Local News: A look back on 45 years of the ‘old’ Sportsman Lodge (3/2/22)

Conner: ‘I will always remember that season’

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 and 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 for 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 moved 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.