OKOBOJI, Iowa | As the land of lakes and family fun, there is a lot to see and do in and around Okoboji.
Quaint shops, lakeside cottages, amusement parks and numerous dinning options abound.
Here are a few places that scream "classic" and are definitely not to be overlooked when visiting the Iowa Great Lakes:
O'FARRELL SISTERS
Linda Sealey recalls the sweet smell of hot, buttery Cloverleaf rolls wafting in the air was she walked in the back door of O'Farrell Sisters restaurant after school.
"My mother would have homemade cloverleaf rolls that were served with the dinners at night," said Sealey whose mother Ferne owned the classic Okoboji eatery with sisters Edna Mae and Arlene. "We'd get one with butter and honey on it. That was our treat coming home from school."
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This summer Sealey and her sister, Sharon London, are managing the 1950s-style white and lime green diner marked with an iconic neon fish for current owner Leo Parks, Jr.
"We're getting it back on track, serving the original O'Farrell pie that's been made since the 1940s," Sealey said.
The O’Farrell Sisters Restaurant opened in 1947 at the bridge on Highway 71 across the street from the existing fisherman's wharf. Edna Mae and Arlene O’Farrell bought the building, which has since been demolished, from Ike Kissinger.
"It was a lot of family involved," said Sealey, who remembers standing on a crate as a child so she could reach the sink to wash dishes.
Arlene married and moved to Florida in 1959. That same year the restaurant relocated to its current home, 1109 Lakeshore Drive.
At the new location, Sealey, her sister and their cousins waited tables, cooked or baked pies.
After Ferne and Edna Mae died in the mid to late 1970s, Arlene sold the business to nieces Joyce Gapinski, Jo Ann Anderson, Charlotte Sarvie and Cheri Petersen. The nieces successfully ran the restaurant from 1979 to 2003.
Although there have been a few upgrades here and there, much of the original decor remains, including the chairs and counter from 1959.
Red and white booths and black and white checkered flooring transports customers back to a "Golden Age." Vinyl records line the tops of the windows and old photographs are scattered across the walls.
The food is just as classic as the decor.
The restaurant serves its original recipes for buttermilk pancakes, vegetable beef soup and chili.
O'Farrell Sisters' pies are sought-after, especially banana cream, butterscotch, chocolate and coconut cream, according to Sealey.
"A lot of things have not been changed, which is good," she said.
THE PAINTED LADIES & FREDORA
When you think of "classic" Okoboji cottages, the Painted Ladies Resort probably comes to mind.
The group of charming cottages, formerly dubbed Spud's Resort, bore women's names such as "Victoria." They were rented out until they were individually sold in 1997.
Fredora, a cottage built in the 1880s on West Okoboji Lake, was named after its first owners, Fred and Dora Smith, according to Mary Kennedy, director of Okoboji's Maritime Museum.
The property was purchased 1998 by Thomas Reardon and his wife, who restored the cottage, as well as an ice house and carriage house.
Kennedy said the original pine floors were refinished and new glass windows were installed in the large lakeside porch.
Although new wiring was installed, the old wire and tube electrical wires were kept to help preserve the vintage cottage look, according to Kennedy.
FILLENWARTH BEACH RESORT
Ken Fillenwarth's father, Arthur T. (A.T.) Fillenwarth, purchased the land Fillenwarth Beach Resort sits on at the shores of West Lake Okoboji in Arnolds Park, Iowa, with plans to build his family a simple cottage in 1919.
After a man came by and asked to rent the cottage for a week, A.T. decided that he needed to build more.
"He couldn't afford not to take that money," Fillenwarth said. "He came back and that happened a few more times, so he built a row of them along here."
A.T. constructed six rental cottages and then 12 lake bank cottages below them. He also acquired other cottages. By 1930 he had 36 cottages in all.
Fillenwarth, who was born on the property in 1924, now owns and runs the resort, 87 Lakeshore Drive, with his daughter Julie.
He has fond memories of childhood summers spent at the cottages.
"I had a little sailboat," he said. "I used to go out boating a lot. When water skis came around we went out and did that."
Today the historic resort boasts 96 units (apartments, cottages and studios) on four areas of the property. The units are equipped with kitchens, central heating and air conditioning, pillow-top beds and daily maid service.
The property, which is within a short walking distance of Historic Arnolds Park, shops and restaurants, also has an indoor and outdoor pool.
Other highlights, Fillenwarth said, include daily complimentary cocktail cruises on two 49-foot boats, water skiing lessons, free use of paddle boats and canoes, arts and crafts for all ages, and live music on Monday nights.
