It has been more than 50 years since Falcon Meadow Campground first opened. Jim Ozburn, owner with his wife, Dee, was 16 years old when his father opened the campground in 1959, and now heís 70.Ozburn was 15 years old when his parents, Gerold and Leona, decided to move from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Colorado to open the campground. They purchased a piece of land near Falcon in 1957; two years later they opened for business.Business was slow at first. ìThe campground didnít follow the business plan my dad had,î Ozburn said. ìMy dad thought he would open it up and immediately it would be full every night.î The first night it opened, the campground had two customers. ìThat was pretty good because we only had two picnic tables to begin with anyway,î he said. ìAnd so the next day my dad bought two more picnic tables and sure enough the next night we had four customers.î The cost of a campsite for four people at that time was $1.25. ìAt that price, he couldnít afford any more picnic tables for a while,î Ozburn said.The campground office store was not only convenient for campers but also proved to be popular among local high school students. ìAfter school was out, kids would want some nourishment or their cigarettes and they would travel down to the store here,î he said. ìAnd it must have been open lunch because kids would come down here during lunchtime and get their soda pop, candy bars and cigarettes. So we were quite popular.î As a result, Jimís dad implemented a rule limiting the number of people in the store at one time. ìThe old store was very small and it was actually meant to be the office of the campground,î he said. ìSo my dad had a rule ñ four students at a time.î If there were more than four, they would have to wait outside.There was also a waiting line for the campgroundís pay phone ñ a popular addition not only for campers but also for many Falcon area residents. Just east of the campground, the phone number prefix was 683 rather than 495. So, for those on the eastern plains, calling Colorado Springs was a long distance phone call. ìWe used to have two, three, maybe even four cars sometimes lined up to use that pay telephone because people didnít want to pay the expense of a long distance call,î Ozburn said. ìAnd sometimes it would come to blows if one guy wanted to have a half-hour conversation with his girlfriend.îWhile his parents continued to build up the campground, Ozburn graduated from Wasson High School in 1961 and then went to college at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. Ozburn took a ballroom dance class to meet girls, he said. He met his future wife, Delia (Dee), who was also in his social studies class, and the two dated for several months before getting engaged. They married Aug. 22, 1964.Ozburn graduated from UNC with a bachelorís degree in math in 1965 and returned later to complete his masterís degree. Dee Ozburn graduated the same year with a bachelorís degree in elementary education, and the two began their teaching careers in Canon City, Colo. After a couple years, they moved to Woodland Park, Colo.In 1969, the Ozburns decided to move to Oregon. They adopted two children ñ Danelle and David. They enjoyed the West Coast but still had a fondness for Colorado. ìI donít think we ever did miss a year of coming back here and working a little bit (at the campground),î Ozburn said.After five years in Oregon, the Ozburns returned to Colorado when Ozburnís dad began having health issues. ìWe didnít want to move too close; within striking distance, but not as close as when we lived in Woodland Park and Canon City,î he said. ìSo we ended up in Longmont.îThe Ozburns lived in Longmont, Colo., for more than nine years; and, during that time, Ozburnís dad passed away. In the summer of 1983, the Ozburns considered taking over the family business. ìI asked her (his mom), ëWhen would you like us to take the business over?íî he said. ìAnd she said, ëHow about tomorrow?íî Ozburn was still teaching, so as soon as the school year ended he and his wife took over the Falcon Meadow Campground.They immediately made a few changes like expanding the size of the store and improving the gas station area.In the mid-80s, the Ozburns began selling propane and added their first full hook up (water, electricity and sewer) for RVs. ìWe needed to meet the challenges of the time and so we put in these full hook ups,î he said. ìAnd that immediately brought our camping up.îFor the next 15 years, business boomed; however, in 2000, things changed. ìThatís when Safeway opened up,î Ozburn said. ìAnd immediately when Safeway opened up we were no longer the grocery store of the area.î A couple years later, the Ozburns took another hit when Safeway added a gas station and convenience store. ìWhen Safeway opened its gas station, that was a huge impact,î he said. Although grocery and gas sales decreased, their campground was full every night. ìLast year was our best year ever,î Ozburn said. ìOur previous best was 9,700 camper nights (when a camper stays one night), and this year it was over 11,000.îThe campground that started with two picnic tables and two sites has grown to 41 sites and is 90 to 100 percent full from mid-May to mid-October. ìSome campgrounds are a parking lot,î he said. ìOurs (sites) have personalities.î The Ozburns pride themselves on providing campers with all the modern-day conveniences and the full Colorado experience with great views of Pikes Peak.For the last 30 years the Ozburns have made it their business to meet strangers and make them feel at home ñ right in their own backyard.
