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…
Hwy 23 road sign from 1962 Hogscald Holler BY LANCE ESTEP WITH JOSHUA HESTON During the fall of 2014, Lance Estep, a member of the Arkansas Archaeological Society and student at Missouri State University, was given the opportunity to conduct an independent study of Hogscald Holler near Eureka Springs for his Advanced Methods in Archaeology…
Goin’ to the County Fair by Dale Grubaugh Summertime. It’s time for the county fair. Growin up in rural Crawford County Missouri, one of things we youngin’s looked forward to was fair time. Fair time meant the city kinfolk would come a’visitin’ and we’d all be havin lots and lots of fun. It began as…
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…
The Captain Taylor Farm BY JOSHUA HESTON Shortly after the War Between the States, a certain Captain Taylor settled on a massive tract of land (totaling around 1,000 acres) not far north of Ozark, Missouri. Unlike many poor dirt farmers of the era, Taylor was successful. Mighty successful. On the rolling Springfield Plain, southeast of…
PLATE 1. Beautiful jars of End-of-the-Year Relish, waiting for a winter season of hot dogs, brats, Polish sausage, pork chops and just-plain eatin’ out of the jar. Miss Angie’s End of Season Garden Relish by Joshua Heston This amazing relish has two important stories for me. First, the precise recipe is from Angie Haage-Hubbs of…
Mandolin Maker John Wynn (1938 to 2010) by Joshua Heston What is Ozark culture? “Self-made,” said John Wynn, without missing a beat. “When they got here to such backwoods, hilly country that you couldn’t hardly farm because there wasn’t a level piece of land around, they had to build everything they used. They built their…
Them Hills by Candice Gage with art by Mikki Sale “Why’d you want to move to them hills?” Grammy’s dark brown eyes crinkled with quiet laughter. My great-grandmother’s present was fading, but I was old enough at twenty-six for her to know — though not as well as she still knew the Ozark hills of…