By Rick Mansfield Fishermen call their invitation to prey the “presentation.” It may be as simple as a hook-full of worms dangling beneath a red and white bobber for whatever will bite, or as specific as a three-ounce hand-painted loon targeting a wary musky. It might be a ball of dough, a live minnow…
For over 50 years I pursued my forest lookout hobby. It all started near my grandparents’ farm with Mudlick Tower while I was very young. It continued on over the years coincidental with my canoeing hobby and really picked up following my retirement from 34 years of teaching history. Several years ago Jim Lyon, Max…
Urban ambitions and the Arcadian spirit swirl in the story of a famed Ozark float stream “James Fork of the White: Transformation of an Ozark River” by Springfield (Mo.) authors Leland & Crystal Payton has been named by the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group one of the best indie books of 2019. The Paytons’ book…
Readers of books on Ozarks culture and geography are probably familiar with Leland and Crystal Payton, whose earlier works, “Damming the Osage,” “Mystery of the Irish Wilderness,” “The Beautiful and Enduring Ozarks,” and others, explore elements of the Ozark experience in a reflective and sympathetic though unromanticized way. Now the Paytons are out with a…
I am sure that all of us enjoy reading the articles by Wes Franklin and Sue Blesi as they describe the history and folklore of the Ozarks and the people who helped develop the marvelous Ozark culture. I have recently read a book by Lonny Thiele titled “That Son of A Gun Had Sense” (printed…
A book review by Crystal Payton A visitor driving into the St. Clair County seat, Osceola, today sees a small town with some 19th century store facades, a classic Art Moderne movie theater (now empty), a mural proclaiming its rich and sometimes violent past and a million-dollar jail. Courthouse towns are more resistant to oblivion…
To the Editor, It’s always a great moment when you discover an interesting author who is new to you. That happened to me recently when I received a book by John Mort, who is not a new author at all, but an established author who I simply had missed. I should have heard of John…
In college, when someone would ask me where I was from, I always had the same answer. While other students, in introducing themselves to each other, might claim Cleveland or Pennsylvania or Detroit or New York, I would just say “McDonald County.” And the other person’s reaction was always the same: A bewildered look and…
