BREITUNG TWP — Following in the footsteps of longtime McKinley Park Campground managers Susie and Jerry Chiabotti is not an easy task. But new campground managers Randy Pratt and Julie Kranz come with some unique experience of their own — 13 years managing Hoodoo Point Campground, just a mile or so down the road in Tower.
“We’ve brought our knowledge from Hoodoo here,” Pratt said.
While the couple is still spending the campground season in their RV at Hoodoo, they have hired two other couples to act as on-site managers when they are not able to be at McKinley. Right now, Pratt is at McKinley during the day and is busy learning the ins and outs. Wanda and Jim Fisher, McKinley campers with campground management experience, along with Wanda and Don Fultz, campers at Hoodoo, are sharing the duties of on-site managers.
“Jerry and Susie left the park in such good shape,” said Pratt, “and the township has been great to work with.” The Chiabottis, both in their mid-70s, retired at the end of last season after 22 years at McKinley.
“It is a learning process,” Pratt said, “mostly understanding the size of the sites and what size RV can fit into a specific site.” And they are seeing some of the same issues they have at Hoodoo, with the ever-increasing size and electrical demands of new RVs, some of which are now 45-feet long.
“It can be hard to find the right site,” he said.
The seasonal and short-term campers at McKinley won’t be seeing many changes, except for the store, which is now offering hand-scooped ice cream as well as frozen pizzas. They can be ordered, baked, and delivered hot right to campers or to the dock for boats The store also has a nice selection of T-shirts, flannels, and sweatshirts with unique camping- and McKinley-related designs.
Pratt and Kranz said they have met most of the seasonal campers, and they are looking forward to getting to know them better. They said they understand that many of them have long-term relationships with the Chiabottis and were sad to see them retire.
“We need to prove ourselves,” they said. But they also added they are looking forward to making their own long-term friendships.
“We’ve watched so many kids grow up during our 13 years at Hoodoo,” she said. “Little kids are now heading to college.”
The biggest challenge for the campground right now, Pratt said, seems to be the price of gas. “New reservations are pretty slow,” he said, noting this is something they are seeing at both locations.
McKinley Park is owned by Breitung Township, and Hoodoo Point is owned by the city of Tower.
Pratt said he loves the campground business and wishes he had gotten into it earlier in his career.
“I’d like to own our own campground one day,” he said, but noted that was on the back burner due to the high cost of acquiring such a property.