Bollinger Mill History by Clint Lacy Bollinger Mill is located in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri next to the Whitewater River, six miles west of Jackson, Missouri on Highway 34. Originally established as an Indian trading post by George Bollinger, who in 1797 received a land grant from the Spanish Commandant in St. Louis under the…
Memories of Bloody Hill by R’vyn Grega-Szabo “Quiet!” whispered a Union soldier as one of his brothers stepped on a stick. The cracking sound had echoed through the woods. The Union soldiers moved quietly through the dense forests of the Ozarks. The surprise attack was almost perfect until they had a run-in with opposing troops,…
Armistice Day in West Plains- April 21, 1919 Richards Elementary, 3rd Grade Mural, 2006-2007, West Plains, Missouri At the conclusion of the “war to end all wars,” a battle tank was brought to West Plains, Missouri, on the railroad. After unloading the tank from the train, a parade was organized to celebrate the end of…
Cold Dark: Eureka Springs’ Art by Joshua Heston Into the cold dark. Rainwater glistened black streets. Rising clouds of mist obscured tops of ancient buildings. Normally unnoticed trees became ghost sentinels, undulating in a haunted night. Above the narrow alleys and close crowded windows and beyond the now-silent streets, the rainbow lights of Eureka Springs’…
…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…
Edward O’Kelley by Clint Lacy Nearly every area of Missouri has a Jesse James story. A few years back I found evidence in the Bollinger County archives of an eye-witness who stated that Frank and Jesse James had camped out on the old David Lutes farm about a mile South of Lutesville, the day after their…
The Wonder Woman of the Ozarks by Clint Lacy The inhabitants of the Ozarks have much in common with those who live in Appalachia. Both regions tend to be areas of little opportunity and what opportunities exist involves hard work. Money is hard to come by now, as it was then which brings us to the…
Miss Kathryn by Gideon Pellegrino The cuckoo clock on the wall is ticking. Faintly, but still it ticks. Reminding me that time is constantly passing. Forever moving. Never stopping, not even for a small moment to let us catch up. We pause and hold our breath, but no, time does not stop. Time… whether we like…
The Skeletal Princess by T’iana Sage & Art by Kaitlynn Robinson There is a myth, told by the ancients, that within a grove, in a cursed forest, lay a skeletal princess. Her skull, wet with salty tears, be filled with the memories of the life she’d previously lived, and the thoughts of the life she…
Remembrance — I Am The Land Lying ‘Twixt the Hills by Edwin Woolsey A fond farewell to dear acquaintance, too soon dismissed… Like countless white clouds brushing the unblemished face of an azure sky, Momentarily casting darker shades indiscriminately on sun-dappled slopes. While far above, the red-tailed hawk reverently circles in contemplation… Of the land…