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Message Tree |
The Online Magazine That Celebrates The History
Of The Central Ozarks,
Its People and Places.
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The
Sirens Of The Ozarks I have heard many of you tell of economic times being so bad in the Ozarks, that no one noticed the Great Depression or the many recessions that the outside world has suffered through over the years. Some recant how moving away from the hills enabled one to earn enough to purchase items such as “a washing machine, and then a Chevrolet” Admittedly, there was never much Cotton to pick in these hills, but I wonder how many of you remember the days of “red gold” and those long hard hours picking tomatoes. My own Mother-in-law talks of those days a life time ago when her folks had a contract to grow and can Tomatoes and how as a small child she had to stand on top of a wooden crate just to be able to reach and work the line in her family’s privately owned canning operation. She also tells of those days as a young girl, before her family had a well or indoor plumbing, as a part of her daily chores she had to carry cream cans full of water up the hill from the spring to their house each day, before leaving for school. And like many of you she reminisces about the outdoor facilities, the venerable out house, and the experiences of encountering wasps, spiders, and snakes who found the structure to be an ideal hiding place, monsters lurking and just waiting to terrorize a young girl who only wanted to go about her business. While my wife and I grew up with conveniences such as indoor plumbing and running water, we had many acquaintances and relatives that still lived in the same manner as that of our folks, and we listened to them tell of that life style of hard work with little but simple pleasures`, a life style born out of necessity and not by choice. Having lived in the rural Ozarks of the 60s and 70s, it was not hard for me to develop a deep respect and love for the people of the hills due to their rugged individualism and determination to make the best of a bad situation. A people that accepted the hard work, bad economic times and survived to repeat the process another day. A people that, like the lyrics of the song, seemed to say, All these things considered, having grown up in the rural Ozarks and witnessed or experienced this way of life, how can one hear the lyrics of these ballads and not see the relevance of the words to the hill country and its people, and not feel the tunes tugging at one’s heart and soul. So I could no longer resist the urge, I left my job in the city and returned home to enjoy the soulful cry of the whistle on the steam engine of the “Silver Dollar Line,” a cry that can be heard echoing through the hills of eastern Stone County just north of Table Rock Lake. Perhaps on your next visit to the Ozarks you will hear that same cry or take time to listen to the sound of a water wheel at one of the many grist mills of the hills, how about the unmistakable hiss of a Coleman lantern or stove at one of our beautiful campgrounds, or feel the music of a mountain stream trickling over a rocky shoal. Become awestruck when you hear the call of an Eagle, wild Turkey, or simply watch a Deer silently grazing in a mountain glade. Maybe you can schedule a visit to the Ozarks to see the blooms of the wild Plum, Redbud, and Dogwood in the Spring or the blazing glory of forests that seem to reach to the distant horizon, during the “Flaming Fall Revue.” Get up early and listen for the rooster crowing, then with your car windows down, drive through small rural towns and catch the smell on the air of coffee brewing, bacon and eggs frying, Oak in a wood burning stove. Other odors that stimulate one’s sense of smell throughout the Ozarks such as a Kerosene lamp, Honeysuckle in bloom, fresh cut hay, reminds us of those days long ago and brings a tear to an eye as we miss these experiences we Ozarkers know so well. On
your next visit to Ozark Mountain Country, open your heart
and mind to the sights, sounds, and smells of the many
wonderful attributes of the Ozarks, both natural and
manmade, and surely you will hear the song of the sirens,
and feel that calling that pulls so many of us back to our
beloved hills.
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The Message Tree, the voice of the
Wilderness Road of the Ozarks Association, Inc.
The Message Tree
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