This has been a winter to remember. The text message came about 3 p.m. A man who signed up to work at a nearby church taking in homeless can’t make it. “Can you come in?” A week ago I signed up as a back-up in case a volunteer had a problem. This was a big …
This story was told to me by the man who lived it, Darrow Doyle Faubus, named for the famous attorney Clarence Darrow. During his retirement Doyle became a singer and songwriter in the Fayetteville area. I was lucky to meet him once at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale, Arkansas. An auditor and …
How to escape a pandemic, urban stress or summer’s heat? A river offers a safe, forever cool retreat. Ozark streams present recreation constantly renewed by huge springs, some of the largest in the world. Spring water keeps everyone healthy. A big part of this endless cascade depends on surrounding forests. A friend living deep in …
While soaring with uplifting music my mind floats back to Maries County, one of the smallest, sweetest bailiwicks in the Ozarks. To the south of the Missouri Rhineland, Cathy’s mother grew up here on a rugged farm along the Little Maries River. Usually on second Sundays in October, a country church dinner at the Holy …
The last few days I’ve been finishing a book review for the oral history journal, a collection of essays History, Memory and Public Life, Routledge 2018. Potentially tedious because it’s somewhat dry scholarly stuff. Most deal with monuments from the past, which can be fascinating and surprisingly complex. We have a Confederate general heroically memorialized in …
A month ago I was on one of the most spectacular cycling trips in the world, the Finnish Archipelago, some 20,000 islands stretching west toward southern Sweden across the Baltic Ocean. I never expected to be so knocked out by endless pine trees, sand dunes and herring three meals a day. Maybe it was just …
Several years ago David Dunstedter and I produced an oral history CD using environmental sound and music with Ozark interviews. We still have copies available for those interested. Edna Staples was a native of Shannon County and spoke with great knowledge and memory. Not surprising because she was the president of the local historical society …
