
Downtown Goodland, 1964. Ritschard apartment complex with main entrance underneath. SUBMITTED PHOTOS
By Barry Gwinn
bgwinn@comcast.net
Drop Anchor is a collection of sixty-three gaily painted and well maintained 1950s, 60s and 70s travel trailers, and single wide manufactured homes crammed onto less than two acres of land in the heart of Goodland. Today it is a quiet, well-run, close-knit community, revered by its residents and neighbors. Goodland kind of grew up around it.
The first residents were winter visitors, lured here by word of mouth, warm weather, fabulous fishing (always the fishing), and Woodall’s Campground Directory. Always known as Drop Anchor, the park was developed as a trailer park, and was originally owned by Doris and Francis Gidley and Tom and Anne Ennis. By the late 50s there were three winter residents with trailers at the park – Stith Noe, Joe Pettus and Jack Roush. They have all departed for wherever fishermen go. They have left behind children who still live here, still faithfully returning to Goodland each winter. Jack Roush’s daughter, Peggy Ritschard, was so enchanted by Goodland that she moved to Drop Anchor (for winter seasons) with her husband and young family in the early 60s. She still resides in a small home at the southern edge of the park. Peggy just celebrated her 81st birthday. She is a vibrant active woman, and seems to have total recall of how things were. She is perky and delightful to talk to
When first visiting her dad, Jack Roush, in the late 50’s, Peggy found a small trailer park, which

Drop Anchor fish cleaning station, located in the vacant northeast section of the park, circa 1971.
In the early 60s, “There was no place to shop

Joe Pettus and Stith Noe at Idle Hour Marina, 1971. Drop Anchor at middle right.
There was a restaurant in Goodland however. Herb and Bessie Robinson owned a one-story restaurant, (the Idle Hour) which later became Stan’s. There was a bait house and small marina out back. Peggy’s mom was a cook at the restaurant and her dad sold bait and rented boats there. The food was mainly burgers, fries and such. It was good and the Ritschards ate there often. About 1963, another restaurant was added when the Old Marco Lodge was moved over from Old Marco. It was a big deal and caused a sensation in Goodland. “All the power lines had to be removed and crowds lined the road to watch,” said Peggy, “We were able to see the whole thing from our apartment.”
A highlight of a warm winter day was a trip to the

Peggy Ritschard at the end of the Coconut Avenue Canal, East Palm Avenue in background, 1961
Most of the park residents, including many of the wives, spent their days out on the water, pulling in prodigious amounts of very big fish. A lot of photos of these whoppers were taken as proof of their prowess. Fishing was the main driver of Goodland development in those days.
In the mid 1960s, a new owner, Allen Greer, took over the park (Greer would own and run the park until 1990). He started making changes right away. He intended to make trailer lots out of the whole park and told Peggy that this would involve tearing

Peggy Ritschard at rear of home, Drop Anchor to the right. PHOTO BY BARRY GWINN
Like the rest of us, the Ritschards discovered that once you have lived here, it is very, very hard to stay away. They moved back to Goodland in 1974. The Ritschards ended up buying a three-unit motel across from the post office. It wasn’t in Drop Anchor, but right next door. They had finally prevailed on their good friends, Rex and Ruby Johnson, to sell it to them. The Johnsons also owned the Margood Trailer Park. Cal Hardin and Richard Welsh

Peggy Ritschard’s South Bend, Indiana residence. Peggy still does all the gardening and housekeeping.
Donald Ritschard died of prostate cancer in 2009. He and Peggy had been married for 53 years, living in South Bend, Indiana. They have a beautiful lakeside home there, where Peggy spends the off-season. Peggy has faithfully continued to come to Goodland each winter. They have four children. Two daughters live in Naples. A son and daughter live in South Bend, having taken over the demolitions business from their father. Almost all of Peggy’s friends who were here at the beginning are gone now. Peggy has made a lot of new friends and everyone I talked to at Drop Anchor is fond of her and holds her in high regard. The Ritschard family business was very successful. They could have built anywhere on Marco Island or Naples. Peggy’s annual return to the Goodland cottage each winter serves as a testament to our way of life.
Next edition – Drop Anchor today.
Barry was a practicing attorney before he worked as a Special Agent of the FBI for 31 years. Barry worked for several government agencies another ten years before retiring to Goodland in 2006. Barry is presently the Secretary of the Goodland Civic Association.
Don and Peggy were a wonderful,generous couple.When Don was still alive,they had the best fish fries on the West side of South Bend,In. They were Great hosts at their
Beautiful home ,on Lakeview Drive.Peggy is one of the best groundskeepers in Northern Indiana. Peggy went to High School with my Wife ,(D)