

Two of my favorite guys.

These two were a couple of the best guides on the lake. In the early years, Don Atchison worked in Alaska to support his fishing habit here on Bull Shoals. When he was back here, he fished and played hard. Don also left us way too early.

Doc Klayman, left. Don Atchison, right.

These two look like a couple of kids in this picture. The Adams boys also fished here for years before they moved here. Bill moved here first, and then Ken just a couple years ago. They also still fish year 'round these days.

Ken Adams left, Bill Adams right.

The Pontiac Association started a Lunker Club that PCM continued for years to follow. Here is a sample of the card that came along with the lunker pin. Notice the pins on Bob Schultz's and Jim Fudoli's caps.

Pontiac Lunker Club

Written by Cap'n T. Morgan

PCM: The Early Guides

You can't talk about Pontiac Boat Dock in the sixties without talking about fishing. Of course, most everyone knows the current state record Largemouth Bass was caught on Bull Shoals near Pontiac Cove. It weighed 13 pounds, 14 ounces and was caught by Marvin Bushong on April 21, 1961. We had the fish on display at the marina for many years on loan from the Bushong family and showed it off at numerous boat shows around the Midwest. The big fish made the rounds. It went from Shorty Wallace's Sport Spot in Gainesville to the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield, Missouri.

You likewise can't talk about fishing in those days without talking about the early fishing guides. I asked all the old timers (like me) still around the area if any of them had pictures of these guys, and I pretty much drew a blank. Here are the ones I can remember. I'm sure I've missed some, so please remind me. Clarence Shockey: His sons Joe and Marvin have been long-time dock customers. Jewell Hayes, George Shaw and Art Kosek: Art lived on Highway W about 4 miles from the marina. Clifford Sanders: Clifford lived on the corner across County Road 607 from Rod and Gun Resort. Hoy Shaw: Hoy owned Shaw's Tavern on the corner of Highway 5 and Highway W. Hoy always called me "Little Morgan." And Leo Vaughn. Many of the resort owners guided as well - like Bob Schultz (see previous post about Home Comfort Resort).

Left to right, Hoy Shaw, Art Mahan and unknown.

And, you can't talk about the early fishing guides without talking about Art Mahan. Art was the Doc Klayman or the Tony Allbright of the early years. I have many fond memories of Art. He was always friendly, and he always caught fish. In those days many of the guides had their own outboard motor, and they would rent a boat at the dock when they had a trip. Art had an 18 HP Johnson.

Art driving the boat and Frank Martinek in front.
I'm pretty sure this picture was taken before Frank owned Cactus Ridge Resort.

Often the guides would be loaded up and on their way out long before the dock opened. I can remember many times Art waking my brother and me, sometimes he needed some gas or bait, but he always wanted a pack of Juicy Fruit gum. He called it "his Beech-nut."

This is the old case that we kept the Juicy Fruit in. It displayed all the gum, candy and cigarettes we sold in those days. It now displays old fishing lures and memorabilia.

In those days they didn't run all over the lake hitting one spot and then another. If you were going to fish Music Creek, you left early, stayed there most of the day and came home late in the day.

Art and Verne Kelly.

Art even guided some celebrities. Harold Ensley was host of a television show called "The Sportsman's Friend." He always ended the show with this: "If you're looking for Harold, he'll be heading out in his Ford Station Wagon, Gone Fishin' instead of just a wishin'."

Art and Harold Ensley.

In those days NO ONE filleted fish. You would gut and gill and scale them. Art was left-handed, and my Mom always said she knew when Art had caught a bunch of fish. He would stand at the table with the lake to his left and clean his fish. Without looking up he would sling the guts toward the lake and sometimes he would miss the lake.

Art with a mess of fish that have been gutted and gilled and most likely scaled.

I got these pictures from Art's late son Dick. After Dick retired he built a house on a portion of the family farm and kept a pontoon at the dock. Dick stopped me one day to tell me how much he enjoyed reading the blog, particularly the stories about the history of the resorts. I told him I was going to do some stories about the fishing guides and asked him to find some old pictures of his dad for me. He came through. I'm just sad I was not able to post this story about his dad before Dick passed away. We lost him and his dad way too early.

