Scottie’s Christmas, circa 2022 by Joshua Heston [SPARTA, MO] — Scottie Snider, longtime antique collector, artist and decorator, stands in his 1880s’ farmhouse, welcoming the civic-minded and the curious of Christian County into his holiday-ensconced residence. “I have collected antiques since I have been married and my wife Pam and I loved the old primitives.…
As the Battle Found Them (Remembering the Battle of Carthage, July 5, 1861) by Lisa Livingston-Martin & Joshua Heston The low May clouds are heavy with rain. A biting blackberry winter wind whips at the tall Missouri grass and the Civil War Ranch’s parking is in danger of turning to mud. The temperature falls. A…
Murder Rocks BY JOSHUA HESTON Partway up Pine Mountain, just a few miles south of Kirbyville, a stand of elephant rocks rise to the west of the old Springfield-Harrison Road. Nowadays, they are hard to see (the elevation of the new road took care of that) and harder to get to (they are on private…
Ice Roses BY JOSHUA HESTON If you find yourself traipsing about an Ozark hillside sometime this winter, it might be a good idea to watch where you’re going. Otherwise, you may put your foot down on an ice rose. Ice roses, also known as frost flowers, are rare natural formations. They form at certain altitudes…
The Red Fern BY JOSHUA HESTON If you search the internet carefully, you’ll learn the truth. Truth that red ferns exist only the realm of cryptobotany. What does that mean? It means the red fern is a figment. Made-up. A bit of literary imagining. A myth. Sort of like Bigfoot. But prettier. That’s if you…
The Ozark Spooklights by Margie Kay (with art by Curtis Copeland) StateoftheOzarks Writers Artists Night 2020 The state of Missouri has its share of anomalies – but the so-called Spooklights, which remain unexplained to this day, are perhaps the strangest phenomena of all. The Marley Woods is the name given to an undisclosed location in…
“Raw Head” or “Demon-Hog” by Lance Estep, 1988, charcoal Tales of Hogscald Holler by Lance Estep Adjoining Hogscald Holler is Durham Mill Hollow. This hollow has a large cave with walls — according to multiple sources — covered by petroglyphs carved by the Ancient Ones: the Ozark Bluff Dwellers who came before the Osage, Quapaw…
Elias Tucker Goes to War… Well, Sorta BY DALE GRUBAUGH On the bank of Wilson’s Creek the battle lines had been drawn. We advanced a few feet, then upon command, we retreated a few. Moments later we were ordered to advance back to our previous position only to be pushed back to where we had…
Magic of the Hillfolk Herbalism BY STEPHEN J. MEEK There’s magic in the plants of these Ozark hills. Third-generation herbalist Lisa Pluth notes plantain (Plantago major) has the power to heal a thorn in the flesh when used as a simple green bandage. Of the splinter she got, she says “After I put the plantain…
PLATE 1. “For the first one, we wanted to keep it pretty simple. All roads lead to Raleigh. We chose the banjo, the rolling hills, the iconic skyline from the PNC Building to the Convention Center’s Shimmer Wall, and we went with a horizontal format to allow for the typography.” — Tim Lee The Weird, Wonderful…