Sportsman’s Lodge torn down for new building; park staff honored by state

The most exciting tourism news of 2022 was celebrated in September, when the KISS Rebreathers Dive Team was honored for making Roaring River Spring the deepest explored spring cave in the United States.

In other tourism news, the Sportsman’s Lodge was torn down to make way for a Roaring River Resort building and park staff were honored with multiple state level awards.

Overflow audience greets KISS Rebreathers at event

Members of the KISS Rebreathers dive team were presented with Resolutions from the Missouri Senate at a special “Meet the Divers!” event held in the Emory Melton Inn & Conference Center on Sept. 17, 2022. 

The Resolutions, which commend and congratulate the divers for “establishing Roaring River Spring as the deepest spring cave in the contiguous United States,” were presented to the divers by State Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove.

The KISS Rebreathers (Keep It Super Simple) team set a national depth-record of 472 feet subsurface in the cave on Nov. 13, 2021, during the seventh of monthly, weekend visits which began in May 2021.

More than 120 area residents attended the event to learn more about the ongoing diving project, slated to continue Oct. 14-16 and Nov. 11-13 of this year.

Dan Wadlington, a representative from the office of U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., was in attendance, as well as several Missouri State Parks officials, including Roaring River State Park Park/Historic Site Manager Joel Topham, Roaring River Assistant Manager Carrie Byron, Director of the Ozarks Region Justin Adams, Assistant Director of the Ozarks Region Carl Bonnell, Ozark Region Commander Captain Geoffrey Evans and Roaring River State Park Concessionaire Manager David Waugh.

The audience was treated to a PowerPoint presentation by KISS Diver Gayle Orner, followed by a video featuring underwater footage of the divers navigating through the cavern and the restriction that exists at a depth of 225 feet subsurface in the cave. When KISS Rebreathers CEO and head diver, Mike Young, took the lectern to introduce the video, a spontaneous and lengthy question & answer session began which revealed the extent of the public’s interest in the Roaring River Cave diving project.

“People weren’t asking the average type of questions,” Young said. “I was surprised by how knowledgeable people were about diving and about the Roaring River project itself.

“It was nice to be recognized by the state of Missouri for what we’re doing here, because Roaring River Spring is such a unique natural resource. It needs to be protected and preserved.”

Young labels Roaring River spring as unique because of the high quality of water and the volume of over 20 million gallons it pumps out daily.

“Missouri has a lot of big springs,” Young said. “[It has] more than its fair share, actually, when you consider places like Lake Mead, in Nevada, where they’re experiencing serious water shortages.”

Orner said, for her, no single question stood out at the event because there were so many good questions.

“It was clear that the community has been following our progress, and that they really appreciate what they have in Roaring River Spring,” she said.

KISS Diver and Underwater Photographer Randall Purdy said he appreciated the sentiment of the lady who asked Young what she could do to help with the project, which is self-funded.

“I thought it was very gracious of her,” Purdy said. “Mike told her he just appreciated the opportunity to dive into the spring, but I interjected and said, ‘Cookies! We’ll always accept cookies.’”

After learning that the divers have individual day jobs in addition to their diving projects, one audience member asked Young what they do for relaxation.

“We dive,” Young said. “That’s what we enjoy doing.”

Young says a desire to explore is behind his – and most other divers’ – love for cave-diving.

“Underwater caves are one of few frontiers left to explore,” he said.

Sometimes together, sometimes with other companions, the divers who comprise the KISS team spend most weekends diving somewhere. The island of Cozumel is a favored destination, as are trips to hunt for megalodon teeth off the coast of North Carolina.

The Meet the Divers event was hosted by the Cassville Democrat and Missouri State Parks and was coordinated by Sheila Harris, who has provided newspaper coverage of the KISS team’s exploration of Roaring River Cave since they began diving in May 2021.

In his welcoming address delivered by his wife, Jordan Troutman, Cassville Democrat Editor Kyle Troutman referred to Roaring River State Park as a “shimmering crown on the heads of Barry County and the state of Missouri,” and that the national spring diving depth record was another jewel upon it. He thanked the divers for “showing us the wonders of what we have right beneath us” in Roaring River Cave.

Roaring River State Park Superintendent Joel Topham said he’s both humbled and encouraged by the huge community turnout for the event, in which he welcomed those in attendance by reminding them that, with the ongoing exploration in the Roaring River Cave Spring, we are living in historic times.

“I thank Mike Young and his team for answering the call to become new pioneers, and for sharing their adventures and discoveries with us and the world,” he said. “Like you, I will watch with great joy as we see how deep the cave spring really is.”

