Rural Missouri - May 2024 - 18

RM | OUTDOORS
Return
of the
Osagians
Beaufort couple brings
aluminum canoes back to Missouri
by Jim McCarty | jmccarty@ruralmissouri.coop
T
hey set out looking for more kayaks for
their float business. They ended up bringing
a storied canoe company back to Missouri.
The path that led Jennifer and Scott
Paulsen to where they are today is almost as full
of twists and turns as the Bourbeuse River, Missouri's
most crooked float stream, where these
Crawford Electric Cooperative members operate a
float business.
The story begins with Osagian, which began
building iconic aluminum canoes in Lebanon in
1976. It was a logical location for one of many
companies that earned Lebanon the nickname
" Boat Town. "
It wasn't long before the double-ended canoes
with a distinctive logo on the bow started appearing
on float streams, at summer camps and on
farm ponds across the country. In 2003 Osagian
was bought by the Carr family. In time, they
18 RURAL MISSOURI | MAY 2024
partnered with a Danish firm, which assembled
canoes for the European market from parts made
in Lebanon. But in 2019, Osagian was sold and
moved - lock, stock and barrel - to Denmark.
One of Osagian's most loyal customers was a
Bourbeuse River float business called Devil's Back
Floats with a Leslie, Missouri, address. Owners
Lester and Dolores Swoboda turned the business
over to their daughter, Jennifer, and her husband,
Scott, who saw business increase to the point
where there weren't enough watercraft on hand to
meet the demand.
" Most of our canoes that we used on the river
were Osagians, " Jennifer recalls. " My parents
bought probably some of the first kayaks that
came off the line and put them into our fleet. "
She says that when COVID-19 hit in 2020,
many more people discovered the outdoors,
prompting the need for more watercraft - and
the search for more Osagians. One hallmark of
Osagian was the 12-foot aluminum kayaks first

Rural Missouri - May 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - May 2024

Contents
Rural Missouri - May 2024 - Cover1
Rural Missouri - May 2024 - Cover2
Rural Missouri - May 2024 - Contents
Rural Missouri - May 2024 - 4
Rural Missouri - May 2024 - 5
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Rural Missouri - May 2024 - Cover3
Rural Missouri - May 2024 - Cover4
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