Come visit us on historic Rt. 66, see St Louis and its many free sites like the Zoo & Science Center.

They call him "Mr. KOA," and to John Cuvar, it is quite a compliment. The Granite City KOA owner said he can be found 99 percent of the time in his campground. "What I do is to do KOA," he said. "I don't know why I need a home. To me, KOA is my home. I live out there."

John and his wife, Thelma, bought the KOA in 1982 at an auction. Back then the campground was really run down, and the Cuvars worked hard for years to bring it back up to KOA standards. "We didn't know what we were getting into, but we thought it was a good investment," John said. "We rebuilt the whole campground to get it an 'A' rating. It took a long time and a lot of work."

The Cuvars say they "lean over backwards for their campers" and do little things like personally take them to their site. When they are not working, the Cuvars like to go to Florida and associate with the retired people there or to spend time on a gambling boat.