About Us

Some people fall in love with a place… and then they buy the local canoe livery. Or is that just us?

Welcome to Trading Post Outfitters! We’re Andy and Jessica Linder — with our two daughters, Lyla and Ophelia, along for the ride — and that’s our story in a nutshell.

Trading Post has been part of the Mongo community since 1971, and we’re proud to continue its legacy while adding a bit of our own story to the mix. Andy is a LaGrange County native, and Jessica is originally from Northwest Indiana. After getting married and while living in Indianapolis for several years, we made an annual tradition of escaping the city for a peaceful river trip here in Mongo — and every time, we left feeling more connected to this special place.

On a trip in the summer of 2009, after yet another memorable paddle, Andy handed his business card to the owners of the Trading Post and half-joked, “If you ever think of selling, we’d love to do something like this someday.” We returned to life in the city, had two beautiful baby girls we began to raise, and continued enjoying life as it was in that moment. Nearly nine years later, a call from Mongo came — and the rest is our favorite kind of history.

We officially took over the Trading Post in 2018, and what started as a dream quickly became a lifestyle we couldn’t imagine living without. In 2023, we also became the owners of the Mongo General Store right up the road, bringing even more of our family’s energy and ideas to this little corner of Indiana. Whether you’re here for a paddle, a pizza, or a peaceful night of camping, we love welcoming folks to this place we’re lucky enough to call home.

One of the most meaningful parts of this journey has been employing, mentoring, and learning alongside the youth of our community. Each season, we get to work with a team of young people — many of them experiencing their first job — and we take great pride in helping them grow, develop confidence, and build lasting relationships along the way.

This business is truly a family operation, and we feel incredibly lucky to raise our daughters on the river, surrounded by the wonderful people who return here year after year. We hope when you visit, you feel like part of the family too!