Trading Post Canoe, Kayak & Campground
With gas prices still
hovering around the
$4 mark, this might
be a great summer
to consider taking a
“staycation” instead of
a vacation.
After all, there are plenty of fun
things to do with your family right
here in your own backyard.
One of our “diamonds in the
rough,” and located close to the
Shipshewana and Topeka communities, is Trading Post Canoe, Kayak and
Campground, tucked into the beautiful
Pigeon River Fish and Wildlife Area in
eastern LaGrange County. Trading Post
is located one block west of State Road
3 in Mongo. John and Jesslyn Senecal
and their family own and operate the
paddling and camping business. “We
are very blessed, in LaGrange County
to have this state property (the Pigeon
River Fish and Wildlife Area) in our
county,” said Jesslyn. Fortunately, for
the Senecal family, the lush forest and
river frontage on their property makes
by Jerry Hostelter
an ideal spot for vacationers to camp,
paddle, fish and basically get away
from daily grind of everyday life.
The Senecals, after spending time
in the corporate world, decided that
they would like to find a business
that they could spend more time with
their children and something that the
whole family could be a part of. As
John stated, “I was spending 275 days
out of the year away from my family
(working as an engineering consultant
that took him out of the country many
times) and Jesslyn (human resource
executive) was also spending unending stressful hours and nights away
from the family.” Jesslyn added, “We
had successful careers, but the quality
of life that we had was far less than
rewarding.”
In the early part of 2008 the Senecals were able to purchase the Trading
Post. It was a business that they had
frequented in the past, due to their
family’s love of the outdoors. “Anytime
we travel it always involves outdoor
recreation, stated Jesslyn.” The Trading Post, established in 1971 was not
for sale when the Senecals approached
the prior owners. “We just knew that
that type of business fit the profile of
what we were looking for,” continued
Jesslyn.
After ultimately being able to
purchase the business in 2008, the
Senecal family went right to work
making improvements and purchasing
Continued on next page.
The Hometown Treasure · July ‘12 · pg 15