Dutch Oven Cookin’ by Elias Tucker (Dale Grubaugh) Winter can be a challenge in these Ozark hills. During the last week of January, the hills around here got all dressed for the occasion. Blanketed in sleet, snow and freezing rain, the Ozarks looked a bit like a waiting bride in a veil of ice. Beautiful…
A Christmas Need by Dale Grubaugh A Fraser fir is standing in my living room. Decorations have been found. Cookies are baking in the oven. Popcorn is popped; the cranberries and string are gathered for old-fashioned garland. Presents are being wrapped. Hot chocolate is simmering on the stove. The house fills with the sounds —…
Cedar Christmas by Dale Grubaugh Puttin’ up the Christmas tree is my favorite part of celebrating Christmas. I was only three or four when my dad began taking me with him to cut down the family tree. As I got older, getting the tree became my job, accompanied by my sister Rae Jean. We never…
Original artwork by Lydia Hoskins. Ozark Strawberries by Dale Grubaugh These Ozark Hills can sure produce some mighty fine vittles. Blackberries, dewberries, gooseberries, huckleberries and strawberries. All of these berries grow wild ’round the Ozarks. Most, except for the dewberry, have been tamed. But none have been tamed like the strawberry. The wild strawberry, sometimes…