Ozark Voices

“Part Studs Terkel, part Charles Kuralt, Alex Primm introduces readers to regular folks whose lives are anything but. His intrepid search for the human interest story in the Ozarks and beyond brings us face to face with truly interesting humans.”—Brooks Blevins, author of the new three-volume History of the Ozarks and the Noel Boyd Professor of Ozark Studies at Missouri State University

Discover the stories passed down over time from the people of the Ozark region. Oral history is shared through the years to provide a perspective on the landscape and people who inhabit the beautiful, culturally rich area. These oral histories show essential connections among settlers in a challenging landscape. Written to inspire history buffs, outdoor enthusiasts, travelers, tycoons in training and students of all ages, this path-breaking collection will take readers deep into a region averse to change, tricky to know, yet brimming with American culture.

Alex Sandy Primm has worked for 40 years interviewing people across the Ozark Mountains. He has also served as a correspondent in Vietnam, ran the Ozark Agriculture Museum, produced award-winning regional videos and taught oral history in mainland China. He lives in Springfield, Missouri.

Alex Sandy Primm

Foreword by C. Ray Brassieur

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 314
Bibliographic Info: 13 photos, appendices, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2022
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8617-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4532-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments xiii
Foreword: Collecting Recollections by C. Ray Brassieur 1
Preface: A Wagonload of Fire 5
Introduction: Backwoods Interviewing 7

Part I: My First Ozark River Oral Histories: Headwaters—Setting Forth in Oral History 11
1. King of the Ozark Rivers: Ralph “Treehouse” Brown 15
2. Taking Care of His Creek: George Langenberg 24
3. Highlights of Ozark Rivers Oral History 32
Memoir: At Trails End Camp 38

Part II: Working with the U.S. Forest Service: Techniques—Beginning in Oral History 43
4. Palmer, Missouri: In the Valley of the Ghosts 46
5. Grasshopper Hollow: Fieldwork in the Ozark’s Largest Fen 53
6. Establishing a Farm and Hunting Fox: Amel Martin 60
Sidebar: Alford Forest Wins New Lease on Life 62
Memoir: Adirondack and Ozark Ancient Forests 65

Part III: U.S. Geological Survey of Gravel and the River: Fieldwork—Researching Downstream and Up 69
7. Gardening for a Life of Abundance: Ted and Kay Berger 73
8. Gravelbars and a Thief at the Corn Crib: Rev. Cecil King 79
9. “We are losing this river…”: Jack Toll 82
Memoir: Almost a Great Job for an Oral Historian 87

Part IV: Marching with the Military Again: Enlistment—Public Service Interviewing in the Ozarks 94
10. Hogs and Midwives: Interviews with Ft. Wood’s Early Settlers 96
11. The Lady with the Bull Dick Cane on TV: Aileen Hatch 101
12. Missouri Moonshining Days: George Lane, Waynesville, MO 107
Sidebar: Ambrosia on the Piney 109
13. The Cadillac Mayor of Crocker, Missouri: Norma Lea Mihalevich 112
Memoir: Dancing with the Spirit of Vietnam, May 2014 115

Part V: Journalism into History: Deadline—Every Day a New Story 122
14. Two Special Parents for Special Children: The Earl Adamses 123
15. Bass Fishing Tournament: Basil Bacon 126
16. Area Inventor Looking for Business Partner: Louis Moore 130
Sidebar: Fine Art from White Oak Forests 134
17. Local Prophet Carves Wide Swath: Rev. Joseph Jeffers 136
18. From Birch Tree to the Battle of the Bulge and Back: Bill and Trudy Reed 139
19. Exposé from a Newbie Election Judge 143
20. A Day with the Rainbow Family: Ted Berger and Ronnie Jones 145
Memoir: Holding the Feather: Reflections on the Rainbow Family 152

Part VI: Making It as a Freelancer: Gigging—Community Culture from Diverse Angles 154
21. La Guignolée—Fiddling in the New Year: Kent Beaulne 157
22. Good Sports: A Burnham Sunday Tradition: Gini Webb Scudder 160
23. A Visit with Bob Holt and Venae Heier 163
24. View to the East: Country Folks Will Wave 165
25. Route 66: African American History Along the Mother Road 167
Sidebar: Hard Traveling in the Ozarks 172
26. Celebrating the Ozark Highlands Viticulture: Mary Codemo 174
27. Visit with an Ozark Swamp Queen: The Nature Conservancy 177
28. Video with Ralph “Treehouse” Brown and Others 179
29. Voice as Fast as a Fiddle: Dancing at a Country Music Club 184
30. Deliberate Lives: A Celebration of Three Missouri Masters 187
Memoir: Hillbillies and Black Helicopters 190

Part VII: Profiles, Portraits and Champions: Likeness—Capturing an Essence 196
31. Healing the Waters on an Ozark Frontier 198
32. Organic More Than a Century: Frances “Nana” Yeary 205
Sidebar: Is It True? 210
33. Visiting Moondog in Manhattan 211
34. Magic Quartz Near Mount Ida 213
35. Selling Ties in an Early Blizzard 215
36. A Man Who Loved Copperheads: Ken Carey 219
37. An Ozarker in His New Kentucky Home: George Marshall Smith 227
38. Clyde and the Recycled Chairs 230
39. Woodcarvers: Harold and Elaine Enlow 232
Memoir: Portrait of my Father as an Eminent Hillbilly: A Cautionary Tale 235

Part VIII: Ethics, Activists and Timber: Hillbilly Ethics—Truth-tellin’ and Rural Rapport 243
40. The Sweetest Fiddler in All of Arkansas: Violet Hensley 252
41. This Is the Ozark Earth: A Conversation with a River Conservationist 254
Sidebar: Rex Harrel’s Best Story 260
42. In Search of Commonwealth: In Memory of Doug Wixson 262
43. Plonked in Nowheresville: Tristen Russ 265
Memoir: From China’s Skuzziest City—Teaching Oral History 267

Epilogue: Bedrock, Paradox and Petroforms 277
Appendix 1: A Brief Guide to Doing Oral History Interviews 281
Appendix 2: Oral History Projects and Related Contributions 283
Appendix 3: Oral and Community History Bibliography 286
Appendix 4: Schedule of Questions: Oral History of Land Use in the Ozarks 292
Notes 295
Index 299

• “Part Studs Terkel, part Charles Kuralt, Alex Primm introduces readers to regular folks whose lives are anything but. His intrepid search for the human interest story in the Ozarks and beyond brings us face to face with truly interesting humans.”—Brooks Blevins, author of the new three-volume History of the Ozarks and the Noel Boyd Professor of Ozark Studies at Missouri State University

• “Part memoir, part oral history, and part how-to manual, Ozark Voices: Oral Histories from the Heartland tells the story of the people and the landscape that make up the Ozarks. Oral historian and journalist Alex Primm takes readers into the cabins, schoolhouses, and bars of the old-timers and reveals a common thread of resiliency and rugged independence that characterizes the area both then and now. A delightful read by a master storyteller, best savored on a lazy afternoon under a tree, with the river flowing nearby and a favorite beverage close at hand.”—Nancy MacKay, oral historian and writer

• “I was charmed by reading part of your manuscript, and know you are an excellent writer with real insights to offer on the Ozarks, China and oral history.”—Dr. Peter Raven, president emeritus, Missouri Botanical Garden

• “Primm’s work shows the Ozarks is a region full of promise for historians, folklorists, and other scholars.”—Missouri Historical Review