Made in the USA: Bass Pro

by Joshua Heston

Every Monday morning, there’s a place where some of the finest Ozark craftsmen gather.

No, it is not the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Silver Dollar City near Branson, or an arts fair in Eureka Springs. It’s the Bass Pro fabrications facility in Nixa.

Housed in a series of warehouses and quonset huts — and near the Wal-Mart Supercenter — the place is clearly not open to the public.

It is, however, a place where Ozark craftsmanship is alive and well.

Larry Owen, who manages the place, explains, “It's a total of 65 people who work here. [The craftsmen] have varied backgrounds in cabinetry, carpentry; some guys have been welding pipeline for oil companies and had no experience other than that. They’re pretty much self-taught.”

Of the thousands who walk through Bass Pro Shops around the country, few realize that what they see is made right here by these Ozark craftsmen. From the tables piled high with t-shirts to the massive wrought-iron chandeliers, it’s all made in-house.

“You hear it all the time in Springfield,” says Owen, “Customers say, ‘Wow, look at that. I didn't see that last time.’ We‘ve had architectural firms come into town and see what‘s involved. And they're always amazed with the details.”

The Nixa workshop houses five departments.

First, there’s log and timber, followed by the cabinet shop, a four-bay finish area for all woodworking, two buildings dedicated to metal and metal sculpture; and then there's “Area 51” in which is created just about everything else.

In metal working, you can find Kirk Sullens, former president of the Blacksmith Association of Missouri, hard at work making repose animals.

Josh Vermillion, hired as an assistant logger, does the bulk of the wood carvings. He happens to have a minor in sculpture from Arizona State.

And Josh Perkins paints pretty much everything you see in a store (the most notable are his murals inside the 12-foot steel chandeliers).

The chandelier domes?

“They are all hand painted,” says Owen. “We pretty much have free reign with what we put on as long as it conforms to the region. [But] We do try to get the images as accurate as we possibly can.”

In a world where it seems everything is made cookie-cutter style or imported from Asia, the efforts made by Bass Pro are not to be underestimated.

Here is a retail store dedicated to fine craftsmanship, a native workforce, and an honesty and authenticity rarely found.

If you ever wondered what the Ozark spirit of tradition, quality and self-reliance looks like in the 21st century, you need look no further.

January 9, 2008