E. L. Keith was a key player in the history of Bella Vista, having owned the Bella Vista Summer Resort from 1952, when he bought it from the Linebarger Brothers, until 1963, when he sold it to John Cooper Sr. In his autobiography, which he published in 1982, Keith wrote the following:
"Now comes the Bentonville Chamber of Commerce and they promised me if I would buy old Bella Vista and fix it up, Bentonville sure would back me up and help me with their business any way they could. So I bought old Bella Vista and started fixing it up. ... (For the swimming pool) there was no filter system, and no bathhouse. ... I raised the walls two feet to make it 18 inches deeper, poured new concrete floors and walls, with a scum gutter. I built a nice bathhouse and a large concrete filter system, which I designed, and it did an excellent job for the 210' x 50' main pool and a 20' x 40' wading pool. I designed and built the filter myself, which operated on a 5 horsepower motor. ... The pool was equipped with three diving boards, a big 8-foot metal (spinning) top which was a lot of fun, and a large stainless steel slide. I built an 18-hole miniature golf course and a driving range. That was in 1953 and today, 1982, everything is still operating about like I built them.
"(The dam at) Bella Vista lake ... was ... almost washed out, which I knew I had to do something about. It had to be rebuilt and widened soon, but I did not get it done in time. There came a big rain and washed a path 150' wide and clear down to the creek bottom. I built the dam back with a spillway 150' wide and poured the backside of it with concrete, and it is still there 30 years later. There have been several floods since then. I dredged the old lake out and made the lake much larger, using good soil where needed on the resort and selling it for $1.00 per truckload, loaded in their truck with the old dragline. We raised the ground around the swimming pool and golf course two feet or more. ... The old boat dock building on the lake was two-story with dance floor above, just an old regular pine floor ...and supported on 10' x 10' wooden posts that were rotted at the bottom and had begun to give away. ... We took up the old rotted wood floor downstairs, hauled in three feet of gravel and poured a concrete floor. We put a new floor above for a roller rink, which made a good one, and now 30 years later is still being used for many things such as Bingo, dancing, all kinds of meetings including many church services until they could get organized and build them a church building.
"The Sunset Lodge and Hotel came with the resort ... and the first thing I had to do was put on a new roof. We did a lot of painting inside and out, and a lot of repair work. It had 50 rooms and 50 baths, a large fireplace in the lobby, a large dining room. I operated it as a hotel for the first two years, then I rented it to the Baptist Institute of the Ozarks, rent-free. The school was started by Rev. North East West, a Baptist minister, with an enrollment of 20 students the first year. The school depended on donations and some tuition charges. I told them if they could make a success of the school, I would give them the building, but the school only lasted five years. They just could not make it, competing against tax-supported schools.
"I liked the trout business and Bella Vista had a good big spring that flowed approximately 1.5 million gallons of water per day. So I decided to build some raceways, a small hatchery and a fish out on Bella Vista resort. The trout business was good for me and later for Cooper Communities. I made a beautiful fishing park, a trout fish-out lake, and a channel catfish lake in the park.
"In 1953, I built a restaurant, a grocery store, and a motel over on Highway 71 at the resort (at the west end of the dam). All rooms were air-conditioned with private bath right on Lake Bella Vista. We operated everything ourselves. We served a buffet dinner with a rainbow trout on it, if you wanted, all with a drink for $1.25 per plate. I repaired several of the old (Linebarger) cabins and built four new ones and four houses for employees. In 1955 the swimming pool and most everything was ready to go, so I bought a used school bus and made two trips each day to Bentonville to bring passengers to go swimming and enjoy the resort. There was no charge for the bus ride. We gave free Red Cross swimming lessons, given by our paid Red Cross approved instructors. ... At the end of the season and the lessons, we would put on a water show with the students demonstrating what they had learned, prizes were given and Red Cross ribbons were given for advancement. ... Our youngest son, Edwin Keith, was a lifeguard and a Red Cross swimming instructor and a good one. It seems to me that everybody liked him and he was in full charge of the operation of the pool. You could always depend on him.
"We had boating and water skiing on Lake Bella Vista. Many people would bring their own boat and pull their children on water skis, and some experts would bring their boats and put on a show for the visitors. We had our own boat and we would pull skiers and give ski lessons by Edwin Keith or just take people for a speed boat ride; there was no charge for this. We had very good trout fishing for $1.00 per pound. We would dress and ice them free of charge. A state fishing license was not necessary and there was no charge if you caught nothing.
"I had 1800 acres of land altogether and we had a nice herd of black Angus cattle ... and 40 head of saddle horses and a very interesting scene trail ride about 3 miles long. ... We had amateur rodeos twice a week at night and all the horses were rented for this event. The arena was lit up at night. ... There were short dash runs, barrel races, relay races, etc. ... There was a hayride twice a week at night. You had to make reservations for this and it was usually full.
"We finished the lake with a small island where we set out several trees and some picnic tables. To this day, every 4th of July, a big display of fireworks is set off on this island.
"We continued to operate Bella Vista and had the resort pretty well finished, but intended to continue to improve it each year. We had not made any money up to now but we figured we had it in good shape to start being profitable. We were enjoying it and having a lot of fun. In 1963, John Cooper's representative came to me wanting to buy Bella Vista. I did not want to sell it. I had just what I wanted and already started to build retirement homes and was building the first one for Mr. and Mrs. Vanlandingham ... but ... Mr. Cooper made the statement that he was not coming here unless he could get Bella Vista. ... The deal was finally closed. ... I sold the resort to him on credit for ten years to pay up. ... (After selling the resort), we continued to operate Bella Vista through 1963 and part of 1964. Mr. Cooper said he did not want to buy my horses ... and I could have the horse riding business ... (So) I bought 400 acres of land just over the Mo state line on Highway 71 (with) Sugar Creek running right through it. ... We called it the K-Bar Dude Ranch. ... We cleared up Sugar Creek and made much more scenic (horseback riding) trails than we had at Bella Vista. ... Eventually, I sold the farm on payments and all payments have been made when due and satisfactory."
(Editor's note: Mr. Keith continued to live in Bella Vista in the home he built on Skyline Drive above Lake Bella Vista in 1954 until his death at age 92 in 1993. The old swimming pool at the north end of Lake Bella Vista is now filled in under the Veterans Memorial Park. The bathhouse he built alongside the pool later became the VFW building and stood there until repeated flood damage finally made it too expensive to maintain and it was torn down. The Sunset Hotel became Cooper Communities' headquarters, renamed Village Hall, until 1992, after which it stood empty until 1999 when it was burned down by vandals. Keith's former K-Bar Dude Ranch is the farm located behind the Jane, Mo., McDonald's.)