Amazing Anniversary: Lake Arrowhead Campground Celebrates 50 Years

It’s no small
accomplishment when a campground has been owned and operated by the same
family for 50 years! That’s exactly what the Malsack family has achieved.
Their campground’s history began in the 1960s when Bea and
Arnold Malsack decided they wanted to start a campground
business and moved their family from their small appliance store in Slinger,
Wis. to a beautiful plot of farmland and forest in eastern Marquette County.
They opened Lake Arrowhead Campground in 1971 with around a dozen campsites
and a small camp store, naming their new campground after the arrowheads
found in the area years ago.

The campground was almost entirely staffed by Arnold, Bea, their
son Phil and Phil’s fiancée Linda. Linda and Phil met in college and were
married in 1973 on the campground property. They each held a full-time job in
addition to working at the campground, with Phil spending 22 years at the
Marquette County Sheriff’s Department primarily as Sheriff and Chief Deputy
Sheriff. Linda and Phil officially purchased the campground in 1975 and they
lived in a small house attached to the camp store.

In the early 1980s, Phil and Linda began having children and in
1989 built a new home adjacent to the campground for their now family of
five. Their children, Emily,
Jessica, and Adam
would grow up on the campground property, spending nearly every waking hour
in the summertime out on the grounds with their camper
friends.

In 1998, the family purchased the nearby Puckaway Shores
Campground and after a complete renovation, reopened it in 1999 as
Lakeside Campground, an all-seasons park on the
shores of Lake Puckaway. The family later purchased Lighthouse RV Park, which
was adjacent to Lakeside’s lagoon, and added it to Lakeside Campground. They
also purchased the Puckaway Shores Manufactured Housing Community. In 2019,
the family purchased property directly to the west of the Lake Arrowhead boat
launch and swimming area, adding over 300 feet of frontage on Lake
Puckaway.

Over the years, the Lake Arrowhead and Lakeside campground
operation has grown to include over 71 staff members and more than 360 sites.
The park also offers deluxe cabins along with a swimming pool, a children’s
activity pool, access to swimming and fishing on Lake Puckaway and sports
facilities such as sand volleyball, basketball and a jumping pillow. Plenty
of scheduled activities and themed weekends offer families even more ways to
have fun and create memories.

The three Malsack children are now part owners of the campground
and are actively involved in its operation. Adam
Malsack serves as general manager, Jessica
Malsack is the recreation manager and Emily
Truell is the administrative manager. Following in the
footsteps of their parents Phil and Linda, all three of the 3rd generation
Malsacks held their weddings at the campground and now have children of their
own. And as a sure sign of just how much this family loves this industry,
their favorite thing to do when they have time off from the campground is to
go camping!

To celebrate Lake Arrowhead’s 50th anniversary, every family that
camps at the park this season will be given a commemorative deck of playing
cards. On June 4-6, the campground had a fun, 1970s-themed celebration that
included tie-dyed shirts, live music with hits from the 70s and a parade. As
part of the celebration, the Malsacks planted a maple tree together as a
family. “We hope the 4th generation of our family can celebrate our 100th
anniversary in the shade of that tree,” Jessica says.