Written by Cap'n T. Morgan

PCM: The late Sixties

When we first bought the dock we lived at and continued to run the resort for a short time. That was pretty short-lived as there was just not enough time to do both. We then rented a couple cabins at Pontiac Lodge to live in. In 1966 we moved a mobile home into the park (where the gray storage building now sits by Just Jackie's). It was very convenient... just a short walk down the hill to work. The bad thing was, it was accessible to the public. During the summer months my brother Dan and I would sleep at the dock in the lounge area of the original office. Fishermen would come in all hours of the night and wake us up for gas or a pack of cigarettes or just for fun.

We had an ice machine and freezer in the shed outside for ice for sale.

Jimmy Buffett always says he has a great summer job.  Well, let me tell you, no one had a better summer job than Dan and I back in the late 60's. Everyone wanted to be a beach bum. With Jan and Dean and the Beach Boys knocking out No. 1 hits left and right such as "Help Me Rhonda,"  "I Get Around," "Good Vibrations," "Surf City," "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena," and "Dead Man's Curve," who wouldn't want to be a beach bum? We ran around all day in cut-offs, barefooted, and half the time without a shirt.  Our biggest worry was who was going to get the best tan. And, of course, we were always comparing our hair to see who's hair had turned more bleach blonde from the sun. Our first summer at the dock I was 14 and Dan was 16.

Old office with lounge area on left side.
Bubble Masters weighing in fish.

Scuba diving was a big thing in those days, as it still is today. The Bubble Masters were around in the late 60's and were a big presence during the holiday weekends with their spearfishing tournaments. They would have their tournament on Saturday, clean the fish afterwards, and have a big fish fry that night. Dan and I both learned to dive from members of the club.  Dan learned in 1965, and I learned in 1967.

Divers cleaning fish for fish fry.

My true love of the water in those days revolved around water skiing. When we first bought the dock it came with a 16-foot Lone Star runabout type aluminum boat with a 30 H.P. Johnson. It was great for pulling a surfboard or a tube but not really enough to pull water skiers. Some time in 1965 or 1966 my dad traded for a 65 H.P. Mercury. Now we had something! Every day when we could get away and had somebody that would drive the boat or ski we were skiing. Dan skied with us some, but two of my best skiing buddies were Jim Kirkland from Gainesville and Skip Callahan from West Plains. Jim was in my brother's class in school and Skip's parents had a boat at the dock.

Skip on the left, me on the right. Sometimes we couldn't wait until summer.

When there was a group of us one of our favorite places to go was Reaper's Island. It is only an island when the lake is really high. It is the point that sticks out straight across from Marker Bluff on the southeast side of the lake. The point was mostly small gravel and didn't really have a lot of brush growing down to the water's edge. One day we had a really big party planned on that point. We were taking our boat, Skip's boat and a lot of other people. Skip and I were going to ski our way out there, and my brother and his girlfriend and another couple were in our boat. They were making a big circle around us when they hit a log and flipped the boat over. No one was hurt badly, but it really put a damper on our party.

It wasn't all fun and games around the dock, though. For the first few years we owned the dock the lake level was good to us, as it ranged from a low elevation of 640 to a high of about 658. That was a good thing - moving the docks was a lot different back then. The docks were all held off the shore with stand pipes and held to the shore with cables. To move the docks out you had to first walk the shore line through all that brush and loosen the cables, then raise the pipes on each corner of the dock, push the dock out and then walk back around and tighten the cables back up. Moving in was a little easier as you could raise the pipes, pull the docks in and then tighten the cables as long as you didn't wait too long and let one of the pipes slip out of its brackets. Then you had a bigger job. To move all the docks would take the three of us most of the day.

In addition, we would carry customer's motors, help them with their gear and help them load and unload when they rented boats. Then on Sunday afternoon we had the arduous task of cleaning all the boats. We had a rack to store the boats on that had a winch on one end of it and a high-pressure gasoline powered pump to wash them out with. It was made much easier on the hot summer days when all you had to do is just dive in and swim around a little to cool off and then get back to work.

New office. Old office/soon to be shop in the background.
Bubble Masters there again.

