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Vol. II, No. 2, Fall 1988 |
From Our Readers
The summer, 1988 issue prompted a number of responses from readers, as did the proposal to establish an OzarksWatch Society. Here are excerpts from a sampling of the letters:
Please add me to your list of interested individuals for The OzarksWatch Society. Keep up the good work!
Concha Marbut Matteson
Republic, Mo.
Your pieces on Ozarks dwellings in the most recent number were excellent. They are precisely the sort of thing that this traditionally-trained historian from the "old-school" needs .... You have prodded those of us who call ourselves Missouri historians to look around us and recognize the importance of the cultural landscape.
William E. Foley Central Missouri State University
Warrensburg, Mo.
I like the idea of an OzarksWatch Society. It would have the mutual benefit of being broad-based and producing exclusively Ozarks material. At least three members of our family would become members. My mother and I are researching and, on paper, re-creating the once busy but now obliterated community of West Fork, Missouri, where she grew up. Being able to see the past and know its people, even vicariously, brings me both peace and excitement.
Mary Strickrodt
Aurora, Mo.
I am presently conducting archaeological investigations on log and frame structures along the proposed route between Fayetteville and Fort Smith, Arkansas. Your issue called The Places We Call Home--Ozarks Dwellings, appeared to provide some excellent insights.
Lawrence Gene Santeford, Ph.D
Fayetteville, Ark.
I would be very interested and supportive of an (OzarksWatch Society) organization with the goals as stated. I think we need to do everything possible to preserve and protect the cultural and environmental heritage of the Ozarks while dealing directly with the economic issues that effect all of us.
Steven Mahfood, Director State Environmental Improvement and
Energy Resources Authority
Jefferson City, Mo.
I think OzarksWatch fulfills a deep need in our region, and that it is doing a great job of helping to disseminate knowledge and caring about the Ozarks. You asked for reactions and suggestions to your proposal for an OzarksWatch Society. My reaction is absolutely we need such an organization. My suggestions are 1) that such a society should be careful to include all the Ozarks geographically, as well as the entire spectrum of social strata, and 2) that your "modest cost" be truly modest enough to effectively accomplish 1). And do be sure to include me]
Phyllis Rossiter
Gainesville, Mo.
Once again, you pointed out things to me that I somehow knew but really had never managed to think about in a significant way. One of the great things about the focus on Ozarks history is a coming together of ideas, thoughts and reflections that occur as part of that process.
Roy Blunt
Secretary of State
Jefferson City, Mo.
Your publication contains what I consider to be the best language directed toward the Ozarks region that I have seen in a now long lifetime. It is exact and correct, free of the pandering to commercialism and the hick tradition that we have seen too much of over the years. Such honest reporting is most welcome.
Neil Compton, M.D.
Bentonville, Ark.
Thanks for sending the summer issue of OzarksWatch. It is the clearest exposition of vernacular building types that I've come across, and I'm sure I'll refer to it often. The stories about the individual homes are good, too. As to the OzarksWatch society, you know that I would be a charter member, and a few others here at UMR (University of Missouri-Rolla) would probably be interested, as well.
Mark Stauter
Western Historical Manuscript Collection Rolla, Mo.
Copyright -- OzarksWatch
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