The KISS team hopes to explore beyond last year’s 472-foot depth-record during their October 14-16 trip.

Sheila Harris and the Cassville Democrat would like to offer a special thank you to Waugh and his staff for their provision of the conference center, refreshments and seating for the overflow crowd.

KISS Rebreathers divers present for the event were CEO and head diver, Mike Young; cartographer, Jon Lillestolen; underwater photographer, Randall Purdy; creature collector and survey assistant, Gayle Orner; safety divers Neil Brownlow, Greg Ables, Mike Henry, and Eric Hahn; surface commander, Tony Bryant; and surface assistant, Tony Creason. Tim Bass, of TL Bass Telepictures, who is producing a documentary about the Roaring River diving project, was also present.

A look back on 45 years of the ‘old’ Sportsman Lodge

The Sportsman Lodge was a tenure business on the part of Highway 112 known as the strip.

The curvy highway takes cruisers along a scenic trip through the hills surrounding Roaring River. Along the way, the astute will notice a number of rentals, which at weekend from March 1 to Oct. 31 are unlikely to have any vacancy.  

One such place has spent the last 45 years in the care of Carless Conner, until recently. 

In January 2022, the “old” Sportsman Lodge was sold to Missy and Donald Craig, the owners of the neighboring Roaring River Resort. 

The Sportsman Lodge had held many names over the years. 

When it was first built in the late 1940s, it was Thompson Court. Later, it became Harry’s Court, which is when Conner bought it.

“I kept the name for several years before changing it to Sportsman Lodge,” Conner said. “Back when it was first built, there was an old train car or something that was used as the office and a little tackle shop.”

That train car wasn’t there when Conner bought the property in 1977.

“I operated it with 12 total units,” Conner said. “I had five single-bed kitchenettes, five double-bed kitchenettes, and 2 double sleeping units.

“I also ran a little tackle shop on the property. I would ship flies all over the country.”

Conner and his first wife ran and operated the business together.

“The first 10 years, I was very dedicated to building the business,” he said. “I would go fishing and meet people. I would talk to them and convince them to come stay with me instead of one of the other places. My clientele was mostly families, and the repeat business has always done pretty well.”

Conner said he has seen the great-grandparents of people who had stayed at the Sportsman Lodge years and years before.

“Once in a while I would get a guest and they would get to talking and say, ‘Do you know so and so?’” Conner said. “I would remember the name and it would be their grandpa someone who brought them to the lodge years ago.”

Conner said owning the Sportsman Lodge was a good comfortable business.

“I made great relationships with other local businesses as well,” he said. “I belonged to the Chamber for many years. I never paid for a cup of coffee at the restaurant. We all just had each others backs.”

Conner said that was a wonderful time, but things did begin to change over the years.

“As businesses got sold and new people came in things changed,” he said. “The atmosphere was different than it is now. The restaurant sold and they tried to make it upscale, I think that hurt them a bit.”

Conner and other business owners tried to make some changes too.

“One year, probably in the mid 1980s, me and some of the other motel owners got together and went to Jeff City,” he said. “We wanted to talk to the state about making Opening Day the Friday closest to March 1. 

“That would increase rentals for Opening Day. But, they hardly even listened to us.”

It has been about a month since Conner sold the lodge, and today, the Sportsman Lodge is gone — all that is left is the 11 acres of land.

Donald is the son of one of my best friends,” he said. “He said Missy had a lot of ideas for the future of the property. It didn’t bother me at all that they tore it down. I knew they only really wanted the property, and I sold it as is.”

Conner said he believes the property will be just as good for the Craigs as it was for him.

“It has been a good experience fore me,” Conner said. “I have truly enjoyed it. there was always something to do, or something that was broken.”

When the pandemic hit, the park closed.

“We couldn’t rent any cabins or anything, but then they opened the park for free fishing,” he said. “The problem was they didn’t restock the fish. So, my regulars stopped coming, and I eventually had to start renting the units by the month.”

Conner said that created other issues.

“It was good to have that as an option,” he said. “But, it was different, and I didn’t like it as well.”

Conner had been thinking about selling for a few years.

“My step-son told me one day that Donald might buy it,” he said. “That is how the conversation first started. I knew it was finally time to sell because of my age and past health issues. Also, the last couple of years, I have been there day and night, and I wanted to go home.”

Conner said he had hired managers in the past, but he had been doing it all for awhile.

“Someone had to be there,” he said. “In 44 years, I only ever missed two Opening Days.

“One year, I made a promise to myself that I would fish every day of the season. Some days, it was only for a few minutes, but I did it. I will always remember that season.”