By the end of the sixties, things were changing for us and around the world. Dan graduated from Gainesville High School in May of 1966. He joined the Navy in September and was sent to Vietnam in 1968. He returned when he was discharged in September of 1969. I graduated in 1967 and started college at Mizzou in the fall. I continued to work at the dock throughout my college days in the summers. In 1969 Dad built a new office (now known as the "Dive Shop"). He also took on Mercury Motors, brought in Phil Petars as our mechanic and added a scuba air station.

Even though we weren't fully involved at the time it was still "Joe Morgan & Sons"

Many more stories to come about the marina. Stay tuned.

Written by Cap'n T. Morgan

PCM: The early Sixties

The Robbins family continued to own and operate the Pontiac Boat Dock into the 1960s. At some point, Floyd Crawford, San's brother-in-law, joined the business.

The lower left picture is Jimmy Robbins on the left and Okie Wilson on the right. I remember the man in the middle on crutches but I can't remember his name. Notice the note at the bottom: 16 Bass weighing 82 pounds. Wow! Can anyone out there identify the men in the upper left picture?

On November 1, 1962, the Robbins family sold the boat dock to George Labuta. George was a bachelor. In addition to owning the boat dock he had a couple of swimming beaches leased at Lake of the Ozarks. There he had canoe rentals, paddle boats and a concession stand. George was a real character. He once told me that he didn't believe in banks or insurance companies, and it was his goal to make enough money to last until he died. He wanted to spend his last dime on his last day alive. George had a night man and a day man that worked at the dock. Jake Martin was his night man. He also owned Martin's Cabins (see previous post). His day man was Barney Jenkins. I could not find any pictures of George, Jake or Barney. When my parents first took over the dock it seemed everyone that came in asked, "Where's Barney?" There was a stray dog that hung around the dock so we named him Barney so we would be able to tell them where Barney was.

This is about the same time that my parents had taken over operation of the Green Trees Cafe (now known as Just Jackie's). George approached my dad and told him he really needed to buy that boat dock since he had two teenage boys to help him. It seemed like my brother was down there most of the time anyway whenever there were dishes to be washed at the restaurant. According to an article written by my mom for the paper, "we had a family meeting and decided that this was the one phase of recreation business we have not tackled yet and one phase that had always appealed to us." So, "we negotiated, came to terms, changed the proprietorship to read Joe Morgan and Sons, and it's been a family business ever since."

I have the original bill of sale from when my parents purchased the dock. It itemizes each dock and piece of equipment purchased. They listed model numbers and serial numbers for everything. I have included the complete list of motors and boats. I don't suppose anyone out there has one of these boats or motors and would consider selling them back so we can put it on display.

So, on November 18, 1964, the Morgan family officially became the owners of Pontiac Boat Dock. This is a special year for us. It marks 50 years in business. I'd really like to find out who our oldest living annual dock customer is. If you think that might be you, please share your story with us. And we'd love to see your pictures. Either comment on this blog or send them to Jabet at info@pontiaccove.com. In the meantime I will continue telling my stories.

Written by Cap'n T. Morgan

PCM: The 1950s

Bull Shoals Dam was completed in 1951. By January 1952 the lake level was at or near the bottom of the power draw-down elevation of 588 feet above mean sea level. By April the lake level had reached 640. The lake leveled out then for a few months and finally reached the top of conservation pool of 654 by March 1953. I'm not sure when the first lease for Pontiac Boat Dock was signed or who the first lease holder was as the Corps of Engineer's records only went back to 1962. Marvin Looney, a long-time Pontiac resident and son-in-law of the second lease holder, told me he thought the original lease holder was named Funchis. Funchis was here when my parents first bought property in Pontiac. I remember them saying he was from Texas and that he was very unfriendly. They actually thought they had made a huge mistake buying property here. Frank Stafford, the man who sold them their property, later told them that the dock had been sold to Sanford Robbins and they should come back and meet him. We moved here in 1953, so the Robbins must have taken over by then.

Pontiac Boat Dock August 1953

In the early days, Sanford must have been in business with his brother, Jimmy Robbins, who also built Jimmy's Court (see earlier post). Apparently that relationship must not have lasted as you can see this old business card that read "C.S. & J.W. Robbins, Operators" has the J.W. scratched out.

