{"id":6359,"date":"2019-03-21T12:00:35","date_gmt":"2019-03-21T17:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/?p=6359"},"modified":"2019-03-21T12:19:27","modified_gmt":"2019-03-21T17:19:27","slug":"eastern-ozarks-rendezvous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/2019\/03\/21\/eastern-ozarks-rendezvous\/","title":{"rendered":"Eastern Ozarks Rendezvous"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Eastern Ozarks Rendezvous, Glen Allen, MO<\/h1>\n

by Clint Lacy, March 16, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The first person I interviewed was \u201cBilly\u201d from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, as Billy just happened to be the first person I saw as his tent was closest to the entrance to the event.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6347″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Generally speaking, Ozarkians aren\u2019t real interested in other peoples\u2019 business and for the record they\u2019re not apt to divulge their own. Billy was no different.<\/p>\n

I introduced myself and asked if I could interview him. He was thinking about it but he had some questions of his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s this gonna be posted? What\u2019s it for?[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6348″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]I told him it was for State of the Ozarks and that it was an online magazine which promotes Ozark culture past and present.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year they host a festival in Hollister and that craftsmen, artists, musicians and authors along with those interested attend.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6352″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]I added:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt attracts a wide variety of attendees. Everyone from the general public. Traditionalists and hipsters alike. The magazine has a large following and I try to work with them to promote our Eastern Ozarks.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was good enough and I seemed to check out for Billy. It wasn\u2019t long before he granted me the interview. This was his third year attending the event but the first time he had camped.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6350″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Two Kentucky long rifles were on display along with impressive piles of furs and hides.<\/p>\n

As it turns out Billy is a craftsman himself and was soon showing me some of his creations which included two knives. One was made out of a corn knife and the other with a deer antler handle.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6351″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Soon I heard the announcement for the shooting match, thanked Billy and bid my adieu.<\/p>\n

Walking toward the gathering crowd at the far end of camp, one attendee got my attention, asking, \u201cWant to try some of this funnel cake?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure.”<\/p>\n

\u201cGet ya\u2019 one of them big pieces,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, that\u2019s pretty good,\u201d I tell him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it\u2019s a recipe we got from the Mennonites but it\u2019s missing something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it tastes pretty good to me,\u201d I answer, thanking him as I make my way to the match.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6354″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]A crowd had gathered. Instructions were given for the public with requests that they stay behind the rope and the line men (judges) went to their respective sides of the shooting lines. The first shooter who could accurately place enough rounds to cut the post in half is announced the winner.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6349″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]It was then I met Prince and his owner. Prince is a Dachshund who was more interested in the match than posing for a picture. He finally relented and I snapped a shot of him \u201cmaking small talk\u201d before shaking hands with his owner and making my way back to camp.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6358″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]On the way back to camp I ran into Billy again. This time he had brought a friend with him and we talked as if we were old friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy probably broke his camera filming me,\u201d Billy says.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi Clint, I\u2019m Wallace,\u201d Billy\u2019s friend says. \u201cBilly and I\u2019ve been going to rendezvous for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going our separate ways, I run into John, a blacksmith making ornate twisted rod hooks.<\/p>\n

As it turns out, John is from Marble Hill and I wonder why he and I haven\u2019t crossed paths before. I asked for an interview which he readily granted.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6357″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Like Billy, John had attended the event the previous two years but this was his first time camping out. He told me he started making knives before starting to make the twisted rod hooks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of did it backwards,\u201d he tells me, indicating most people start with the rod hooks first as they are easier to make.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6353″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]I thanked John for his time and made my way to the parking area across from the old brick plantation house. The old home, which has seen better days, somehow retains its stateliness.<\/p>\n

After that, I spotted a small wooden footbridge crossing pond behind the barn. It was the perfect setting for a great photo. The only catch? I have to trudge across a muddy barnyard to get to it.<\/p>\n

A small price to pay to get a great photo before I leave.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6356″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]It\u2019s a beautiful drive home and I take in the beauty of the foothills. As I wind my way through the hills, I got to thinking about the past. I wonder if mountain men ever made their way through the area.<\/p>\n

Schoolcraft, in his journey through Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas, passed just to the west in late 1818. Later came statehood. The Civil War and the rebuilding followed. The St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad built its \u201cBelmont branch,\u201d bringing business and prosperity.<\/p>\n

The remnants of these times still hang heavy in the air. There is the train tunnel (which no longer has tracks), the weathered plantation house, and of course, once a year, modern-day mountain men return to these foothills to rendezvous.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] 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 \u201cBilly\u201d from Cape…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[955,466,582],"tags":[1078,817,1076,1077],"class_list":["post-6359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hillbillyhistory","category-ozarkshistory","category-sotoarchive","tag-barks-plantation","tag-clint-lacy","tag-eastern-ozarks-rendezvous","tag-glen-allen","category-955","category-466","category-582","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6359"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6365,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6359\/revisions\/6365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}