PLATE 1. Harlan Bonar in his Knob Noster studio. A Journey of Freedom: The Art of Harlan Bonar BY JOSHUA HESTON The rolling, grass-covered hills west of Sedalia, Missouri, mark a transitional territory where the tall grass prairies converge with the northwestern Ozark Hills. The place is pastoral, but it is here — in an…
Shepherd of the Hills Country (1913-1960) by J. Thomas and Joshua Heston As Shepherd of the Hills became a bestselling novel, fans of the book began flocking to the Branson area. The visitors hoped to experience Shepherd of the Hills country for themselves. Locals latched onto the notion of making a living from this newfound…
Eastern Ozarks Rendezvous, Glen Allen, MO by Clint Lacy, March 16, 2019 Remarkably I had not been able to attend the first and second Eastern Ozarks Rendezvous event at Barks Plantation in Glen Allen, Missouri, so this year I decided to pay them a visit. The first person I interviewed was “Billy” from Cape Girardeau,…
The Harold Bell Wright Era by J. Thomas with Joshua Heston To understand Branson today, we must harken back to the earlier days of an old-fashioned people and the early steps of those who walked the paths of these White River Hills. With around seven million visitors a year, Branson has become a center for…
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…
PLATE 1. “Young Matt” (Caleb Odenthal) fights the Baldknobbers. Photo by Beckie Fairchild. Smells Like Rain & Tastes Like Tears: Shepherd the Musical by Joshua Heston with Caleb Brubaker “Do they think this is the end?” Dave Wallace wondered as he looked over an audience rising to their feet. The applause was long and lasting…
PLATE 1. A Victorian mansion with neighborly — albeit rickety — bridge as seen on Eureka Spring’s West Mountain, framed by the Ozarks’ setting sun. A Eureka Springtime by Joshua Heston It is Thursday and I am on story assignment — this time at the Ozark Mountain UFO Conference. If there’s one thing I’ve learned…
UFO Conference’s Search for Truth by Joshua Heston Eureka Springs, Arkansas. A cool April night. Across the valley, the outstretched arms of the “milk-jug” Jesus reaches my way from East Mountain. The castle hotel balcony upon which I am sitting is known for a lady in white who dissolves in green mist as she plummets…
PLATE 1. The Centaur Escapes. The Centaur Escapes displays an enraged centaur, half-man and half-horse — muscular back arched, fists clenched — against a troubled sky. From whom is he escaping? What cause is there of this angst? O’Neill, wisely, leaves that answer to the viewer — or, perhaps more personally, simply kept the answer…
PLATE 1. Winding roads among the rocks and cedars lead to the Bonniebrook Estate five miles north of present-day Branson, Missouri. The Roads to Bonniebrook by Joshua Heston On an early morning in January, 1947, the little Ozark cove and cedar break with a tiny stream leading down to Bear Creek was bleak and barren.…