H I S T O R Y  O F  H E R E P a r t 186 By: James F "Jim" Barrett Lookin' at a Valuable Neighbor - Continues - Part III        Well, well, dear reader friends, have you been enjoying our helping you with insight regarding the early and formative "happenings" that brought the Ross family, Inspiration Point and Harold Bell Wright together back at the turn of the 20th Century (1899-1903)? There are so many facets to the story it's hard to tell the whole tale without having to go back and pick up loose bits and pieces and show how they weave into the picture. I'd love to tell you more about the Lynchs and Marble (Marvel) Cave, but I did all that in a six part series here in the old Gazette many months ago. I'd love to tell you a bunch more stories about the Bald Knobbers, Nat Kinney, Wash Gibbs and all the others of that well meaning group of "Law and Order League" folk, which deteriorated under Kinney's iron hard guidance into the band of vigilantes that became the most infamous, dangerous and bloody such group in the world. But the Bald Knobbers are only one of the many important parts of the tale involved in the Shepherd of the Hills Farm and Theater.        As we've told you, the railroad came to the Ozarks in 1903. That's a very short and bland statement that only captions a long and amazing tale of intrigue, bravery, business acumen, unbelievably hard work, dedication, massive investments of cash and the building of one of the most difficult and valuable branch railroad lines in history. The White River Line, constructed by the Missouri Pacific, departed from the main line in eastern Arkansas and drove north, generally following the White River Valley and other, tributary, creeks and rivers. It passed near the small and struggling fishing town of Branson, and then headed up Roark Creek Valley, eventually going through the new long and expensive tunnel at Reeds Spring, working slowly west into the plains.        Harold Bell Wright, while living in his temporary cabin up on Inspiration Point was said to have heard the explosions down in the Roark. When he asked if they were the repercussions from Civil War cannon, the Rosses laughed and told him about the new railroad being blasted through the hills and valleys of the Ozarks, heading for the lead mines of Joplin and Carthage. It is said that Wright shook his head and remarked sadly that the railroad, when it was opened, would change the Ozarks forever. Little did he realize that his words were not only prophetic and absolutely correct, but that the book he was then writing, The Shepherd of the Hills, would join with the new railroad to see that his words came true - in spades!        The Shepherd of the Hills book became the fourth most widely published and read novel in the entire world. It struck a major chord with people everywhere. For the world was undergoing a unique revolution. A huge health and back-to-nature fad was sweeping America and spreading to the world at large. People were fascinated with the idea that "natural" things were right, that living in God's great out of doors was healthy and proper, and that one should look for opportunities to embrace all such things and people. The characters and the setting in Wright's book were exactly suited to the new fad. Suddenly, people everywhere wanted to come to the Ozarks, commune with nature, meet these wonderful rustic people and - somehow - absorb and revel in new healthiness from the experience and the obvious freshness of the Ozark's mountains and simple folk.        In 1907, when the railroad was four years old and firmly established, Wright's book hit the bookseller's shelves. Soon the railroad was inundated with people wearing brand new hiking and exploring garb, looking eagerly out the passenger car windows and chattering about the wonderfully rustic natives they would meet and the simple and healthful ways they were going to sample in Wright's version of the Ozark's backwoods. The Missouri Pacific quickly picked up the cue and began ardently promoting tourism to Branson, Hollister and the deep woods of the Ozarks. They even joined in the financing and building of a new, tourist oriented little town along their tracks in Hollister, Olde English Village, which is still pretty much there today.        At this point no one had given much thought to how folks were going to get from the railroad depots in Branson and Hollister to the remote and trackless site of the Ross farm and Inspiration Point, as well as all the other points of interest and excitement told of in Wright's amazingly popular book. There were no roads, paved or otherwise in this portion of the Ozarks. There were rough wagon routes, horse and walking trails - and that was about it. But that didn't stop the wave of eager, enthusiastic and dedicated tourists. They hired all the wagons and guides they could find, bought backpacks and hiked - or rented mules and horses to ride. One way or another they all struck out into the woods, determined to see the people and places Wright had told them of.        One of the people who took advantage of this situation was a lady named Pearl Spurlock. Late of Springfield, she and her husband had come to Branson to cash in on the new excitement brought on by the railroad and the massive tourism. However, their business wasn't doing all that well and Mr. Spurlock became quite ill. Pearl, a diminutive, chubby little lady, known to about everyone as "Sparky," took on a giant, wooden-spoke wheeled Buick and formed her own taxi service. She bravely set out to discover and to pioneer a drivable route to Inspiration Point - and succeeded. Over the following years she made more than a hundred trips each year, taking tourists to see the places Wright had written of.        At last the Ross family, whom everyone believed were really Old Matt, Young Matt and Aunt Molly, grew weary of the flood of probing, gawking, handshaking, question-asking tourists. They packed up and moved away, down into the Roark Valley, helping to form the new little community of Garber, on the St. Louis and Iron Mountain RR line there - the White River Line division of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. And there the elder Rosses stayed for the rest of their lives. Their son moved to California where he eventually died in a motor accident. The few remains of the Ross cabin may still be seen in the woods that have taken over the site of the now abandoned Garber.        The Ross's old cabin, their farm and Inspiration Point in general languished for nearly twenty years after the Ross's departure. Of course, tourists and gawkers still came to the site after they left. They ripped up, tore down and carried off anything and everything that they could lay hands on - as souvenirs. Even the boiler and steam engine that drove the sawmill was left only as a rusting and dismantled iron hulk. All the gauges, wheels and paraphernalia had been unscrewed and carried away.        Then came Elizabeth P. McDaniel. Born to wealthy banker parents in Springfield in 1871, Elizabeth was always a vivacious and busy lady. She became increasingly involved in social and civic activities as she grew up. Her parents even constructed an outdoor theater in a natural setting at Cove Hollow, where their estate lay. Here Elizabeth sponsored plays and operettas, as well as numerous church services. She was always at the center of all of the glittering and exciting social and party life in Springfield at the end of the 1800's and the early part of the 1900's.        This 5'5", 86 lb. lady was a whirlwind of activity, always. She had, of course, read the famous book, The Shepherd of the Hills, when it came out in 1907. Somehow, nearly twenty years later, she found out the abandoned circumstances of the Ross homestead and farm. In 1926 she began selling her banking and flourmill holdings. People shook their heads in Springfield, for they knew she was determined to restore the old homes and landmarks of Wright's book before time, tourists and nature could reclaim them and ravish them entirely to dust and debris. She raised a rather considerable amount of cash and acquired the Ross properties. To her social circle's amazement Elizabeth left her lovely home in Springfield and moved into the ramshackle old Ross cabin, high atop Inspiration Point above the Roark Valley.        Well, durn! We've run out of space once again, dear reader friends. But there's much more fun, intrigue and action ahead in the story of The Shepherd of the Hills, The Farm and The Theater. We'll follow Miss Lizzie as she brings back the Ross cabin, restores the furnishings and causes the Ozarks to rediscover the fun and values of its heritage. This little dynamo became the cause and center of the second wave of tourism to hit the Ozarks. Then we'll meet the Bruce and Mary Trimble family and discover how these Ozark pioneers pulled everything together to create what we see today. By the way - if you haven't been attending our historic shows at the Wilderness Road Dinner Theater in my son's grand old restaurant - well, you've missed a lot of good stories and a ton of jolly fun. We're there every Thursday night, come join us and we'll tell you a story or two - and you can join us in a sing-along.