PARK RAPIDS -- Chris Coborn grew up hearing the story of the how the source of the Mississippi River was discovered.
It was July 1832 when Ozaawindib, an Ojibwe leader guided Henry Rowe Schoolcraft to the point where the Mississippi River’s 2,552 mile trek to the Gulf of Mexico begins.
Today, Coborn tells that same story to passengers of the “Chester Charles II,” during narrated boat tours of Lake Itasca, taking the same route as Ozaawindib and Schoolcraft.
Coborn’s parents, Tom and Mickey, founded Lake Itasca Tours in 1985.
“My dad made a proposal to the state because there wasn’t a boat here,” Coborn explained.
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More than 8,000 narrated boat tours from the Douglas Lodge Pier to the Headwaters of the Mississippi River and back have since taken place in Itasca State Park.
The first vessel used was the “Chester Charles,” which held 55 passengers and was named after Coborn’s grandfather.
Expanding the business in 1999 to two boats, the family purchased what would become the “Chester Charles II,” a 141-passenger cruise boat. They kept it on Leech Lake on Shingobee Island for three years and Walker City Park for another three years.
In 2007, the “Chester Charles II” was moved to Lake Itasca to replace the original “Chester Charles.”
“We just decided to bring it over here, we need a little bit more capacity,” he said.
Within the next year, Coborn and his wife, Jeanie, had made the choice to purchase the business from his parents. And the business still involves much of his family.
“My dad still works on the boat,” Coborn said. “He works out here four or five days a week. My sister Kim works out here on the boat, my nephew Sam and all my kids have worked on the boat.”
During each tour Coborn works, he explains to the passengers the history of Schoolcraft’s discovery, the Native Americans who lived in the area, the logging industry, the Civilian Conservation Corps and more.
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“In the beginning, my dad, my sister and my mom did hours and hours of research,” Coborn explained, who picked up most of the history after hearing it several times. “Just over the years listening to my dad and everybody else narrate.”
Most tours don’t deviate much from the original route, but sometimes Coborn will slow down or turn around for something exciting to see.
“We’re always looking for the eagles and the loons, those are the things people like to see.”
About Out and About Out and About is a Pioneer feature where we profile everyday people doing everyday things in and around Bemidji. We run stories on Tuesdays. If you know someone you think should be profiled, please email Maggi Stivers at mstivers@bemidjipioneer.com or email news@bemidjipioneer.com
