BUSINESS
Wallowa County Chieftain
A6
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
JO Paddle rowing into the future
BIZZ
BUZZ
JO PADDLE
Who: Joshua and Hannah
Shoff ner
Phone: 541-886-0086
By Bill Bradshaw
Email: Jopaddle808@gmail.com
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
Where: South end of Wallowa
Lake
W
ALLOWA LAKE —
An Enterprise couple
who have taken over
the popular JO Paddle at Wallowa
Lake are hoping to expand it and
are even considering a storefront
location.
Right now, Joshua and Hannah
Shoff ner operate the business out
of their home, taking reservations
online for their clear-bottomed
hybrid kayaks and all accessories.
Then they deliver them to a desig-
nated spot at the north and south
ends of the lake.
The Shoff ners took over
the business in August of 2020
from the former owners, who
also owned the Joseph Branch
Railriders.
JO Paddle
The name itself is unique, as
well as what it off ers. The “JO”
stands for Joseph, Oregon, the
Shoff ners said.
Last year was their fi rst full sea-
son, Hannah said.
“It went really well. A lot of
people enjoyed it,” she said. “It’s a
blast out there, especially the night
tours were really popular with the
kayaks lighted up and completely
see-through. You get to go out on
a guided night tour with about fi ve
other boats for about an hour and
a half or two hours on Wallowa
Lake.”
Josh, Hannah and 16-year-old
daughter Samantha all are reg-
istered guides and have taken
state-required safety courses to
care for their customers and regu-
Online: https://jopaddle.com
said. “Seeing my parents as entre-
preneurs and I want to be an entre-
preneur. It’s really eye-opening
seeing what my parents have done.
… It’s defi nitely fun to be out on
the lake all night. It’s pretty cool to
look at the stars with my dad and
my family.”
The future?
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa Lake’s JO Paddle is truly a family aff air, owned and operated by, from left, Hannah, Samantha, Joslyn and
Joshua Shoff ner.
larly bring along safety equipment.
They also have communications
from boat to shore that includes
fl ashlight signals in case cellphones
malfunction during an emergency.
Their youngest, 4-year-old Jos-
lyn, is still a bit young to help out,
but she goes out on the lake with
her family.
The watercraft
The boats are a combination of
kayak and canoe.
“They’re actually a hybrid,
partially a canoe and partially a
kayak,” Joshua said. “It basically
means it looks like a canoe but
it paddles like a kayak. They’re
transparent polycarbonate like an
aircraft windshield.”
This past year, they also added
another feature.
“We added four clear, stand-up
paddle boards last year,” Hannah
said.
She said that because of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the pad-
dle boards were diffi cult to obtain
— as many businesses have
experienced.
The tours
JO Paddle off ers daytime rent-
als where customers can arrange to
rent boats and any accessories and
go out on their own.
The Shoff ners always keep a
close eye on the weather and the
conditions at the lake so they know
what safety cautions to advise. But
often, customers can just go off on
their own without a guide.
“On days when there’s no
worry about the conditions on
the lake, we usually just tell them
where they can go to see (various
things),” Hannah said.
But they do tours during part of
the season.
“We added the Glacier Clear
Morning Nature Tour last year and
we do that on the south side of the
lake,” she said. “We start about 9
in the morning … we run that June
and July because the water levels
get so low on the south side of the
lake.”
But the Shoff ners are particu-
larly excited about Glacier Clear
guided nighttime tours.
“This is the best part: We take
them out a way from shore late
at night and I have a remote con-
trol that turns off the light on the
boats,” Joshua said. “It’s one of the
most peaceful, amazing things.”
He said Samantha usually works
with him as a nighttime tour guide.
“We try to wait for every single
boat to come off the lake,” he said.
And their teenage daughter is
both enjoying it and learning from
the experience.
“It’s been a really good experi-
ence. especially for me,” Samantha
As for the storefront, they’re
still looking for an acceptable place
in Joseph, but it won’t mean an end
to operations from home.
“That’ll be in addition to what
we do now,” Joshua said.
He even would like to expand
their season.
“I would like to get into the
winter, but people are probably
going to have their own wetsuits
and other gear,” he said. “It’s all
smiles and a lot of fun.”
Hannah agreed, adding that a JO
Paddle tour is particularly amazing
for those new to Wallowa Lake.
“You’re on a glacier lake at
4,000 feet elevation,” she said.
“You think about that experi-
ence, people from Portland are just
amazed; it’s an eye-opening time
when they’re out there with the
stars and the moon is coming over
the moraine. It’s beautiful.”
———
Bill Bradshaw is a reporter for
the Wallowa County Chieftain.
Have a business tip? Contact him at
541-398-5503 or bbradshaw@wal-
lowa.com.
& Skylight
Gallery
Church
Directory
Finding books is
our specialty
CLUES ACROSS
1. ___-fi
4. Beats by a long shot, say
11. TV show with a cold open
14. Sheet-___ dinner
15. “Gotta have that!”
