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www.pdbmagazine.com PDB Pontoon & Deck Boat AUGUST 2015 37 amount of work. The three guys in the service department heroically take care of all the rentals as well as the customer service needs, for example. Hallie says they consider themselves to be "very, very lucky" to have such an awesome and loyal group. Just a few years ago, one of their employees retired after 50 years and another after 38 years. "We get people and they stay, and it's just a nice place to be," Hallie sums up. History Lesson So how did Tippecanoe Boat Company first get its feet wet? In 1925, founder Bruce Pierce was a successful grocery store owner near Jonesboro, Ind., with an itch to build a resort. Always loving to visit Tippecanoe Lake when he wasn't wrapped up with his business, this was the year he decided to buy a large piece of lakefront prop- erty and go to work transforming it. Bringing out his old steam shovel, Bruce shoveled out a lagoon with a channel that led to Tippecanoe's clear waters. He envisioned a trout pond and beauti- ful hotel area that he intended to create by hand to welcome folks to the north- east side of Tippecanoe Lake. A boat would, of course, be neces- sary, and he thought to himself, "Well, I can get it for less if I buy three." So he did exactly that. Sure, boats weren't exactly up there with dry beans and gift cards on U.S. News' list of top 15 things to buy in bulk, but then again Bruce wasn't your ordinary kind of man. The three boats arrived at the Lees- burg, Ind., railroad station in wooden crates. They were then brought home on a flatbed trailer. Curious to see what he had bought, Bruce opened one of the crates to take a look. He and the other men then went back to work, leav- ing the new boat in the open. By the end of the day, all three boats had been sold to curious visitors who just happened to pass by. So naturally the thought hit him that maybe he should sell boats. And thus was the beginning of Tippecanoe Boat Company and a family business that continues to progress side- by-side with pleasure boating through the unspooling of the years. Same Welcoming Environment In many ways, the marina looks much the same as its beginning—the lagoon and channel still sparkle in the sun, and Bruce's original vision of welcoming people to such a beautiful lake is still carried out by family like cheerful Hallie and dedicated Bruce—albeit in a way nobody quite expected at first. And now, having built a solid reputa- tion for fair dealings, superior marine products, and an exceeds-expectations caliber of service, you can definitely say the Pierces continue to carry out Bruce Pierce's dream as they share this message with every person who walks through their doors: Welcome to Lake Tippecanoe. And now, having built a solid reputa-