Conner will hold friendships he made close.

“It is really more of a big family,” he said. “I think we will travel some. I have a brother and a sister in California, we will just go visit. No plans, just laid back.”

Conner had one daughter with his first wife.

“I lost her in 2014,” he said. “She was a traveling RN. The greatest thing to happen was my granddaughter. She is in Florida finishing college. She is a great granddaughter. She always calls.”

Conner married his current wife in 1996.

“She had two boys and a daughter,” he said. “She lived in Butterfield until about 22 years ago when we sold that and built a big house on the lake.”

Conner said it is right on the water.

“I fish there, but I always come back to Roaring River,” he said. “Fly fishing is an art, and once you learn it you will catch a ton of fish. I won’t even fish without my fly rod. Fishing is a good time to do a lot of thinking. It clears your mind and you can realize how blessed you are.”

Conner said he has always had a solid home.

“I was actually born in Tennessee,” he said. “But we moved to California when I was 8. We lived there until we move here.”

Conner came to the area to vacation and fell in love with Roaring River.

“I saw a for sale sign on the lodge,” he said. “I went back home and told my first wife to start packing we were moving to Missouri. We moved and bought the lodge.

“You always have good times and bad times, but the good times have far outweighed the bad times I’ve had here.”

Conner said he can still remember when they bought the Sportsman Lodge having to get a little stool so his daughter could reach the door to open it.

Locals honored by Governor

Multiple individuals at Roaring River State Park have had a knack for saving lives in the last year, and they are still being recognized for it.

In November 2022, Cpl. Steve Jabben, park ranger, and Joel Topham, Roaring River State Park natural resources manager, were presented with Governor’s Awards, recognizing their life-saving efforts in May 2022 when a woman was reported unconscious on Devil’s Kitchen trail.

Jabben said when dispatch called for him to respond, he grabbed his gear, including an automated external defibrillator, from his patrol vehicle and headed up the trail.

“I took off up Devil’s Kitchen from the CCC bridge side and found the couple that made the call, who did not speak much English, and then the lady unresponsive by a cave,” Jabben said. “I started CPR with the AED and continued CPR for about 12 minutes before anyone else go there. The Eagle Rock-Golden-Mano Fire Protection District arrived and took over, then Joel came and we continued to work on her.”

Topham said he and Jabben went up opposite sides of the trail, and by the time he arrived, he helped with CPR some, then a helicopter landing zone was established to transport her to the hospital.

“i stayed with the lady on the hill, and we carried her down to an ambulance that took her to the helicopter,” he said. “The two hikers that called 911 were by the small cave entrance at sign No. 6. I was at Camp Smokey when Steve called me, and he went up one trailhead so I went up another.”

Though such calls are rare, Jabben said when he gets one, there is a single thing on his mind.

“We’ve got to save them,” he said. “We had another lady around that time who was out running and collapsed. Your training just kicks in and you don’t worry about what is going on other than to save that person.”

Jabben said this instance was a bit more jarring than others, as well.

“I went up to the cave and she was up there with her head down,” he said. “It as a rough one. I had to drag her down the hill, and the couple that called 911 stayed back. I think they were still in shock.”

The Governor’s Award marks the second time Jabben has been recognized, as he was named the Department of Natural Resources’ Employee of the Month in July 2022.

Roaring River staff have also been recognized in the past for their handling of wreck and life-threatening situations.

“It’s a good team here,” Jabben said. “It takes a lot of training — you don’t just get someone to do it.”

Jabben said the way the park operates has been noticed by others, as well.

“My sergeant was in the park three weeks ago and there was a crash on the hill,” he said. “All the maintenance guys jumped in to gear working traffic and helping, and the sergeant couldn’t believe how well-trained they were. That’s how we do it here.

“It’s all about team training and understanding what it means to respond to this type of stuff and how to do it right.”

Topham said from his perspective, it’s just what people do.

“This is not 100 percent part of my job description, it’s just what we do,” he said. “We want to help people in distress. Just like when it might flood here, I don’t sleep. I’m up all night listening to the radio and determining if and when we need to evacuate.

“I think that’s just my generation and my military background. I like to run toward danger instead of away from it.”

In the certificate of recognition signed by Gov. Mike Parson, Jabben and Topham are lauded for, among other things, embodying the core values of Missouri state Parks, answering the call of duty and working tirelessly to protect the people and natural resources of Missouri.

Jabben’s specifically points out the 12 minutes of CPR he provided before any assistance arrived, and Topham’s specifically notes his assistance with CPR and lifesaving measures taken to transport the woman to safety.