Greetings And Happy New Year To All Of Our Customers Of 1993

It’s that time of year for taking stock, looking back over the past year and starting to look forward to 1994. As in every year, we are struck by the satisfaction we get from what we do. No other career can quite compare to ours: sharing with our guests some unforgettable moments, getting to meet new and fascinating people, and getting to know our regular guests better with each visit.

Articles

New Nonsmoking Cabin in ‘94
Learn Something New On Your Vacation
1993 Results: Annual Black Oak Fishing Contest
Tackle Talk
Our Guests Take Center Stage
10-Year Black Oak Guests Get Surprise
From Our Guests - Pasta Salad
Something New At Black Oak!
“Best” List of Area Restaurants
Good-bye Guests, Hello Neighbor

In a way, this was one of our easiest years, but there is always that challenge not to become stale, or to lose perspective as to what is important. We haven’t forgotten that people are what really is important. We are reminded of this in so many ways: The calls, cards, and letters from our guests; their generosity to us, either pitching in and helping, or having us over for dinner or cookouts, or sometimes even a surprise gift! How can we ever possibly repay your kindness? All we can do is let you know just how much we appreciate you all, and promise you that we will continue to try and make our place better for you each time you return.

With that thought in mind, let us tell you what was accomplished here in 1993. We did give ourselves a little break by not doing a major construction project. Michael really needed that break, after five years in a row of one major construction project after another! We have a goal in mind for our next project that many of you already know about, and that is our lodge. But we never completely rest. In 1993 here’s some improvements we made.

.    Purchased another V-17 Bass Tracker
   . New heat/air conditioner unit in Cabin 3
.    New queen-size beds in all our 1 - bedroom cabins
.    New carpeting around outdoor whirlpool
.    New cranberry carpeting in Cabins 6 and 7
.    Seats recovered on Lowe Classic Pontoon
.    New 115 HP motor on Michael’s Ranger
.    Another Enviroshade canopy by the pool

We continued to provide an Orientation Fishing Trip to our guests, and we still have the Video Club, with many more selections added. We also will still offer optional “Maid Service by Kristi” for those of you who might truly want to relax in your cabin after a hard day at play. The cost is still $6 per day.

We still have our dogs, who are all getting old. We lost Towanda, our first cat that came to stay, from feline leukemia. We still have cats, though (two at the moment). Michael is still Fire Chief here in Oakland. Betty is now serving on the Board of Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce, and is Secretary of the Fire Department Auxiliary, and Editor of the Fire Department Newsletter. Always some bad news, too. This past Thanksgiving night, a fire completely destroyed the trailer home of Tracy Hinds, the young girl who helps Betty. The family got out moments before the trailer was completely engulfed. There was no insurance, so they lost it all. The community has rallied to help the family. If any of you wish to help Tracy and her family, please call us.

To sum up, we had an excellent year overall. Michael was able to recover his charge. We are less in debt. And so, we thank you for another wonderfully fulfilling year, and we look forward to seeing you again in ’94. We will be coming to the Chicagoland Sport Show at O’Hare Expo Center January 28 thru February 6 in Booth 822. Stop by and see us.

New Nonsmoking Cabin in ‘94

We’re pleased to announce that we are turning one of our two-bedroom cabins (#7) into a “No Smoking” Cabin for our guests. If you’ve already made a reservation for that cabin and are a smoker, we will be moving you either to cabin 6 or 8 instead and switch you with whoever requests the cabin from these two other cabins. We will try in every case to assure that this cabin is smoke-free, but there may have to be rare exceptions for this first year, since we have already taken so many reservations in advance for the cabin. We would appreciate your cooperation so we can provide this service to our many nonsmoking customers.

Learn Something New On Your Vacation
For those of you who like to try new things...

For those of you ho like to try new things on vacation, consider taking an introductory scuba diving course in our pool. Or, you may opt for the 4-day open water course which qualifies you as a certified scuba diver. For more information, contact Jim Jensen, PADI Instructor, at (870) 431-8855.

1993 Results: Annual Black Oak Fishing Contest

No, there aren’t any typographical errors, even though there are three fish weighing exactly the same (6 lb. 3 oz.); but what a coincidence.

You’ll notice our record fish started in April this year. Normally, they’d start in March, but we did have an unusually cold spring. We also had record heat this summer, but it didn’t seem to hurt fishing at all, with big fish caught every month from April thru August, and again in October. Probably our cold spring kept the water cooler longer.

