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H I
S T O R Y O F H E R E
P a
r t 188
By:
James F "Jim" Barrett
A Moment to Do
Something Different
Before we conclude our chat concerning The Shepherd
of the Hills Farm and Theater I'd like to interview
the remaining members of the theater's founding
folks, the Mark Trimble family. I also intend to
interview some of the people who have made the
Shepherd of the Hills play so famous and popular
for many years. Bear with me then, friends, until I
can get that wonderful, personal information for
you to complete the Farm and Theater story. In the
meantime, we'll look at a closely allied situation.
I know how you friends love good old maps. So,
let's look at one that was very important and
popular about the time that little Lizzy McDaniel
was selling her valuable interests up in
Springfield and buying the Ross property on
Inspiration Point. As you'll recall, she made that
purchase in 1926, and then moved into the cabin
where she lived for ten years.
This
one is courtesy of the Powers Museum, Carthage,
Missouri. At one time, friends, there was a very
powerful tourist oriented organization that spread
from the Joplin area through our area, down towards
Little Rock and up towards the Lake of the Ozarks.
It was called The Ozark Playgrounds Association.
Someday I'll find a history book, or set of
documents, or something which will tell me the
story of the OPA. I'd like to know who founded it,
the premise and so on. I only know I keep stumbling
over its ghostly remains often as I research the
Mid-Ozarks Region. I even found a place where they
had a bulletin out that gave travel instructions
involving my beloved Wilderness Road. But that's
for another time. Now let's take a look at this map
of theirs and see what it can tell us and what fun
we can have reviewing it.
This
somewhat condensed OPA map reaches only from Galena
south nearly to the Arkansas line. But it contains
a lot of very interesting information. As always,
on maps such as this, the controlling points are
the highways and the rivers. From these, people can
orient themselves in relation to what they know of
THEIR position in time and place. So, let's look at
the rivers and the roads. The White River, running
from left to right about the middle of the map, is
easily spotted. The James River, the next largest
river on the map, is a little harder to trace from
Galena down to where it joins the White. But,
taking a bit of time and carefully following the
path, we can see where it runs and what it passes
by. Each and every one of these points is
historically important, folks.
Starting
at Galena, let's follow the James south. Gentry
Cave, Arnold Lodge, then around the unmarked
McCord's Bend, then south to Taylor Camp, Carr
Ford, Jenkins Ford and finally to a note "1 day
Float from Galena." So, what does all of that mean?
I'm not familiar with Gentry Cave and I wonder if
it still exists? Nor do I know the history of
Arnold Lodge. But the river fords are very much
still there, wide rock ledges where the James runs
shallow and fast when the lake is low and the river
heavy with recent rains. And the last note, about
the Float? As we go on down the James, and then the
White, looking at notes and comments we will soon
see that the OPA marked out a typical fishing or
recreational float trip from Galena to the
Branson/Hollister area. Float fishing was very
popular in those days, as were float trips strictly
for sight seeing, relaxing and scenery
appreciation.
Then
we go by Bear Den, Virgin Bluff, Miller Springs,
Long Bend Bluff, Cole's Ford, Buttermilk Springs
and end up at Jackson Hollow where a note tells us
this is the end of a 2 day float from Galena and a
1 day float from Bear's Dean. The springs and fords
here are now all covered by Table Rock Lake, but
the bluffs and the locations are very much there
and well known today. Much of what the floaters and
fisher folk of 1925 would have seen and enjoyed is
now far beneath the waters of our shining Table
Rock Lake. But - BUT! I have discovered a gentleman
who often floated the James with his father and
recalls the trips in great detail. I also know a
personal friend who was a hostler on such trips,
not a guide but a grunt, who worked to see that the
trips went well, folks were fed, bedded down in
camp and that the boats were clean and properly
operated.
Perhaps,
one evening, at our Wilderness Road Historical
Dinner Theater at RT's Family Restaurant, we'll get
these two gentlemen together to tell us stories of
the float trips and the fishing trips on the James
and White Rivers fifty or more years ago. Wouldn't
that be fun and interesting? Well, we'll see if I
can make it happen for you dear reader
friends.
The
next thing along the trip of great interest is
where the James flows into the White. But, just a
bit before it does so, we can see an interesting
mark and comment. You'll have to look carefully,
for the roads and the river are about the same
marking size and equally crooked and black. Look to
your right and you'll see a heavy road-marking
going from north to south. It's labeled 43, for 43
Highway. This was the original, state built and
maintained major road that used to run from Galena
to 85 Highway down in Arkansas. MoDot was very
proud of that highway, for it took a lot of money,
time, persistence and dynamite to build it. Today
it's been replaced by 13 Highway, which has taken
some new and better-traveled bits in its present
route.
From
old 43, just south of the note concerning Fairy
Cave (now Talking Rocks), you'll see a road heading
southwest that hits our James River just before it
merges with the White. That road is the James River
Road of today. And I think you'll see why it was
called the James River Road, for you can see it
crossing the James. And if you'll look carefully
you'll see another note that shows an arrow
pointing to the crossing labeled "bridge." Yes,
folks, at one time there was a bridge where the
James River Road crossed the James River, and the
road then crossed the old Joe Philibert and
Perninah Yocum Philibert farm and ranch at this
point. Then the road went up the steep hills to
join the main road running from Bear Den south to
Baxter. Pretty interesting stuff, huh?
If
we stay with our floaters and drift on down the
White River we soon come to the next points of
interest, Camp Thomas and Kimberling Park, on the
north and south side of the White, respectively.
These were at the site of the old Kimberling Ferry
crossing and the ford where the old Wilderness Road
used to cross the White before the ferries were
built. Also, at that point we'll find the note,
"End of 2 day float from Bear's Den. End of 3 Day
Float from Galena." And here, just below where
we'll camp at one of the two camps, we can see the
new iron Kimberling Bridge, an Ozark marvel of its
day. Just up the slough (Fisher Creek), we see the
little town of Radical. This was the site of the
local general store and post office. You'll have to
dig out some of my earlier articles to learn how it
got its name and who ran all the facilities there.
But, much later in time, on the bluffs above
Radical, John Q. Hammons saw fit to build another
town, which we call Kimberling City.
Just
on down the White we come to White Rock Bluff,
still very much there and visible today. Then Log
Way Bluff and Tibbets Ferry, neither of which
appear in my research over the years. I assume the
bluff is there, but the ferry, of course, is
beneath Table Rock Lake. Up on the peninsula we see
Marmaros. This is where the town moved to after the
original Marmaros of Marble Cave (Marvel Cave) ran
out of bat guano and gave up the ghost
there.
A
bit further down the White on our trip, look
closely and you'll see the note, "The Last Night's
Camp." This is the end of the fourth day from
Galena and the third from Bear's Den. The next day
we float down the White and put up at Branson or
Hollister, to be picked up in Model T trucks,
loaded and quickly driven back up 3 and 43 Highways
to our waiting vehicles parked at Galena. So you
see, it's taken us five leisurely, lovely days to
float from Galena to Branson. Just as it had taken
folks for many years previously and for many years
to follow - until Table Rock Dam and Lake ended it
all.
Well,
we've run out of time and space once more, reader
friends. I hope and trust that you will take a lot
of time to study the enclosed 1925 Ozark
Playgrounds Association map. You'll find tons of
fun and interesting notes, comments, instructions
and so on - all over the place. See you folks next
time here in The Message Tree. And I'll see you in
our Historical Dinner Theater when we reopen the
evening of the 8th of January.
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