1. The lodges began as a "fish camp"

Johnny originally wanted a place for customers to test fishing boats but ended up building an Ozarks lodge on par with any lake resort in the country. “Jeanie [his wife] originally found the ad for the property in the Springfield News-Leader classifieds,” Johnny says. “What we discovered looked like a run-down roadside motel.” Now guests choose between cottages, cabins, and handsome hotel rooms in one of three ridge-side lodges.