16. Seydoux of “No Time
to Die”
17. *Campaign strategist’s
targets
20. Wilson of “The Office”
21. Where clouds “hang out”
22. Annoy
23. Language family
including Ukrainian
25. Season for sledding
26. Cuatro + cuatro
28. Religious act
29. Appealing to hipsters,
perhaps
32. High-five invitation
34. Baker’s measurements:
Abbr.
38. Apt anagram of a
flower symbolizing love
39. Benefit of a promotion,
often
40. Exchange
41. “ur hilarious”
42. Cream-filled pastries
44. “Rocks” at a bar
45. Letters before 15 or 30,
on some tubes
46. DVD predecessor
47. Luka Doncic’s league
48. In mint condition
49. Sea creature such as
Sebastian in “The Little
Mermaid”
51. Not short
53. Coca-___ chicken
55. Kagan who was Harvard
Law’s first female dean
59. Opposite of 48-Across
62. Border on
63. Adored
64. Ctrl+Y, on a PC
65. Ear projection
66. Baggy
67. Mix
68. Result of a spill
69. Leopard’s markings
70. “Como ___ usted?”
Joseph United
Methodist Church
Grace Lutheran
Church
3rd & Lake St. • Joseph
409 West Main - Enterprise
10 AM Worship
Online AND In Person
SUNDAY
WORSHIP
For More Info
541-432-3102
JosephUMC.ORG
at 9am
Pastor Cherie Dearth
Pastor John B. King Jr
phone (message): 541-426-4633
web: gracelutheranenterprise.com
Enterprise
Christian Church
St.
St. Patrick’s
Patrick’s
Episcopal
Episcopal Church
Church
85035 Joseph Hwy • (541) 426-3449
We have ‘In-person worship” @ 9:00 am
(Guidelines observed)
Sunday School at 10:30
Parking Lot Radio/Facebook @ 9:00
100 NE 3rd St, Enterprise
NE 3rd & Main St
541-426-3439
Worship Service
Sunday 9:30am
David Bruce
Pastor, Enterprise Christian Church
Lostine
Presbyterian Church
Summit Church
Discussion Group 9:30 AM
Worship Service 11:00 AM
at the Cloverleaf Hall in Enterprise
Childrens program during service
Blog: dancingforth.blogspot.com
CLUES DOWN
1. Cowboy boot accessories
2. Gondolier’s waterway
3. Country with the highest
rail bridge (in Jammu and
Kashmir)
4. Occasion for eating out?
5. Sea urchin, in Japanese cuisine
6. Rx purchases
7. Timid
8. Whirling water
9. Actress Tyler
10. “Enough of that!”
11. Frozen rain
12. Gumption
13. Beam from a high-tech alarm
18. Foreign representatives
19. Central beliefs
24. *They ring at Notre Dame
25. *Pair on a front windshield
27. Stones with a fire variety
28. Violinist’s block
29. Fish that can swim backward
30. Let fall
31. *Caddie’s bagful
33. Spanish for “aunt”
35. Common playground fixtures ...
or the starred clues’ answers?
36. Salsa brand
37. Erupt
42. “Casino Royale” actress Green
43. ___ Paulo
50. Prices that are set
52. Frontline health professional
53. Relaxed
54. Double-reed instrument
56. Play on repeat
57. Salad dressing staple: Abbr.
58. Warbler’s digs
60. Proofreader’s change
61. Explorer with a talking map
107 E. Main • Enterprise • 541-426-3351
www.bookloftoregon.com
Sundays at 10 am
Pastor: David Pendleton
541.398.0597
Hwy 82, Lostine
www.summitchurchoregon.org
Stephen Kliewer, Minister
Cloverleaf Hall • 668 NW 1st St. • Enterprise, OR 97828
Wallowa
Assembly
of God
702 West Hwy 82
Wallowa, Oregon
541-886-8445
Sunday School • 9:am
Worship Service • 10:am
Pastor Tim Barton
Visit Us on
Christ Covenant
Church
Pastor Terry Tollefson
Church Office: 541-263-0505
Family Prayer - 9 AM
Sunday School - 9:30 AM
Worship - 10:30 AM
723 College Street, Lostine
Seventh-Day Adventist
Church & School
Enterprise Community
Congregational Church
305 Wagner (near the Cemetery)
P.O. Box N. Enterprise, OR 97828
Church 541-426-3751
School 541-426-8339
Pastor David Ballard 503-810-9886
Join us at the
BIG BROWN CHURCH
Worship Hour
10:30 a.m. - Noon
Sunday Worship
Worship 11:00
11:00 am
am
Bible Studies:
Study:
Bible
Sundays 9:30
Sundays,
9:30 am
am
301 NE First St. • Enterprise, OR
Find us on Facebook! 541.426.3044