Look Who's In the Canoe ! (On Sunday, Mar 4th--9am)

On Sunday at 9am, we'll be at Monte Ne put-in to paddle BalladHunter along the ruins.  More importantly, I will have local historian Allyn Lord (Director of the The Shiloh Museum of Ozark History) in the bow  answering questions about Coin Harvey, the history of the old resort, and recent efforts to preserve it.  Come down and paddle around with us.  The weather is supposed to be fine.  


Incidentally, Allyn is a partner with me on White River Memoirs, an oral history project described at http://www.whiterivermemoirs.blogspot.com.


Update: The "ruins float" was most satisfying and informative. It was freezing and socked in when we left the shore but by the time I got the camera running, the sky cleared and the sun struck the old Monte Ne Tower like a cymbal.  Allyn proved once again to be the 'professor of Coin Harvey,' and a great on-camera presence even with a nasty spider bite on her forehead...which we adroitly covered with a ski cap.  I will get some video clips up asap. 

On the Trail of Schoolcraft: Theodosia and Beyond

The explorer Schoolcraft passed this way in the 1800s.  I just finished reading his historic “journal” where he describes his canoe voyage down the White to Batesville, then called Poke Bayou.  He was a scientist, traveler and a pretty decent naturalist and geologist for his time.  His description of Calico Rock reads like nature writing at its best; in fact, Quincy Wolf, Sr quoted the passage in his famous Ozark memoir, Life in the Leatherwoods.  I must say, however, that the effect is a little disturbing because the White River isn’t as clear and pristine as Schoolcraft describes it, nor quite so brimming with aquatic life.  It’s beautiful in sections, to be sure, but reading a personal journal of how it was -- before dams, chemical pollutants and channeling – gives one pause.  What would it be like to see it again through Schoolcraft’s eyes?  And what ‘is’ the state of the White in regards to its ecological health?  I’m sure it’s better than most large American rivers, but is it as good as it can and should be?

White River and Mall Pond in Branson, MO

The bridge over Bull Shoals Lake
in Theodosia, MO.  A few miles further
is Pontiac, a settlement that Schoolcraft
visited.

A Mosey in the Ozark Cultural Center

In preparation for our three-day planned trip to the Mountain Man Gathering on October 5-7, we drove out to Mountain View and engaged in a late-afternoon walking tour of the Ozark Cultural Center.

I met  a bladesmith there, Tom, who filled me in on the goings-on, among other craftspeople and musicians.  We learned a few things about green woodworking, glass making, weaving, and hand-press printing.  

We also met some musicians and made a preliminary recording of some mountain music.  Most important perhaps, we saw inside of a few authentically constructed Ozark cabins, one of which we plan to build on our property as a garden shed and a shop.

Goldmine In Huntsville at the Madison County Historical Society

On a recent journey to the “White River Trout Capitol” town of Cotter, driving on Highway 412, we decided to check in with the public library in Huntsville, the seat of Madison Country to see what historical gems they might have in the stacks. The friendly librarian there clued me into the active genealogical society in town, which we aimed to visit.  There I met Duane, who tends the historical society, and he showed me around the collection. The society’s growing library of volumes documenting the families, stories, and cemeteries of the county made a deep impression; I hadn’t seen this sort of folk archeology being done anywhere in southern California, nor in Central America where my family had recently been living. One volume recently published we like is titled, “Pettigrew: Hardwood Capital of the World.”  Pettigrew is situated along the White River very close to its headwaters southeast of Fayetteville some twenty or thirty miles. 

Duane kindly provided us some key contacts for future interviews and showed us his method for scanning family photos.  Tragic-comically, his recent efforts in backing up the collection left something to be desired.  The moral was: if you erase the files on your desktop because you have a ‘backup’ on an external hard drive, then the hard drive is no longer a ‘backup.’ At any rate, a big thanks to Duane at the Madison County Historical Society in Huntsville!

Special Thanks to a Special Museum--the Shiloh Museum of the Ozarks in Springdale, AR

If you haven't visited the Shiloh Museum of the Ozarks, it's time to do so.  The exhibits rock, the photo archive is incredible, and the dedicated folks running it have already been extremely helpful to the Ballad Hunter project.  Thank you so much!   Please check out their website and Facebook sites:
   www.shilohmuseum.org http://www.shilohmuseum.org
   Shiloh Museum on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Springdale-AR/Shiloh-Museum-of-Ozark-History/134176676598852  
Here are two views from their outdoor exhibit---an original Ozark cabin and fully-restored barn. 

"Down But Not Out" After Joplin Tornado (video)

Three days after the Joplin tornado struck, we made a pilgrimage to the damaged downtown area.  What we witnessed changed us forever.  The outpouring of well-organized help and volunteer initiative blew us away.  This is what the town looked like then.  I heard yesterday from a women who is selling birdhouses constructed of Joplin debris (20% going to the Salvation Army), that the area you see in these pictures is almost completely cleaned up and reconstruction well underway.