Plate 1. “Magdelene,” owned by Whitney Coffelt of Omaha, Arkansas, gives the photographer an inquisitive look toward the end of the evening. Cattle by Joshua Heston Whether raised for beef or milk, cattle have become one of the most ubiquitous animals of the North American farm. In fact, it’s hard to get any more American…
Farming Heroes by Joshua Heston Truck patches were special things, ripe with humidity, a hard sun and an occasional rattlesnake. Looking like nothing so much as a great big garden patch, truck patches filled with the everyday vegetables of the Ozarks — for picking, eating… and selling. There is cultural heritage — and then there…
Orchards by Joshua Heston Except for wild plums and black cherries (which don’t exactly grow in orchards anyway), fruit trees were originally imported. Peaches, originally bred in Asia, became a symbol of the Old South…and of Central Missouri as well. More than one summertime tourist to the Ozarks could not pass up the appeal of…
Fields & Patches by Joshua Heston Fields were not terribly common in the more rugged parts of the Ozarks. Patches, on the other hand, were. It took but a small bit of land, carved out of the hillside, to grow a patch of grain. Corn, called maize elsewhere, was a certainty. Native to North American,…
Growing Food by Joshua Heston Arkansas peaches. Missouri vineyards. Strawberry pickin’. Turnip greens. Summertime tomato canneries. Late fall apples. Think about how much fruits and vegetables are associated with old times, old-fashioned ways, and, of course, the Ozark hills. StateoftheOzarks’ Food Growin’ section is established to remember the old days when we actually knew from…
Ozark Spring Houses by Dale Grubaugh Springhouses were just that — houses (rock structures) built over a flowing spring. Their purpose? To keep food cool. Back in the day, there were no ice boxes or refrigerators. During the summer, milk and cheese would be put in crock jars or glass jugs and immersed in the…
Mountain Curs by Joshua Heston While Tip the Wander Dog in Johnie Groves’ story was not identified by breed, it is not impossible the eponymous subject of the article was a mountain cur. Hardly an auspicious name for a nearly forgotten breed. The word cur brings with it highly negative connotations. One dictionary defines cur…
Missouri Mules by Joshua Heston A long, hot dusty furrow. Summer sun beating down. Heat rippling the blue hills beyond. A bony old mule labors for a Missouri farmer, weathered lines of his face matching the ribs showing on the animal. Creak of leather, soft pad of foot and hoof. It is an image of…
Will Mayfield College by Clint Lacy The Will Mayfield College stands as a symbol of a once prosperous era for Marble Hill, Missouri. The small town of approximately 1500 people serves as the Bollinger County seat which lies in the Eastern Ozark foothills of Southeast Missouri. “The area that would eventually become known as Marble…
Cook Station, Missouri, A Short History by William McKellipps Cook Station takes its name from Christopher Columbus Cook who served as a Captain in the Confederate Army in the Civil War. After returning from the war Captain Cook donated two miles of land through what is now Cook Station for the St. Louis, Salem, and…