The Lowly Red Cedar BY JOSHUA HESTON Hillbilly Christmas trees. Pencil cedars. Weed trees. The red cedar (which is in the Juniper Family and is not a cedar at all) clearly has a bad reputation. The tree is made even less popular by the large amounts of pollen it produces during the season. Nevertheless, the…
The Blacksmith. BY JOSHUA HESTON Unique. There is something unique about our perception of blacksmithing. As Buddy Ebsen noted (below), the blacksmith was “one of the most essential of all the pioneer craftsmen.” Perhaps that is why it figures so predominately in American culture of the 19th century. And while the art was ubiquitous in…
German Culture in the Ozarks by Joshua Heston The year was 1830. Across Germany, folks of all walks of life were reading the work of writer Gottfried Duden. His book Bericht über eiene Reise nach den westlichen Staaten Nordamerika’s made an enormous impact in Continental Europe — and consequently the United States — and for…
PLATE 1. Detail photo, persimmon bark (Diospyros virginiana). Persimmon Snow by Joshua Heston It was a persimmon snow that fell heavily across the Ozarks just prior to the 72nd anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day. Branson tourism came to a stormy halt as the week’s previously balmy 70-degree temperatures were replaced by icy winds and a…