ESTHERVILLE, Iowa | Candy Fredericksen doesn’t mince words when summing up the effect the Iowa Great Lakes has on her Homespun Quilt Shop on Central Avenue in Estherville.
“I love the people at the Lakes,” she says. “I need the people at the Lakes.”
Lucy Matthiesen, manager at Silver Lake Country Club at Lake Park, Iowa, gets right to the point, too.
“We maybe get one-third of our green fee people from the Lakes,” she says. “Without them, I might be out of a job.”
Yes, a 33-percent hit to the bottom line would likely have most people looking for work.
Thanks to the hundreds of thousands of visitors who find their way to the Iowa Great Lakes each year, finding the right work in and around Dickinson County is possible – and profitable – for all sorts of trades. Call it the “Halo Effect” – the benefits one gets from the Iowa Great Lakes; while not being right IN Iowa’s Great Lakes.
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Estherville and Lake Park, after all, are both 10- to 15-minute drives from Spirit Lake and the Okobojis.
While at quilting trade shows across the country, Fredericksen is often asked where her shop is located. The 11-year shop owner quickly mentions Okoboji, Iowa. And just as quickly, she gets an affirmative response.
“I could be in Houston (Texas) or Cincinnati, Ohio, or Paducah (Ky.) at a show and someone will have visited, gone through or stayed at Okoboji,” she says. “I let people know that I’m 15 minutes away. A LOT of people know Okoboji.”
Fredericksen says the name recognition isn’t simply the result of the lakes and the summertime recreation those cool blue bodies of water offer. The Okoboji name itself is unique, one that sticks with people. University of Okoboji apparel, made famous by The Three Sons in Milford, has been seen all over the world. That brand helps tell the story of a place where fun is priority one.
Fun. That’s what Matthiesen offers at the well-manicured 9-hole golf layout in little Lake Park, a Dickinson County burg of just over 1,000 people. Golf enthusiasts from the Iowa Great Lakes each day make the short drive west on Iowa Highway 9 to test their skill on the lengthy par 4s.
“They come because it’s less expensive, and it can be hard to get tee times in the Lakes,” Matthiesen says. “This is my third year here and, for some reason, last year many of the Lakes golfers here commented on what a well-kept secret we are.”
The conversations led to talk about Lake Park itself, a community boasting a new K-12 school facility and community library, a bustling downtown sector and two active campground sites just off the shores of Silver Lake.
“People end up asking about the town and the lake,” she says. “They want to know how deep the lake is (it’s just under 10 feet at its deepest points in a lake that measures 1,066 acres) and what kind of fish are caught there (perch, walleye, channel catfish, black bullheads).”
Matthiesen says the proximity to the Iowa Great Lakes also means towns like Lake Park are best served working with the Okobojis. While Smith’s Bay attracts tens of thousands of people for its annual fireworks show on July 4, there are thousands who see similar shows right around that date in Spirit Lake and Lake Park.
Okoboji selects the date for its fireworks show. Spirit Lake always gets the second choice, and Lake Park follows by selecting third. That’s OK, according to Matthiesen, who helps direct fundraising efforts for the fireworks at Lake Park.
“The people in and around Lake Park are great about donating each year for the fireworks show,” she says. “It’s good for our town and the area. You’d be amazed at how many people watch all three shows.”
