Today marks 7 years since the beginning of what would feel like the longest season of trials & challenges in our life's journey. It’s still hard to fathom what has happened in those quick 7 years, but mostly we’re so very grateful we’ve made it this far, and we’re watching our vision for Randles Court, slow as it may be, come to pass.
Fire can be cleansing and allows for new beginnings…
Have you ever heard that? I hadn’t ever heard that, at least not spoken that way… until the night of the fire.
Around midnight we received a call letting us know the restaurant that adjoined our building was on fire. Jeremy and I arrived a little after midnight to find the restaurant fully engulfed, with smoke seeping out of the awning of the motor court, all the way down to room 12, flames coming from the roof of the office…
We approached an Eldon police officer and found out he was the hero who saw the fire and woke our night manager, and all the guests that were staying that evening. I was crying, of course… in disbelief at what we were witnessing. Our closing was scheduled for August 30th. We didn’t even officially own the property yet.
The officer said something to us that we stood on for many months to follow… Fire can be cleansing, and allows for new beginnings… Not exactly what I wanted to hear. I didn’t want that kind of beginning… we had a plan for the future. Right then and there, we didn’t know if there would be a future.
Morning came, and then days went by. The office & living quarters would need rebuilt, but we landed on the fact that the motor court was still standing. It still had a purpose to fulfill. (And two years later, in May of 2019 we found ourselves saying the same thing after the tornado hit… The motor court is still standing, and we’re going to keep going.)
The New Beginning
Something we don’t bring attention to often is exactly what came of the fire. Those words: cleansing,... new beginnings… they were true, more true than we could understand at the time. We were able to start with a new beginning, open restored rooms to guests looking for a unique experience, a safe place to stay, close to their family, or away from the busy Lake of the Ozarks. That wasn’t the way we had planned it, and the challenges of that season didn’t stop with the fire, but when we started the journey, we said to each other, ‘We’ll go through open doors until we hit a wall we can’t get through.’...and that’s what we’ve done for the last seven years. Every challenge, every setback, has only reinforced our commitment to this vision. A fire, a tornado, and a global pandemic may have tested us, but they also showed us what we’re capable of, that resilience and perseverance marks our journey, and we’re much stronger than we realized.
Preserving the Past for the Future
As we continue to restore and maintain our little piece of history, we are not just preserving a building or a sign—we are protecting a reminder of the past that will stand as a testament to hard work & dedication. Every guest that stays with us supports that vision, becomes a part of our journey and plays a role in preserving Randles Court. We are so grateful for the wonderful people we’ve met so far, and look forward to sharing our journey with you!
(A quick back story for those who are new to our journey – Jeremy’s aunt & uncle bought the property in 1973. After his aunts passing in 2011, the property went up for sale. I started working in the office taking care of book work in 2014 for the family. It was supposed to be for 2 months, but it turned into 3 years…and we found a vision and a love for this place. We saw potential, & opportunity, and a chance to bring something to life…)
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