It was during a late night planning session that Randy found, in some obscure dictionary, the latin root for lake was laku. Only one dictionary since that time has offered a similar definition, but this was the root for lagoon. So, no one is really sure what it means.
Anyway, Doug split off, and Randy and Phil pursued another piece of property that Randy and Doug previously investigated. This property became Laku as we know it today.
Randy and Phil purchased the property in 1990, with no real means of digging the lakes. They were slightly clueless. The permitting process took over a year, and miraculously, construction began in 1992. LTWSA was formed when Laku Landing was a mere dust bowl. Our first members, Tom and Deb Brodzinski have been committed to the site from day 1. Urging us on through the planning and permitting stage, Tom showed us how to work steel into things useful for water skiing. Stuff like docks, boat lifts, slalom anchors and the like. Tom also taught us that building a ski lake required many traits that are dominant in farmers. It was probably his farm equipment, but there were many things that led Randy and Phil to make Tom an owner in the project.
Tom Benzel was the next member, and proceeded to show us all what the term manual labor meant. 'Benny' has become a Laku Icon when it comes to hard work and grunting. We all understood Benny a little more when a severe storm hit Laku during the summer of 1991 and he pointed to the sky and quipped, "Dude! Tornado!, I don't think we will have to irrigate this afternoon!"
The original four members (Randy, Phil, Tom and Benny) formed the LTWSA Board of Directors, and went on a quest to find some stellar members. The Laku Founders are shown here shortly after the excavation of lake 1 began. It didn't take long after we had a lake to fill out the membership. It is amazing how water attracts skiers and dry land attracts skeptics.
The first full year (1992) was a success, in spite of the last minute scrambling for the first tournament. The most notable item in the sprint was the jump, constructed from a mobile home trailer and floating on 15 or so barrels. The engineers said it would never work.
The first few chapters of the Laku Story are best told by the local newspaper articles about us. The next few chapters will have to wait.
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