Trophy bass came from the new lake, but not as humongous as the one shown in this 1935 largemouth parade float (right). It was made by Lake of the Ozarks Post 193 of the American Legion.
Toots and Jack Stotler operated this thriving business from 1933 until selling to Buford and Anna May Foster in 1945. The Fosters changed the name to Night Hawk Café. A stunning large neon sign with a flying night hawk whose neon wings flapped hung over the sidewalk. The parents of Leland Payton, senior author of Damming the Osage (and James Fork of the White), went on dates to the Night Hawks, driving in from Versailles. Highway engineer Louis Payton rented a room in Versailles and met Ann Lewis Daniels at the Baptist Church. (From See the Ozarks: The Touristic Image). Their Saturday night dates usually included a stop at the Night Hawk Cafe.
Newspapers.com carried this story, “The Night Hawks Tavern Burned Tuesday Morning between Two and Three O’clock,” reported in The Reveille newspaper of Camdenton (October 15, 1937):
Camdenton was in an ‘uproar’ early Tuesday morning when flames from the Night Hawks Tavern were seen soaring high into the air.
Church bells ringing to awaken people, cars speeding to get to the scene, and people running here and there were some of the happenings of the morning.
The men who were at the scene of the fire were very courageous and fought the fire with a hose attached to a hydrant. The cause of the fire is unknown.
The fire caused an estimated damage of $4,500. The building was only partially covered by insurance.
The fire must have started between 2:30 and 3:00 a.m. Tuesday as the building was closed at two o’clock that morning.
Mr. and Mrs. John D. Stotler, the owners of the night Hawks Tavern since 1934, plan to rebuild the building. The old building will be torn down soon and a new one will be built of either stone or brick.
The local men acting as firemen extinguished the fire before the outer walls were destroyed but the fire and water together completely ruined the inner walls and equipment.
Turkey dinners with all the trimmings and meetings of many civic organizations were highlights of the Night Hawks hospitality over decades of operation.