Bull Shoals Lake was all about fishing in those days. A few years ago Bill Looney, grandson of Sanford Robbins, showed me the old ledger from the early days of Pontiac Boat Dock. Their business would start to pick up just after the first of the year and would peak in March and April. It was amazing how many days they would have all or nearly all of their 100 rental boats out. The business would start to taper off by summer and was almost non existent by July. What a difference 60 years makes.

Sanford Robbins in front of dock, 1954.

The fishing was some of the best in the Midwest back then. Big stringers of BIG Largemouth Bass were common. Andy Vollmar, a fishing guide and wheeler/dealer, once told me he had a standing bet with anyone that he could go out and catch a 10-pound bass any night. Sounds like a fish story, but Andy had the proof.

Andy Vollmar

One day in the mid-80s he came in the dock and saw the picture I had of him with the fish. He asked, "How would you like to have the actual fish?" I thought he was going to give them to me to show off what he had caught, but then he said, "I'll take $400 for them." Well, I really didn't have an extra $400 for a bunch of old mounted fish, but they do make for a nice display.

Andy's fish are still hanging inside the store at Pontiac Cove Marina today.

The Corps had a little trouble controlling the lake level back in the early days. It reached about 657 in May of 1953. In June of that year they began a continuous draw-down that lasted until October 1954 bottoming out at the bottom of the power draw-down elevation of 588. I'm not sure if it was a serious drought or if the Corps just thought since they had all this power potential built up they should use it. Probably some of both. I was told that Theodosia Marina was just around the corner from Point 13 by the time the lake stopped falling. It was much smaller then but still no small task to chase the shoreline that far. The lake began a continuous climb then and got back to conservation pool of 654 by the middle of 1955. It bounced back and forth some through 1956, hitting a low of 627 and high of 655, but in the spring of 1957 it started to rain. The lake made a steady climb and hit the top of flood control pool, elevation 695, in July.

The road to Buzzard's Bluff hits a low spot at the turnoff to Hollingsworth Cove. There used to be a cattle guard there. In the old days we never said we were going to Hollingsworth, we were always going to the cattle guard. In fact, I had my bachelor party there on August 3, 1973. Not quite as glamorous as the ones they take to Cancun today, but still fun. Frank Stafford said there was no way the lake could ever get that high. But here is old Frank in a boat floating over the road.

Left to right, Alice Morgan, Mrs. Hammonds and Frank Stafford. Carl Rowen in the background.

The lake went down nearly as fast as it went up and then leveled out for a few years. The Pontiac area was booming in those days. The Pontiac Area Association was very well organized back then as you can see with this Ozark County Times news clipping.

Stay tuned. The 1960s are up next.

Written by Cap'n T. Morgan

Pontiac Cove 5K and Fun Run/Walk

Hey, guess what! PCM is hosting our first ever 5K and Fun Run/Walk on May 24. That's the Saturday of Memorial weekend. We are SO excited, and we want to see you ALL there! Even if you aren't a competitive runner (or even a runner at all!), come on out. Walkers are welcome, KIDS are encouraged to be there, strollers, wagons, leashed dogs are welcome! This is going to be a family friendly event.

In addition to the 5K course, we also have a 1-mile course set up, so you don't have to do the whole 3.1 miles if you don't want to.

We will have refreshments and LOTS of giveaways, plus all pre-registered kids will receive a goodie grab bag! The Pontiac/Price Place Volunteer Fire Dept. will be on hand with fire trucks to show off to the kiddos, and Ozark County Mutual Aid volunteers will set up a rehab tent for anyone who needs assistance.

Early bird deadline to sign up is Friday, May 9. Registration fee through May 9 is $18, and you are guaranteed a shirt the day of the event. After May 9 the fee is $25, and your shirt will likely be mailed to you after the event. If you are reading this ON FRIDAY and would like to sign up, but you don't have a form or any way to register by Friday, simply email info@pontiaccove.com or call 417-679-3676 by end of day Friday with your name, age and t-shirt size, and we will mark you down at the early bird price.

WE CAN EMAIL YOU AN ENTRY FORM. Just ask. :)

Volunteers are also needed. If you'd like to help, send us an email or call.

p.s. If you haven't liked us on facebook yet, you are missing out. LIKE us, please!

Bull Shoals Lake: How it all began

Pontiac Dock as described in the old brochure: 100 Aluminum boats to serve the Pontiac area. Motors, baits, tackle, gas and guides. Bring your own boat and rent a stall. Reasonable rates. Floyd Crawford & San Robbins, Prop. Phone Gainesville, Osborn 9-2173.

The Pontiac Park property and the property that is now under water that the Corps of Engineers leased to build Pontiac Boat Dock was originally patented by John D. Porter of Springfield, Missouri on April 6, 1908. Porter patented several pieces of property in the Pontiac area on that same day. Most were not adjacent to each other and were acquired a little later than a lot of the other property in Pontiac. He must have just been picking up random properties that were left in the area. This particular tract was all of a particular 40-acre tract east of the Little North Fork of the White River, which covers most of the campground and the cove in which the marina is located. The river ran along the bluffs just north of the campground.

 Bull Shoals Lake from the Pontiac Bluffs as it looks today. 

Porter conveyed several tracts of land including the Pontiac Park property to Missouri Lincoln Trust Company of St. Louis, Missouri on May 11, 1908. William Tatlow acquired the property from Missouri Lincoln Trust on July 6, 1914. Tatlow held on to the property for several years before conveying it to Mr. Bilyeu in 1943. The Federal Government must have been purchasing properties that would be flooded by this time. Bilyeu only kept it for a couple of years before selling it to S.C. Wilbanks in 1945, who then sold it to Jasper and Maye Turnbo in 1947. With the changing of so many hands, I wonder if people were hoping to make a big profit on the land when the lake went in.

On August 24, 1951, the Turnbos sold the Pontiac Park property and some adjacent property that is now covered by water totaling 151.8 acres for $5,750 to the Corps of Engineers. When the Corps acquired property for the lake and surrounding area, they tried to negotiate a price with the owner. If an agreement could not be reached, the property was condemned and taken from the owners at what they considered to be a fair market value. During my research for surveying work around the lake I have seen some deeds written so that the property reverts back to the original owner if the lake ever goes away. Wouldn't that be interesting...

Bull Shoals Dam, circa 1952

Bull Shoals Dam was built to impound the White River for flood control and power production. It was built in response to severe flooding on the White River Valley in 1915 and 1927. President Roosevelt authorized the construction of the dam in the Flood Control Act of 1938. The dam is one of the largest solid concrete dams in the country and was the fifth largest in the world at its inception. Work on the dam began in 1947, was completed in 1951 and was dedicated by President Harry S. Truman in 1952. At least seven small family cemeteries and 20 larger ones were relocated to accommodate the new lake.

The Turnbo Cemetery was one of many cemeteries relocated to accommodate the lake.

Opinions on building the dam were not unanimous. It was said by some, "The man above the dam didn't favor a dam. The man below the dam favored it. The man at the dam didn't give a damn." In doing the research about the building of the dam I ran across an interesting story about the mystery of the Due Eddy Spring. As the lake began to fill, a noticeable increase in the flow at the Due Eddy Spring was observed. Then in 1954 when the lake level declined due to a prolonged drought, reports came in that water was running into holes along the shore of Jimmies Creek. The Corps conducted a study that probably took five years and determined that the loss of water was enough to try and plug the hole. They spent much more time and money on this theory, but when the lake filled again, the pressure at the spring increased again. The mystery remained unsolved. A spokesman for the Corps says there is really no mystery. There are some sinkholes on the Jimmies Creek arm of the lake that flow into Due Eddy Spring, and when the lake level reaches about 645, whirlpools are visible.

There are so many stories to tell about the history of Pontiac Boat Dock. I plan on breaking it down into several posts. This is the first.

Written by Cap'n T. Morgan

24-hour cold water challenge

It might be April 2, but the water is freezing!

