If you stop by the Swinging Bridge Cafe at Moline for a cup of coffee, you’ll quickly notice that you’re also entering the Crooked Creek Lodge.

Take a few steps farther and you’ll be drawn into the quaint gift shop located near the lobby.

Annie Ruth’s Designs is owned by RuthAnn Lovelady who lives west of Moline and she labels her merchandise “gifts of love.”

And you may notice the Moline city clerk on her lunch hour, quickly checking messages in an office with the name “Lisa T’s Vinyl Shop” on the door.
So, is it a lodge, restaurant, gift shop or sign business?

Yes.
As in — all the above.

Barbara and Stub Durbin own the lodge and cafe and their daughter Lisa Townsley operates the vinyl sign shop. And if you’re lucky, you’ll encounter RuthAnn Lovelady as she places new merchandise on the shelves of her gift shop.

If Lovelady or Townsley aren’t in the building, then a waitress in the cafe will help you with a gift or sign. That’s the way it works. And, it surely is working!

“We call this a Holy Spirit place,” said Barbara. “We just all work together, and we try to add a touch of God’s love to everything we do.”

It all started nearly two years ago when the Elk Manor Nursing Home closed, leaving a facility available to the community. That’s when Barbara and Stub Durbin started thinking and praying about moving their downtown Moline business, The Swinging Bridge Cafe, to the site and remodeling the 14 rooms into lodge-type accommodations for hunters and visitors.

Then RuthAnn Lovelady came up with the idea to place a gift shop in the lobby. And, the Durbin’s daughter, Lisa, started her vinyl sign business in one of the rooms near the entrance.

Life is good at the Crook Creek Lodge, Swinging Bridge Cafe, Lisa T’s and Annie Ruth’s Designs.

The restaurant is open six days and evenings a week, closed each Sunday. They offer a full menu with daily specials, plus featured steaks, hamburgers and other specialities.

The lodge is quite different from the typical hunting lodge. The Durbins’ son-in-law, Mark Townsley, and grandson, David, remodeled the rooms to make sure each has a country look, and the rooms range in decor from French to country to anything else they can find to make each one different from the one across the hall.

Mark is a metal barn builder and provides lots of assistance to his in-laws as they continually work to make facility improvements.

Lisa painted murals in some of the rooms and made good use of deer heads and antlers for wall decor.

Some rooms are large enough to sleep an entire family, and others are strictly private rooms. Their clientele ranges from hunters to tourists to hometown folks who need overflow space for guests.

The Durbins’ granddaughter, Kailey Townsley, helped her mother with the painting and Lisa painted several “nature and hunting” murals on the walls.

“We’re international,” said Barbara. “We’ve had several guests stay here who come from foreign countries. We have construction crews and others who are working in this area and they don’t want to drive all the way to Wichita to spend the night.”

RuthAnn makes frequent stops at her gift shop, but doesn’t need to be there in person all the time. “Barbara just covers for me a lot,” she said.

She said opening the gift shop was done “with the grace of God” and lots of prayer. “I just try to keep items that don’t come from China,” she said. “If I know what you’re looking for, I can usually come up with something appropriate.”

She carries Gold Canyon candles, fine jewelry, sterling silver, a few books, framed messages and scripture, selected clothing items and lots more. And she makes silk flower arrangements, baskets and custom gifts for any occasion.

RuthAnn and her husband, Ellis, are recent move-ins to Elk County, although they live on property that has been in her family for many decades. They lived in the San Antonio area for most of their adult lives where he was in the insurance business and she was first a Registered Nurse then worked in real estate for 12 years, and another 25 years working in the marketing of senior citizen and assisted living complexes.

“We love it in Elk County,” she said. “God blesses you wherever you land, you know.”

Lisa is a woman of many talents, not only serving as the city clerk but also as a police officer and now, as a business owner at the Crooked Creek Lodge.

Even if you just want to stop and look over the place, it’s quite an experience. Then the aroma of home cooking will lure you in the dining room, and from there you’ll get a good view of RuthAnn Lovelady’s gift shop, and you’ll probably get acquainted with a few guests at the lodge. And if you want a great sign on your pickup truck, just hang a right as you enter the building.
The city clerk/cop/sign maker will be glad to help you as soon as she gets in from her downtown job.

And if you need a metal barn built, they’ll get in touch with Mark Townsley and he will be there by the time your meal is cooked.

It’s more than a lodge — no doubt about it.