Ozark Chair Shop, Beaver Dam.

 James Fork of the White, Lens & Pen Press  No Responses »
Jun 112024
 

Ozark Chair Shop, Beaver Dam.  Real photo postcard.

Although this was called Ozark Chair Shop, for the passing tourist what caught the eye were the colorful drip-glaze pots in many sizes that filled the shelves and yard. Nut head dolls, cedar boxes and wood carvings were more locally made souvenirs sold along the highways.

“You may also see many small jars in a very attractive variety of colors to please the many tourists who stop there. This craft is known as Como-Craft as originated by Harold Horine,” Pearl Spurlock, explained to her passenger.  Her knowledgeable patter informed and entertained many early visitors to the Shepherd of the Hills country. (quoted in See the Ozarks: The Touristic Image).

Beaver Dam on the White River in Arkansas was authorized by the same legislation that authorized Table Rock Dam near Branson. The Army Corps of Engineers webpage for the dam and reservoir notes: Construction began in 1960 and was completed in 1966. Total cost was $6,200,000. James Fork of the White: Transformation of an Ozark River has extensive coverage of Table Rock Dam’s history, controversies, and major milestones.

James Fork of the White is now available on our website at www.dammingtheosage.com for $31.50 (10% off retail price of $35), postage paid.

COON RIDGE NOVELTY SHOP

 Beautiful Ozarks, See The Ozarks, Uncategorized  No Responses »
May 302024
 

 

The caption of this real photo postcard reads: “Rube St. Clair, Champion Basket Maker of the Ozarks, Coon Ridge Novelty Shop, Ozark Route US 65 … Reeds Spring, Mo.  Con Jock Studio.” This is a sharp, well-fixed image from a photographer/studio we have not encountered before. Unfortunately, a search of newspapers.com did not pull up any ads for the “Con Jock Studio.”

Distinctive souvenirs were produced in the Shepherd of the Hills Country and sold at roadside curio and gift shops like Coon Ridge Novelty Shop in Reeds Springs. This shop was owned by John and Mrs. Wallace. She was a teacher at the Crane school.

The shops were stocked with locally made baskets, wood carvings, wares made of cedar, Harold Horine’s colorful drip-glaze concrete pots, and chenille spreads brought in from the southeastern United States. Some of those once-inexpensive souvenirs now fetch many times their original price.

“You will see the natives all along the highways weaving baskets. This is a very pleasant as well as profitable work, as they sell enough to the tourists, or ‘furners’ as they say, to help them live a ‘right smart while.’ The baskets are made in various shapes and sizes, and mostly of white oak.” Pearl Spurlock, legendary taxi driver, tour guide, and raconteur of the Shepherd of the Hills Country, quoted in See the Ozarks: The Touristic Image.

This image and many others are now in the Payton Collection of Ozarks Memorabilia at the Missouri State University Libraries-Ozarks Studies Institute.

 

Lens & Pen Press books are on sale on our website, postage paid.   See the Ozarks is now priced at $22.50, ppd.

 

CLASSIC OZARK HICKORY BASKETS. Real Photo Postcard, circa 1915

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
May 162018
 

Basket-making was a pioneer necessity that became a commodity for early souvenir shops. This selection of handmade baskets of split hickory is not only beautifully made, the composition of the photograph and its technical qualities are excellent.

Ozark crafts had some reinforcement from benevolent institutions and government programs but it was much less and more sporadic than it was for Appalachian craft industries. The crafts business seems to have revolved more around roadside souvenir shops, with some encouragement from School of the Ozarks and later from WPA programs. Silver Dollar City was an early supporter of the original souvenir-shop products and provided an environment where people could see these and other traditional handmade items being made by local craftsmen. Handmade baskets are still produced but they join additional Arts & Crafts technologies like glassblowing, woodcarving and pottery making. An original Ozarks craft centered in Hollister was the making of concrete yard ornaments and flowerpots decorated with drip paint (“Ozark drip pottery”), a process invented by Harold Horine.

James Fork of the White is available on this website, on amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble.