I remember those days you don't supposed to use to make excursions.1 or 2 in the afternoon always at least one in the evening at Sunset and some of those sunsets for beautiful it take load up a boat and take them around West Okoboji Lake. And for a good many years they used to stop at various places around the lake and pick up people and maybe take him somewhere. Maybe just go around Lake for a ride. At one time the smaller boats used to come through the bridge at Okoboji, which is now a solid bridge at the concrete bridge before this. If they would turn let this be smaller boats go through and then the railroad over there at the swing Bridge there and that's still there. By the way, they don't use it anymore, but they just turn it like that. In the middle and it's supposed to go to and used to come up to Spirit Lake Land right out here at 2. It's down the street as a matter of fact that when I used to stop here used to go to Orleans to on some occasions and I was a kid. I remember getting off the buggy and and get none of that bridge when a boat was coming and help the operator is that when we turned it by turning a crank in the middle of it you walk around the bridge but as you walked around and geared the bridge to returning you go around about three times Ella. Miles Bridges self is going at a 90 degree angle father fun the reminiscences of Spirit Lake attorney in KB wealthy. The Great Lakes of North West Iowa East and West Okoboji lakes in Spirit Lake or the center of what some consider a summer paradise the way they are now and the way they used to be is the subject of our program. The SS Empress is the last active descendant of those Excursion boats the KB. Well, he talked about 65 feet long 31 feet wide and weighing 10 tons. She plays the Waters of West Okoboji Lake several times daily giving up to 400 passengers a Lakeside view of the Region's points of interest and a night the dancing and cocktail crowd takes the Moonlight Cruise. There's still plenty of room for all of us so welcome aboard. Tupac Back on this point as a gardener Log Cabin, this is a side of Spirit Lake Indian Massacre the only Indian massacre in the state of Iowa or reporting men women and children killed. Winner of 1856 57 is a very hard and severe winter. The Renegade band is Sioux Indians and their leaders have a thing for Duca came to the Gardner cabin asking for food and clothing. Mr. Gardner at the time was just loading up his wagon to go get fresh Supplies Port. DSS Pistons unions were on the warpath. He was right because they returned the next day and massacred five of the six families around the lake area one family being safe cuz they were not at home or spots pointed out from the empress's the side of the Gardner cabin young Abby Gardner sharp was one of two survivors in the Sioux Indian Massacre that swept Lakes region in 1857, but Faye Peterson curator of the Dickinson County Museum, thanks of Abby's later life is more interesting than the details of the brutal massacres sometime. She was married and had children and came back to Lake Okoboji repurchased The Gardener Log Cabin. Made it into a terrific tourist attraction. There was a lattice frame around it with a large sign on it stated that Behind These Walls. You will see the sights of a lifetime The Only log cabin and historical relics of the Indian Massacre of 1857 admission adults 25 children 10, and you paid to see because all you saw was the roof the sign and the lattice along with this Abbey had a museum and a souvenir stand. Abby was quite a wealthy woman at the time of her death. She had money out on loan at eight and a half percent interest and she died 2122 somewhere in there, but she was a very shrewd businesswoman and I capitalized on all aspects of this horrifying experience. That would have would have put an ordinary woman. In a psycho ward someplace but this girl had so much stamina and when you when you stop and think she was a 13 year old child at the time this happened. She saw her family murdered. She tells in her book how they took the side of the garden cabin is now under the protection of the Iowa Historical Society it sits on less than a quarter of a city block and is surrounded by small summer cottages Recreation not history is the real attraction for the crowds that thrown to the lake Region's each summer is estimated that the permanent population in the region is about 8,000 that swells to over 60,000 in July and August of that 6020 mm on permanent summer homes. Well West Okoboji is the most populated like there are scarcely a foot of Shoreline around any of the Iowa great lakes that has not been developed what has to wonder why so many people are attracted to these slaves compared to less developed less crowded Lakes. This is really the only really deep Clear Lake in, Iowa. Minnesota's got thousands. Nobody can explain why everybody wants to come to Lake Okoboji in Northern Iowa rather than in all those Lakes up in Minnesota and which are as deep and as matter fact, Clearwater. But it is close to the big centers like Des Moines and Omaha, and so people come from especially down there. And it gets a reputation Okoboji is where the action is. Okoboji is where the restaurants are in nightclubs and big Resorts people go for that people who really want quiet go up to the Boundary Waters up in northern, Minnesota. So it has a very high density of people coming from asthma affect all of the Midwest and claim it on something. So come down here in a lot of cases where a little bit more developed here than than they are in some resort areas. how they have Acres of Shoreline and lots of trees, but they don't have the restaurants in the bar is in the dances in the Charisma that they might find here there a lot of young people here and there a lot of middle-aged people here in their older people here and everyone seems to really enjoy being here and at 1 crowd will attract another if you have an area a restaurant or a bar where there's not too many people there and and the food might be good or the drinks might be good or the hospitality might be just fine, but if it doesn't attract a lot of people for no reason a lot of people don't go but here they have fine restaurants and they have fine hotels or motels and they have find shops to search through and they have the amusement park near beautiful Lake and there's no reason why they might not come here. I think the most of them like a little modern conveniences. Then they do ruffnut and Wiles now, I like to hunt but I don't care to go out and camp and stay. No, I attract a place to lay the body down and be halfway human the same as I try to be you right here in this playoffs where I live. Do you want a free natural blue water lakes in the world ranks with at Lake Louise in Canada in Lake Geneva Switzerland. There are variety things that causes Lunas death of our water purity of our water. I also have an LG Plankton growing in our water. So when the sunlight hits is algae a plant in the LG differentiates to raise less when the sky is gray, like will be great when the sky is blue the lake only bloom play the seven miles long 3 and 1/2 miles wide and widest point has 45 miles of Shoreline. About 4,000 Acres water everybody around here says this is one of the three great Blue Lakes of the world that apparently was in a magazine article Generations ago. And of course everybody around here loves to say then. There are thousands of Clearblue or lakes in the world than this but for around here, it's remarkably clear and blue undeveloped Shoreline left is at the Iowa Lakeside lab a biological Field Station sponsored by the three State University of Iowa the director. Dr. Richard Goldberg has been coming to Okoboji for about 20 years in the spring when the ice melts. The temperature is going to be the temperatures uniform from top to the bottom. You can see how that would be very cold. In other words barely above freezing Winds Drive the water along the surface to the downwind shore that has to go bank that water that's driven to the downwind shore. It tends to drop down and this causes massive circulation of the whole leg like a giant paddle stirring the Old Link. It's at this time that the nutrients the plant nutrients the fertilizers that are down in the silk come to the surface and fertilize the surface waters. But as the light strikes the water turns to heat in the spring and early summer this warms, the surface layers of water know when the wind drives water down wind in the summer. It doesn't go to the bottom because the colder water is down there and deflect so that the upper half the lake circulates the way the whole elected in the spring. That means that the bottom half of Lake Okoboji sits quietly and cold and dark all summer. And finally with no oxygen. In the middle of the summer like now is no oxygen in the bottom of the lake in the middle in the fall the air cools the surface waters. Cool. Finally the surface waters are the same temperature as the Deep Waters and Against the Wind can circulate the whole lake like that giant paddle again. And so we get a fall overturn circulation then the ice comes and it's it's so twice when the ice melts. And before the ice forms, there's total circulation of the lake we call that an overturned then in the summer in the winter. It's just quietly one more permanent or at least semi permanent residents back in the late 50s. When Fred Dowden went into real estate there were only four wheeler tours around the Lakes Region today. There are over a hundred thousand says that many people have the misconception of the areas populated mostly by the elite mattering of the Rich and a smattering of the four. Can you give me some kind of idea what the range is the average price house in the town of Spirit Lake is probably somewhere in the $35,000 range, which I think is about what it is throughout the state of Iowa from the Lakeshore standpoint, depending on whether you buy a cottage or a mansion. We have them on leased land priced for less than $20,000 and some areas of West Okoboji the Prices range upwards of $200,000. One of the major sources of Summer entertainment in the Iowa Great Lakes region is the Okoboji summer theater since 1958 Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri has operated the theater to give its drama Majors plenty of practical experience. We're going to listen to portions of a preliminary rehearsal for one of the children's Productions at the boji Bantam Theater, which operates alongside the Okoboji summer theater, and we're also going to hear how some of the students and members of the staff feel about the Lakes Region and about the theater itself. Jordan TFR. Harassing because my job makes me a no deal with with the public and I get to know a lot and not just in Spirit Lake area, but it Worthington and Fairmont and and all around 50 Mi radius around here. I find it this most of the people that I meet do not live for their summer residence and consequently, they come from a lot of different areas and they seem Very educated in the Arts and particularly in theater. I don't feel like I was dumped anywhere. I think this is a beautiful spot. It's just like paradise it really his. I will my sprained ankle doing Summer Stock other places and I love coming here because of that the standing we have in the community usually actors are vagrants or are not exactly respected members in Factory number of communities Summer Stock operations are fly-by-night in the actors will come in or the management will be poor or the borrow furniture and not return it and then run up bills here and they're actors are sort of vagabonds in a way but this operation is so solid and it's such a pleasure to be here. We walk into town and we're recognized and people say hello. I saw you on the show last week and we know a lot of people that commit it's very very unique in that respect and the best is by far the best operation I've ever worked with It's just incredible to be a respected member of this community and there are marvelous people in this community. It's amazing. But 500 how many or do I want a receipt for? 450 and night people, and it's the most successful operation. I think probably the most successful summer theater in the country. The nice part to have a theater because you get the complete like Addison St. Total support of of people in the community and interest its unique. Whereas if it were in the middle of La for example, it wouldn't that only be not unique but it might not be his long-standing or well-reputed is as Okoboji summer theater. Yeah, but not too long. Some girls come here is typical student since I won't come to yours addresses and the gist of the girls come here if we're coming want to be actresses when they get out some going to singing some go into dancing to some go into something totally different a lot of girls. Play some girls come out of Okoboji. They have one more year at Stevens and they will do a lot of acting through a lot of training themselves preparing for certain audition on things like that. But cheer I think Okoboji summer theater is a test for a girl. She wants to be an act so she can survive it is fine. I watched a little bit guilty about training a lot of people for a profession that the end in which they are opportunities. And we try to make that clear the girls is the women as they're going through the three year programs three years and two summers that they probably shouldn't be doing this. But if they really feel they have to do it will do whatever we can to get them ready for it. And I think a percentage of our girls do go on to be professionals or at least try for a while and they have that right to give it a go if they want too many do drift out of it into other. Professions or Allied professions the technical students have a better chance of getting jobs either in the University or college theaters or in professional theater, but the number of the actresses have work professionally in our working professional. at a lot of other summer stock companies if you are hired as an actor or you are hired as a designer or whatever you're hired as that's what you do and that's all you do and and he are you not only do that, but you're spreading yourself real thin because you're doing a lot of different things which is add a even more taxing because you're you're being forced to run out for so when you have it, but you are you have to learn to do, you know a variety of things. No matter what you blind to what do you want in theater with your decide to leave? It totally that I don't think very many of his ever Duke Energy to do that is the experience itself was wonderful and then what you take from it is so useful in whatever you do. I mean the working on the stage no matter what you do is going to be a help because you've been in front of people you're not afraid of them you even if you're very shy you've had to put yourself forward and you'll relax more and you'll get more out of meeting people for their own whether it's 20 years from now and you're not working. Are you have a family it's an advantage and you had to do things that other people maybe haven't had the chance to do and it forces you to be creative and to look inside yourself and to look at other people if you working on a character on a design you have to Diagram the play and look at the characters and understand them and I think if you work on it, you can use that to understand other people more because all the characters in plays are drawn from real life. They're exaggerated usually because you're concentrating into such a short. Of time, but the real life things and you can use that in a way that when you ready to stay here or not. We hope there's some decided that I just like that we keep saying that there are and I really I really think there are some out the discipline of this place is incredible schedule up here, right? I was somebody asked me today what day it was night. I know I don't have any idea. What what day of the month it is. I just know that it's a certain time in the rehearsal. And that next week show is being rehearsed. We have 3 Show 2 Chozen rehearsal one playing at all times plus a children show and it's just incredible schedule in the discipline of doing that is some don't make it through the summer or they decide that they don't want to be that discipline and you have to find out Peter. Is that kind of Demands that kind of discipline? It's the fact that it is so it is so in such Close Quarters. And so intense you have to be you no friends. You have to be closed you have to be able to communicate and I think for me coping him being able to communicate with everybody and in on all levels and on schedule. Peter is a group art if you want to do. Chloride form you want to do by yourself? You'd you become a sculptor or even musician can perform alone, but you can't do theater by yourself and they had coping with the group that you have to really enjoy being a member of a group. If it doesn't work, if one area falls down a little bit. I think that's probably as the coping part of it 10 weeks in a pressure cooker with a lot of other people and it's difficult to get along with that many people for that long a Time. Those were members of the Okoboji theater rehearsing for a children's musical. We heard from Leslie Vogel actress and public relations director Addison Myers instructor director, Leslie Grantham actress and Donna Lang costume designer. Boys Town is located. Yo said to be the final score between Chicago and the West Coast was most popular Ballroom in Lake Erie for many many years. Yes. It was on the second floor, which was devoted to dancing really ballroom dancing. I didn't know this Hotshot stuff that they have now, the lower part was devoted to a male's lunches and cold drinks games or scale and then there was a lot of gambling in the What's it called in central Pavilion, which is now the Emporium. Well, the Emporium in in the early days was a ballroom up above the entire floor is above except for the places where they sold tickets in around the edge or people could sit in and see out and also watch the dancers. The central Emporium in Arnolds Park, the KB will be described is still there, but it's been converted into rows of shops the music for a record store pours out into the hallway. You find frozen yogurt Indian jewelry and fake tintypes inside shops catering to a middle-class clientele. How to remembers acquire more graceful. In Lakes history a time when the local people used to drive their buggies to the edge of Okoboji to picnic or ride the Merry-Go-Round and the only people who came from a distance where the rich was usually the rich people. People with considerable means affluent people. Let me get on a training and in the morning and Sioux City. I think Fort Dodge anyway, that would come into the area from quite a distance used to run past you trains into Arnolds Park, but nothing on them on a Friday, but the people coming to the lake. For a good time and maybe go back the next day or two or maybe stay a week or two with somebody at the light. I was passenger trains in the 1910 $15 lottery in that perhaps we're quite the thing the local people used to go down to the depot and watch those trains come in and all of the following people getting off and getting on the horse John buses and taking them here and there around the lake. Oh that's stopped. Of course when automobiles became more prevalent since he was a boy several Generations have been attracted to the Great Lakes of Iowa is a good place to party across the street from the central Emporium is a bar called master and Rose and then I found Susie a student from Des Moines is come out for the summer to ten bar and Charlie who used to frequent the area back in the 50s we talked about why people came then and now everybody all our supplies are kept there is Bank clerks lawyers in Amite Bankers from Omaha. There's a party tell you don't like where people go to Las Vegas now, so, you know what, I mean, but you're the best thing that drives everyday is when I get liquor-by-the-drink in. Because the girls used to come into use to get off of busted by a fifth of whiskey and it hit the joint, you know, and I left him all week. You know what I mean? Because of the guys around to buy him drinks or give them drinks out of their bottle. Turn Me Up when they come into the bar The rush either Beach during the day or can going somewhere. Shop and just walking around. All I do is either swim or worker scuba mean i n e restaurant in Ivar anything in the cutoffs and a T-shirt and nobody cares. The people are little different. It's funny. That way you can you can tell the truth from the people that live here all the time and our families, you know, and it will want to stay in it. But hey, let me taste it and it be every salesman. Now, you know as well as I do wherever you got a Salesman crowd hanging out with you got girls you got party and you got to follow me. It was a party place. Where you can't in Des Moines, you can't go 50-50 and jump into a lake. Just a block down the street from the central Emporium in the Masters. And Rose Bar is Arnolds Park Amusement Park. Here's where you'll find the cotton candy hot dogs. And of course all the rides. During the Depression the park wasn't so busy people couldn't spare even a dime for the ferris wheel but now is 1 all the time or told me everybody's prosperous. There's an active arcade at the park along with the more traditional pinball machines. You'll find a more modern more electronic games. A lot of these are war games. I found one kid engrossed in a battle to keep his fighter plane intact. What did you get? In this auto race game the woman was trying to drive fast enough to get a lot of points without having a Smash Up. 55 - 1 practice complete without a roller coaster. The worst part is a slow pulled at the top of the first Peak. I have one brother that was that is was a presbyterian minister. Had another brother that was pretty high-class and I'm the Tramp. That's really why I say, I'm the outlaw brother that I like that travel around. Headed to make my the difference whether I had money or not. I can ride a passenger train to Pullman car without a ticket people say that a 1923 red was riding a freight train up from Fort Worth Texas. He fell off at Okoboji open the Hamburger Stand and made a million dollars come in by passenger train, but I started to leave and I got all the freight train and they put me off for that. Underpasses now at that time they drove over the railroad track. I got thrown up 5 hours. I polished up a little bit. That's what I told them. I told people in and they are adding a lot of a beaded actually Clinton it already made arrangements to open a hamburger stand and it's signed a contract with the owner old dock pick the park is now run by a corporation but there are always new and independent businessman looking for opportunities around the Lakes Loop at the Davis from Emmitsburg is developing a group of shops across from the central Emporium in Arnolds Park Disneyland takes a lot of color and a lot of artwork and a lot of interest a lot of patience and Perhaps other people will get interested in come in and see what we're doing as far as shots retail shops up and down the street. It seems like a lot of people a lot of our lending institutions lack confidence in what they have here. I know as far as Arnolds Park is concerned it all started here the resort area years and years ago long before our time all started right downtown Arnolds Park shorts sort of drifts away, you know through the years like it does in many other cities, but one day it always comes back trying to get more and more of the people that I went to high school with and a couple years of college that are coming back here that to pick up maybe their father's business from a hardware store or an auto dealership. They may be gone to Colorado gone to Florida as a lot of young people G. You can't wait to get out of here. You know, that's not at all go is growing up in the Midwest. But it's there is a lot of them coming back. I'm in Richter is the co-owner of the three sons a clothing store in Milford, Iowa. I think that they want to come back here. I've asked some of my friends will tell you what it's a wonder swear. I want to raise a family the school systems and things like that. You may not have the Fantastic opportunities in a lot of the big the scale Athletics and all that type of stuff. But I think that they want to come back to the midwestern and maybe race at Family. We're not simon-pure here. I'm sure it has been Minnesota or anywhere yet. There's alcohol problems as a drug problems and stuff like that. But yet and I say yet and I hope maybe for a long time it's not on the scale that is in the cities in case you haven't heard of the University of Okoboji Richter is the director of student affairs to him. It's more than just a gimmick to sell t-shirts and bumper stickers. It's a way of forming a sense of community pride and identity with the lake communities. And it gave the the people like I said the girl from The Lakes rather than hi there from Lake Okoboji a little kitty t-shirt cash. When you go home with a football jersey that that proves 1954 you through the winning touchdown and beat Notre Dame it hurt. So that's a type of a deal. I like to call it and the people that actually live here and now Great Lakes area the sticker in the back with another card that says University of Okoboji are the T-shirt of the Jersey says I live in Okoboji asked me about it. And I'm really I'm proud of the area. I like they're so when they're on trips, they can just like it's an Iowa license plate you might visit to see the Okoboji sticker get paper gun. Another one of them any Condominiums we now have in our Lake Area. This is location of the old Babcock Resort. Those are you don't want to kind of Minion is too much like an apartment house difference come in that you to own title or deed to your place. You can sell title or deed of your portion of the building without affecting the other residents. You do share and some of the cost that's offering you some one of the savings we ever go on vacation. I don't know anything like it did then you can't hardly find a spot big enough to build a garage know it's it's changed or that too. Well, it's lost its desire any desire that I had for Lydia. We got too many people. And the lake is full of skiers and boulders and it's saying it's a great place for them in the resident of Spencer Iowa development of the face, and it's not and I'm controversial topic. I think that this progress is has gone far enough that we're going to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. This community here is growing by Leaps and Bounds. They were there at One Day More industry all the time more people more of everything and ostensibly is going to increase the tax base with your taxes get lower when it never happens. It always gets higher because of utilities have to be spread out the school and have to be expanded and the police force has to be traveled in order to keep the population under control. I'm a I'm an anachronism. I know I would rather see the Lakes like it was 50 years ago when we don't have so much development. So many people when you get people to get problems and too many of them. I think it's weird but reached the saturation point. As far as I'm providing for the people to come up here in the summer time for a good vacation and there's a people that I think we should cater to to enhance the beauty of this area and not try to have to enlarge the permanent population by getting new Industries all the time. I see three chamber of commerce and everybody else that promoters in the developers want to get to New Industries all the time. And they've got some good ones and I'm not against them. But I think we both reached the point where we shouldn't in larger you keep on adding to them because we're going to have problems with the are you going to continue to grow and if you're going to have the service related Industries in the area that most people want you have to have a good mix of industrial commercial tourist. We are certainly agriculturally related to because we have some very fine Farmland in the immediately remediate 20 miles surrounding area. So, you know, I don't I don't think that there's any any way that you say that the two aren't compatible because they certainly are they do create the service facilities to serve everybody not just the Industrial complex are the tourist complex are the agricultural complex. It said it's a mixed community in that respect. Sometimes they go so fast that go faster than the public officials can install and provide them and sewer water Recreation Church schools and when you get a community of an area expanding in population so fast But you cannot provide them those things you got trouble. We see it and in schools receiving right here. I had an awful time of public sewer for years. I don't see the area really losing that much quality. In fact is hitting gaining a lot of it the phone companies working hard on getting a lot of the wires underground and stuff like that. You have to have people the industry around the Lakes is basically pretty clean Berkeley's fantastic fishing tackle operation and it's big McCoy's with their the air-conditioning things that they make its clean industry that's in the Lakes even in Spencer Iowa to the south of us which Spencer has a Spencer is 15 minutes to the South has a ton of industry down there Spencer Foods. It's a major industry Eaton Corporation is a worldwide industry transmissions and things like that. The point I'm making is that the industry that we do have so far retriever like it is clean and attracts again high-caliber people. Part of the reason a company like eating is able to I think, like Siri in my opinion out in the end. I hella is that g there only 15 minutes away from the lake offering a place that the wife is going to leave the kids are going to enjoy the lake plus the food in the entertainment that's available people that come here of course are looking most of them for quiet. Recreation for a rest are as the people in business most of them render a service which is good to people that come your have to have those services for Instant Sun motels Cottages restaurants eating places. But there sure is a difference. What's the people that come here and stay and you like the time come for peace and quiet comfort and rest or as there are lots of people nowadays with these fast automobile Drive 200 miles in a day and expect to go back that night and let their hair down while they're here. And of course some demands certain amount of services to and they're the kind that these. Cricket lunch counters in cafes and cheaper pasta reason that sort of thing. That's a nice. This is my idea of the Lakes right? Let's have at a resort area vacationland let people come up here and have fun but not the not to run into more people all the time and they want to come out of Des Moines and Sioux City for Dodge. Is it proper to get away from people? Hell what they got is more people and If we keep the keep the population under some control and let the summer people come in and have a good time but not having a mass of local people here then and is taking taken over there. The local people that live here kind of look forward to fall asleep because it's kind of gets back to normal again. It's beautiful here in the fall and winter months. Ruby fishing in the ball later on when it freezes at the good ice fishing. Nick's Day out here you probably C300 fish X wintertime a lot of farmers in the area do the chores in the morning and get it over here and fish during the day and get home country tours at night and drive their pickups right out of my leg cuz this is a vacation land this leg out here is the is the goose just laying the golden egg, but if we're going to drive people away, and I know lots of people This is the one cop here anymore on the weekend because they're afraid to come up here and water-ski. They go to some of the lesser-known Lakes like Iowa Lake and Tuttle Lake to do their water ain't nobody over there because it hasn't got the the the glamour of West Okoboji fishing walleye fishing most of the local people as soon as you know more I'll day opens up. They don't really fish do much until after Labor Day whenever you have an overbite skiers or sailboats or something once in awhile, you find hear somebody make a wisecrack like that, but They're not overcrowded. Are people in business in Spirit Lake Estherville Spencer? And all around at least towns the people live there. They don't feel that way. That is the most people on the business people and stuff that the Lakes is here and the people that are not the resort is year brings people in I think our Lakes have become Overcrowded especially West Okoboji Lake it's become so crowded on a holiday a good weekend edition safe to get on the lake with a motorboat. you can get smashed up Felicia because you're just so many people around the perimeter that are trying to use it, which was not to How are even 30 years ago? That wasn't true? But it sure is the Dickens to today. I always have rank heresy as far as developers are concerned, but I know some developers It Would Rain West Okoboji if they can make a fast buck. They could care less about the environment care less. What happens to a hundred years from today. There are going to be here. They're going to make their ears and make it now. They drain the marshes and destroy those things that I Jason to the Lake City. Are vital to Exhale or do the welfare of lake that they could care less because they can see they're going to they're going to develop cooking and putting some condominiums or some high-rise apartments or something and that makes the most money. And this is this is a tragedy. Have a promotion that goes on and in The Lakes area and people tend to be complacent and they say we would like to keep everything just the way it is. But with increase the increase knowledge that people have from television and newspapers and the ease of Transportation. Nothing ever stays the way it is Hazard the way it was and we aren't growing any differently than they do on the West Coast or the East Coast or anyplace else say that we are in a state of growth and we will continue to grow now you can't Make everything stop. It just it just isn't going to happen in Spirit Lake isn't the Okoboji aren't any different than than any other area in the state the town of Spencer the town of Warrenton all our surrounding neighbors are growing their they're making a definite attempt to grow and in some organized manner. We don't want to go have in a haphazard manner. We want to have a plan organized Healthy Growth as president of the association K be well teas. Like attorney Herman Richter Milford businessman red Clinton in Arnolds Park. Businessman and Robert Benson resident manager of the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory. It's doubtful that the Iowa Great Lakes communities will ever stop growing and progressing at least in the view of some but as you talk to certain residents you sense of longing for at least some aspects of life the way it used to be they were not telephones around like scarcely any telephones, but there was a telegraph office in the default. This was a customary thing in those days telegraphed came from Depot Depot people like Omaha resident. You want to call up somebody up here or Des Moines or what not. They couldn't call him on the phone because it didn't have any for one out on the lake, but they would send a wire and I had a pointy I written around like a lot carrying these yellow Telegraph messages find to try to find somebody on the way to deliver it to force knows days there weren't so sick around the lake either but you still had to find them to pay me some $0.50 to a dollar and a half or get number point in trying to find this person to deliver this message with was pretty good money for a kitchen know but very interesting and stays. And that just about brings us to the end of our Voyage on the empress and our look at the Great Lakes of Iowa and their surrounding communities. Along the way we heard KB wealthy Spirit Lake attorney Faye Peterson curator of the Dickinson County Museum Richard Goldberg director of the Iowa Lakeside lab in the labs resident manager Robert Benson, we heard businessmen red Clinton Fred Dalton Herman Richter Loop have a Davis Earl Rose president of the Okoboji protective Association members of the Okoboji summer theater, Leslie, Bogle Addison Myers, Donna Lang and Leslie Grantham Chris Hansen of Spencer and chords Charlie and Susie. This program was produced in the Worthington Studios of Minnesota Public Radio station. Krsw by Vicky sturgeon with assistance from Judy Hudson and yours truly Kim Hudson.