Some repeat winners again this year. Art Comer’s catfish beat his last year’s record by one pound. It’s probably that same fish that broke the line after he weighed it in last year (my prediction came true). Jerry Logan didn’t repeat, but his wife Joanne won this time instead. Also, she was the only woman winner.

Illinois had the most winners (again). We also have an eight year old among our winners: Gunnar Bristow caught our biggest rainbow trout. Also, Glen Householder won in two categories (White Bass and Lake Trout). He really deserves to win, since both fish are the largest ever recorded in our contest in those categories.

Finally, we are proud to announce that Black Oak Resort actually won the walleye contest, when Michael caught his biggest walleye ever, weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces on July 22 at 11 a.m. (sunny and hot) on a Lindy Rig at 32 feet. The walleye was 29-1/2 inches long with a 19-inch girth. It was also the largest walleye ever caught by anyone at our resort. He had witnesses, too. He was fishing with guests, Bill Immke and Phil Golladay. However, he disqualifies himself from the contest, since he’s really a pro fisherman, and we’ll give Joanne Logan credit for winning with her little fish.

Two honorable mentions: We had a young boy, Chris Walton, catch a 12 oz. Bluegill (one ounce away from tying the record). He was big time disappointed he didn’t win, but we asked him if he would like to release the fish so someone could catch it again when it got bigger, and he did! What a big sacrifice for a young man to give up what was for him probably the biggest fish he’d ever caught! We are proud of you, Chris. Come back and catch it next year!

Also, though we don’t include rough fish in our annual contest, we must mention one special catch this year. On July 29, on a sunny and hot high noon, Ray Cutrer, of Algonquin, IL made quite a catch when he landed a 20-pound gar, 55 inches long, while fishing a lindy rig at 30 feet (also fishing with Michael and Bill Immke). Bill Immke must be ready for his turn!

All contest winners will receive a 10% cabin discount on their next stay with us, plus a Black Oak cap or T-shirt, and also a wall plaque recognizing their achievement. Winners’ names will also be on our Black Oak Annual 1992 Fishing Contest plaque at the resort. Congratulations to you all.

Tackle Talk
Downriggers and Lindy Rigs

We keep seeing the summertime fishing getting better and better as our guests become more experienced in fishing with both downriggers and Lindy Rigs. So be sure and talk to Michael before coming down to be sure and have the proper equipment for the time of year you’ll be fishing.

‘93s Hottest Lure
The hottest lure this year was the black and gold Pro King Spoon, used for downrigger fishing. But, before you rush out and buy some, it could be entirely different next year. If you’ll notice, some of the lousiest weather produced the best fishing, and best times of day were late morning and early evening.

Our Guests Take Center Stage:
The Year Of The Family

The most striking trend among our guests last year was the number of families that gathered together to vacation at our resort. With the nuclear family all but extinct, keeping family ties strong takes a concerted effort. What we have seen heartens us. We’d like to tell you about two families that really stand out, who go that extra mile to bring their families closer.

The Zeman/Beck/Ruvarec family are a three generation “high-energy” family that have now shared two year’s vacation with us. The know that to have a memorable vacation, you have to create the memories. They begin by creating a song about their vacation. They end by awarding trophies (to everyone). There’s loads of fun in between, with singing, games, fishing, swimming (and NO videos either). This is a full participation group! Their “Vacation ’92” song was sung to the tune of “The Beverly Hillbillies”. Here’s their ’93 song:

“Vacation ‘93”
Sung to the tune of “Gilligan’s Island”

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,
A tale of a mighty ten.
Who started from this little town
About 3 a.m.

The mates were mighty fishermen,
The skipper short and blond.
Ten fishermen set out that day,
For a one week tour, a one week tour.

Vacation started getting fun,
The fishing spots were hot.
The girls want to take Uncle Bill’s boat out,
But he said NOT, but he said NOT!

One day the Lowe set anchor
In the middle of this great big lake.
We swam, tubed, fished and skied,
And had a lot of fun, and had a lot of fun.

So that was our vacation
To good ole Arkansas.
We plan to come back next year,
So loo-ook for us, so loo-ook for us.

We eagerly await their ’94 return visit and their next song, purportedly to the tune of “The Adams Family.”

