Twenty-one years ago, when Mark and Kathy Kasper stumbled upon a Western-themed campground north of Granville that was in desperate need of attention, they were Walt Disney in a Florida swamp, dreaming of harnessing the land’s potential to create a place for families to make memories.
To them, the humble 26-acre plot nestled in a picturesque Welsh Hills valley was a diamond in the rough, awaiting the right touches to become a thing of beauty.
So that’s what they did.
Two decades later, on the banks of the gently winding Dry Creek, three members of the Kasper family gather at a well-loved picnic table that sits within a stone’s throw from the zipline they built, which is just down the road from the pool and splash pad and across from the outdoor laser tag zone. It is only a weekday in May, but many of the spaces in the campground are occupied by RV’s and even a tent or two.
Lazy River at Granville is a dream the Kaspers quit their full-time jobs and moved their family to pursue; a dream that became deeply intertwined with their lives and their childrens’ lives.
Looking at the bigger picture, some might say it has come to fruition. But that assessment would be just partly true, because for the Kaspers — like for Walt Disney — there’s always a Next Big Thing.
“We are trying to offer ideas for future growth and experiences for the campers,” Mark says. “One day I plan on sitting in my rocker and watching (my kids) put those ideas and their own ideas to use and watching people have fun. That's the whole idea — we love it when people have fun. We love watching people have a great time.”
The Kaspers had no previous experience in operating campgrounds when Lazy River came into their possession. In fact, Mark worked in retail; Kathy was a software engineer who also homeschooled their five children, at the time between the ages of seven and 14: Erika, Grant, Kayla, Derek and Blake.
Previously, when they had lived in Lima, Ohio, the family connected with a community of people who operated family businesses — an idea the Kaspers liked but weren’t sure if it would be feasible for them. They tucked the notion away and in the meantime, for fun, invested in a camper that took them across the country on family vacations. During one such excursion, they met a family who owned a campground.
And something clicked.
“We thought, ‘Well, maybe that is right for us,’” Kathy says. “So we started looking.”
The search took them to various campgrounds in the area, hoping to find a property with potential within reasonable driving distance of Springfield, where their parents lived.
In July 2001, that property materialized just outside of Granville.
“Kathy and I came out to the property and walked it, and we decided it was a diamond in the rough that we could work with,” Mark says.
The couple admits the campground needed help. While some campers took good care of their lots, others were badly overgrown and littered with garbage. Some cars and campers sat on the property, abandoned.
But the Kaspers saw beyond all that.
“We saw that with cleanup we could make it something,” Mark says.
“We also saw it had a house we could live in with five children,” Kathy adds. “So that was a plus.”
Once the Kaspers made the decision to purchase the property, they were all in — and that meant making some sacrifices.
“It was really a leap of faith,” Kathy says. “We sold our home that we had bought in the Detroit area 11 months after we moved there. We sold pretty much everything we had and then came to stay with my folks and his folks. We went back and forth before this deal even closed.
“A lot of campground deals fall through before they get to the closing table. So we just had...” Kathy pauses.
“...a leap of faith,” Mark finishes her thought.
Wasting no time, the Kaspers got to work.
Beginning that October, from their home at the heart of the property, seven members of the family pitched in to get the campground into shape for their inaugural season.
Mark and Kathy jokingly recall days during that period in which they became so engrossed in the tasks at hand that they forgot they needed to feed their children.
“Prior to that, I don’t think we ate fast food hardly ever,” daughter Erika Sheets recalls laughingly. Sheets’ life has centered around Lazy River from those early days until now, when her own children join her in her tasks around the campground.
With their days being occupied at the campground, Mark soon realized he needed to make another leap of faith — quitting his full-time job.
Initially, Kathy wasn’t so sure.
“I said, you can't do that. We need health insurance. Camping in Ohio is not something that happens much in the winter,” she recalls telling him. “So I said, ‘You need to hang on until April.’ And he said, ‘No, if I'm in, I'm in.’
And so he quit his job, and we worked all winter getting it ready for the spring.”
Little by little, the Kaspers worked together to make Lazy River into the pristine hub of family-centric activity it is today.
And even though they didn’t start out with experience in campground management, they were determined to learn as they went along.
In the winter of 2002, they added an Olympic-sized sand volleyball court. Mark used an old John Deere tractor to remove the sod; they brought in 250 tons of sand and used chains to hook a four-by-four to the back of the tractor, instructing the two oldest children to stand on top so they could level the court by dragging the timber across.
Around that time they also added a miniature golf course, completing the finishing touches just in time to open for their first season.
In the summer of 2002, they added their first two cabins; four years later, they added a spray ground and zipline.
A few years later the ropes course made its debut.
Erika, who had fallen into a natural role taking reservations, cleaning restrooms and weed-eating around the grounds, likes to claim she was one of the level-headed ones around that time.
“Everything they did, at least one of their children thought that they were crazy,” she says. “‘That's a lot of money, Mom and Dad. That's not something we should do.’”
But with careful research, the Kaspers usually moved forward.
And their investments paid off.
Eventually they saved up enough money to invest in more property and a larger swimming pool, which was added in 2018.
“We look at things and study how things are and trends, and we don't always jump right on something. And we try to plan our money out and then make the acquisition and add the amenities for our customers,” Mark says.
The property, which has grown to 92 acres, now consists of 15 cabins, the largest of which can sleep up to 18; more than 200 campsites — primitive, water/electric and full hook-up, including 60 equipped with cable television; two heated pools and a spray ground; a fitness room; two playgrounds; game room; gift shop; dog park and hiking trail, among various other highlights the Kaspers have added through the years.
These days they’re working to make the site more environmentally friendly, installing a rain garden in the middle of the grounds and researching ways to conserve natural resources.
In reflecting upon how running a family business has impacted the members of their family over the years, the Kaspers are thankful. Even though not all the members are present on the grounds every day, Lazy River still unites them.
“I think with any business and especially with family businesses, there's always challenges in finding your path and finding your way. But what's happened with us, I believe, and it's because of this business — we are a tight knit family. We've shared so many of these experiences together that I think it's made us closer,” Mark says. “Everybody's still invested, even the ones who don't work here on a day to day basis. They're our sounding board. They give us ideas on things we can do that people might like, and we just all really invested in it.”
What could the future possibly hold for the Kaspers and Lazy River?
Mark and Kathy are hoping to leave that up to Sheets and her husband, Mike.
One thing is certain: she’s hoping to continue the legacy of making family memories.
“We want families to come here together and have a great experience and leave with new memories. And I think that's what it's all about for all of us,” Sheets says. “I can bring my baby to work and have team members who love on my kids and cuddle them. And so maybe in that way it's selfish that I get my family here, but it's about (guests’) families, too. Anything that we can do that helps to keep that going.”