Joe Benjamin by Joshua Heston Pen and ink artist, Joe Benjamin, is not only extraordinarily talented, but also one of the nicest of folks you’ll ever hope to meet. Five of Joe Benjamin’s 17 Silver Dollar City craftsmanship awards. Photo credit: J. Heston He and his wife, Janice, moved to Branson from the Quincy, Illinois,…
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…
Ozark Easter by Dale Grubaugh Howdy folks! It’s Easter and this here is my story: Easter was always a big time at our house when I was a youngin’. All the city kinfolk would come for the weekend. There would be lots of food and fun. We kids would help color the boiled eggs and…
Heritage Chickens by Joshua Heston I was reading a blog about a rural Arkansas road trip and discovered my chickens. They weren’t actually my chickens. They would not, for example, recognize me if we were to meet. But they looked just like my chickens. It was a little surprising. You see, I have some heritage…
Lessons on the Mountain by Joshua Heston There was once a time when you could scarcely keep me out of the timber. These days, the rigors of editor-in-chief keeps me close to the studio and desktop. For the last couple of years, I’ve kicked myself for not getting out to the mountain in early spring,…
…A Country Summer’s Death by Joshua Heston Monday night I drove back from Arkansas late. The air was warm, blustery, the moon waxing. It felt like summer, but different. The breeze was sharp, then soft, then sharp. Fitful, as though uncertain. Thickened oak leaves shivered and the dust billowed from the gravel road. I reached over and cranked…
Been thinkin’ about… A Magical Halloween Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. For me, Halloween was a week of spookiness complete with a trip to the dime store for candy and picking out a mask, then home to scare my big sisters (who were often obliging enough to pretend to be frightened).After sunset…
Been Thinkin’ About… Nine summers ago. Change. Love. Heartbreak. The passage of time. The pain of self-doubt. Life. Nine summers ago, the tomatoes were ripening. Strawberry season had passed. Cottonwood leaves rippled in the dry August air. And I was on a mission. One I absolutely believed in for no apparent reason. I had known…
Been thinkin’ about… …fireworks, magic and America. We’re over halfway through the year. This being 2016, we’re not only past the six-month-mark of New-Year-resolutions-gone-sour but we’re also up to our ears in that most-American of all pastimes: Getting angry about politics. Sometimes, I think getting angry is what we do best. If it’s any consolation,…
Been thinkin’ about… …what’s over the next hill. Five years ago this month, my mom passed away. She was too young. Only 69. It was the day after Independence Day and I believed my world had ended. My mother was my first teacher. My first mentor. My first best friend. For too many months following,…