Have you heard of this 24-hour cold water challenge thing? I was hoping to fly under the radar, but I was tagged by my cousin, Beth Morgan Strong, and I couldn't let her down. I did this to raise money for the Pontiac Fireworks. And I challenged Norman Eubank. Craig Mincke, Jackie Klineline, Betsy Stilley, Kelly Laurie, Mike MacPherson and the Honorable Judge Cynthia MacPherson. They pay me $20 if they accept; $50 if they do not. Hahaha. Good luck to all. 

Good-bye "old friend"

It's Wednesday, March 12th, 2014. It was over fifty years ago that I first set foot on the last section of boat dock that we said good-bye to today. This story is a little premature, as I am beginning to write articles about the history of Pontiac Boat Dock, but I had to tell this one now.

The last single-sided dock being hauled off for dismantling.

When my parents purchased the dock in 1964, there were five single-sided docks. They were usually placed along and parallel with the shore and were held off the shore with long pipes that slid through brackets on the shore side of the dock to the bottom of the lake and held close to shore with cables on each end. They were a real chore to move in and out as the lake fluctuated.

Pontiac Boat Dock as it looked in 1965

During the winter of 1966, we had a huge snow storm. With my brother in the Navy, it was up to me to help my dad shovel snow. We enlisted the help of Bob Schultz, who owned Home Comfort Resort. We shoveled snow until we could shovel no more. It seemed as though the snow had let up, so we decided to get some rest and planned to start again first thing in the morning. I was the first one up the next morning and could not believe my eyes when I looked down the hill from our mobile home that sat next to the restaurant.

 Mobile home in the park, where we lived for a while.

One of our docks had collapsed. I threw on my clothes and started down the hill. As I was running down the hill another dock collapsed. All I could think to do was get on the dock, cut boats loose and kick them out to try to keep them from being damaged if another roof collapsed. I was on one of the docks pushing boats out when it collapsed. I jumped off the dock into the water and swam/waded to shore. I couldn't save it.

Collapsed docks in 1966 snow storm (above and below).

We shoveled snow off the remaining docks before any more damage was done. My dad had his first experience with insurance companies. He found out we did not have coverage for loss due to weight of ice and snow. It almost put us out of business. The insurance company finally paid a portion of the loss, agreeing wind could have been a factor. We rebuilt all three docks. I vowed then that we would never lose another dock like that. We lost two of the five in a bad wind storm in the 1980's. I was out of town in the 1990's one time when another big snow storm hit. There were lots of volunteers this time, but they focused on the bigger docks and we lost the third of the five single-sided docks to snow again. We lost the fourth one last August during the big wind storm that also took out the 400 dock. And we lost the last one in December to a heavy snow and ice storm. We stripped the flattened roof off with hopes of saving some part of the old dock for high water walkways, but after much deliberation, I sadly gave the go ahead to dismantle what was left.

Walkway sections from the "Milt Hoefle" dock.

I have lots of fond memories of those old docks. One I probably shouldn't tell is when I was under the legal drinking age, a couple of my friends and I used to drink peach brandy (of all things). We needed a hiding place for our stash. We figured out that the round barrels that floated the docks left a pocket between the barrel and the floor joists. We had a particular walkway where we removed a deck board and hid the bottles of brandy underneath. I was kind of hoping to see an antique liquor bottle fall out of one of the dock sections as we hauled them off, but I guess they were already long gone.

We actually had names for the last two docks. The one we lost in August was known as the "Bill Allen Dock" or the "50 Dock." And the one that went down in December was called the "Milt Hoefle Dock." The Milt Hoefle dock is the one I was standing on when the roof collapsed (the first time) so many years ago. Those docks were like old friends, and I am going to miss them just as I miss my old friend Milt Hoefle. We saved some of the wood from the "Bill Allen" and "Milt Hoefle" docks and plan to build benches to commemorate the old docks. Stay tuned.

Written by Cap'n T. Morgan

Gettin' groovy

New merchandise is arriving at PCM. Everybody loves a tie-dyed t-shirt, yes?

Our "new" view

The new view from the fuel dock/store at PCM. Not bad, eh?

Too cool for a swim? Nah...

Who needs coffee when you have 41-degree water to wake you up? His wife says he is part fish. He must be to jump in this water. Brrrrr! Thanks to Brian for doing a routine maintenance dive for us on Saturday morning, despite the chilly temperature.