Ponderosa Pines Park Article – May 1972

Ponderosa Pines Park Ranch House was one of the restaurants I wrote about back on St. Patrick's Day. Despite its colorful and Western-sounding name, however, I'd never heard of it. I only knew from its ad that it was located on Diagonal Road, south of Route 303.

Thus I was happy to see this "Golden Crescent Guide to Dining and Dancing" from the May 26, 1972 Journal devoted to the place. It turns out that the restaurant was part of Ponderosa Pines Park, a camping resort with a 9 home golf course, swimming, and horseback riding, not to mention 400 campsites.

Ernie Nichols and the Nightbeats were the featured performers on Friday and Saturday nights back in May 1972.

Courtesy UMKC Digital Special Collections

Today, Ponderosa Pines Park is no more. The golf course is now Pheasant Run Golf Course. Its website notes, "Pheasant Run Golf Course was originally built in the mid-1060s as a nine-hole public golf course. The course expanded to an 18-hole course in the mid-1980s, and further expanded when we added our clubhouse and pavilion in 1995."

The campground appears to be the location of a housing development. 

But the large lake nearby – Ponderosa Pines Lake – keeps the memories alive.

The original Ponderosa Pines Park Ranch House building appears to be still standing, although it is unclear if it is being used for anything.

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The Golden Crescent Guide to Dining and Dancing features many restaurants that have appeared on this blog through the years, including Amber Oaks, Elberta Inn, Sherwood Inn, and Presti's of Oberlin.