Another dynamic group is the Duclos family, which is also a three generation family from all over the country that meet at our place for two weeks each summer, also for two years now. The family originated in Arkansas, but their children are all grown up and scattered to the winds, many with their own children. They come in from Iowa, Virginia, Texas, California, and Mississippi to reunite at our resort. This past year the family held the christening of the newest family member, Hannah Wilson. The christening was performed by close family friend, Fr. Thomas Boyce, of Shelby, Mississippi. All thirteen of them gather for meals at Mom’s (Della’s) cabin each day. This huge reunion is always meticulously planned by daughter, Leslie Wilson, with never a hitch. They will once again be joining us this summer, and we welcome their return.

There are many other families who vacation together with us each year. All share the wisdom that family is of the greatest importance. Each year we learn a lot from our guests, and this year was no exception. Thank you all for the lessons learned!

Ten Year Black Oak Guests Are
Treated to a Surprise

This year, we began our tenth season, and we thought it would be nice to recognize those loyal customers who have been with us since the beginning. What we chose to do was to have a price rollback for their tenth year anniversary with us. So, when they received their bill, it was based n our cabin rates in 1984. My, how our prices have changed! Needless to say, everyone was very happy, and some of them decided to come down more than once. Here are our loyal first year’s customers. We are grateful for your friendship and loyalty, and hope we’re all around for our 20th anniversary!

     George and Irene Peshel, Indiana
     Bob Upton/Bill Sligar Group, Illinois
     John and Mary Conley, Hazelwood, MO
     Bill and Pat Margenau, Webster Groves, MO
     Karen Vogel, Springfield, IL

From Our Guests

Sisters Teresa Jesenovec and Peg Householder, of Waukegan, IL both get credit for this absolutely wonderful pasta salad recipe. I normally pass on pasta salad because it has a sour taste. This one is not like that at all, and because the broccoli is stir fried instead of raw or boiled, it has an altogether totally different taste. A guaranteed winner, I promise.

Pasta Salad

     6 strips bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
     1 lb. pasta
     1/2 lb. broccoli florets, chopped
     2 T chopped onion
     Parmesan (to taste)

Cook bacon until crisp. Remove. To drippings, add broccoli and onion. Stir fry until slightly cooked. Meanwhile, cook pasta, drain. Mix pasta with broccoli and onion and drippings. Add bacon. Sprinkle with parmesan. Blend.

As we welcome you back in 1994, look
forward to something new at Black Oak!

Our next major goal is our lodge, and there’s no way we can swing it for 1994. We’re still shooting for a grand opening in 1995. Plans are to take our ideas (and yours) to an architect this year, and have the plans ready to show our banker this fall.

But we still will be making some changes in 1994!

• Expansion of our dock, scheduled to be completed April.
• Two more stalls and a larger swim deck.
• New cranberry carpeting in Cabins 3 and 4.
• Replace two of our older sofas with new queen sleeper sofas.
• New roofs on two one-bedroom cabins.
• VCRs in all deluxe cabins.
• 25-inch remote color TVs in all deluxe cabins.

“Best” List of Area Restaurants

Best Appetizer
Potato Skins, 178 Club, Bull Shoals

Best View
Gaston's, overlooking the White River

Best Steaks
The Top Kat, State Line in Missouri

Best Buffet
The Front Porch, Yellville or
Bamboo Garden, (Friday & Saturday Night)

Best Seafood
178 Club

Best Hamburger
The Back Forty, Mountain Home
The Top Kat

Best Atmosphere
Chelsea’s, Mountain Home

Best Oriental
Bamboo Garden, Mountain Home

Newest Restaurant
The Front Porch, Yellville

Best Salad
A Taste of Old Chicago, State Line in Missouri

Best Prime Rib
A Taste of Old Chicago (Saturdays)

NO SMOKING Establishment
Dutchman Restaurant, Mountain Home

Good-bye Guests, Hello Neighbor

We do lose some of our best customers this way. They move here! This year, two of our good customers have done just that. They are Jim and Marlene Ryan, from Blue Island, IL and Gene and Lorraine Hicks, from Glen Carbon, IL. Welcome to our beautiful state!

Investment in your future
Arkansas is not for everyone, but for more and more of you, the time is right for thinking about living in a place that’s still clean and pure, uncrowded, virtually crime-free, with one of the fastest growing economies in the nation. If you care to know more, contact Vicki Jensen, at (870) 431-8355 or (870) 425-6282. Vicki is a licensed real estate broker with Gilbert Realty. Vicki will be happy to send you more information on the area and if you wish, schedule an appointment to meet with you and show you around when you visit Arkansas.

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