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Vol. III, No. 4, Spring 1990 |
from our readers:
When I opened the Winter 1990 issue, the name of my grandmother, Phebe Sue Dunlap Crumpler (1870-1947) jumped off the page in the letter from Sammie Rose of Harrison. Yes, Grandma was famous for her vinegar pie.
My own favorites were her one-serving "fried pies" made of dried fruit--peaches, apples, apricots, or raisins. It was a choice I shared with my father, Hugh Densmore Crumpler (1894-1969) of Rolla, Missouri, and my uncle, Gus Hunt Crumpler (1911-1989) of Harrison, Arkansas. As long as Grandma was alive, we never set out for a fishing trip on Bear Creek or White River without a supply of her fried pies. I regret that I do not have the recipe.The article by Robert Flanders on "Old Fashioned Country Cooking" was so memorable as to send me out looking (unsuccessfully) in nearby markets for a slice of ham that would make redeye gravy. One thing I would like to add: My mother, Addye Alexander Crumpler (1896-1985) of Rolla always grated the yolk of a hardboiled egg on top of wilted lettuce.
Hugh Allen Crumpler
San Diego, California
Having grown up in Westphalia, I found the perspective on the German communities [OzarksWatch, Summer, 1989] very interesting and enlightening. The publication was well done! My ancestors on both my father's (Luebbert of Westphalia) and my mother's (Kliethermes of Loose Creek) side were German immigrants in the early 1800s.
Kathy Krogh
Brookline, Missouri
I was interested in your article about Humansville, Missouri in the 1940s (OzarksWatch, Fall,1989) because my family moved near here in the early '40s, and I remember the Saturday drawings and the stores mentioned. Before that we lived 10 miles from Norwood, Missouri.
Edith Purevich
Humansville, Missouri
Seeing my dear friends Peg and Dick Shaw, pictured in the Fall, 1989 OzarksWatch, brought back many good memories of the Shaws, the Eleven Point Ranch, and Thomasville.
Early in the 1950s my parents became acquainted with the Shaws, the acquaintance developed into close friendship, and my brother and I became the beneficiaries of many wonderful visits to the ranch.
It seemed to take forever to drive from Springfield to Thomasville in those days, and the land had a remoteness and wildness that was completely foreign to us. But also remarkable was the beauty and peace of the woods, and one of my first memories is of the wind blowing through the pines lulling me to sleep at night.
The three Shaw children, my brother, and I were stairsteps, each a year apart in age, and we hit it off immediately. There was always plenty to do and see on the ranch including lots of firsts for us. There was swimming in the Eleven Point River, numerous dogs and horses always available to play with and ride, picnics at Greer Spring (complete with seed ticks), seeing milk pasteurized at home, dehorning cows, loading hay, the rope swing in the hay barn--and the wildlife! Hummingbirds, purple martins, owls, wild turkeys, golden eagles, and wild hogs were abundant and commonplace in Oregon County in the 1950s.
One special adventure comes to mind of the summer when I was about eight years old. My mother and father put me on the train in Springfield to travel to West Plains where Mrs. Shaw would pick me up and take me to the ranch for an extra- long visit by myself. I was worried that I might miss my destination, but once there, the time passed too quickly. That summer Mr. Shaw gave me a Hereford calf to care for which made me feel like a real part of life on the ranch.
But, of course, it was Peg and Dick Shaw who were the focal point of our visits to the ranch. Kind, practical, funny and loving, they were like second parents to my brother and me. And their children, Dusty, Billy, and Judy, are still best friends today.
It is only now as an adult that I realize how incredibly lucky we were to know the Shaw family. Mr. Shaw died on January 12, 1990, and as I stood by his graveside I thanked God for the times we spent at the Eleven Point Ranch in rugged Oregon County, Missouri.
Julie Hammon March
Springfield, Missouri
(With help from my brother, Dr. John W. Hammon,
Jr.)
My husband brought home a copy of OzarksWatch from a Rotary luncheon. His comment was that I would enjoy reading it. He was so right! In fact, I rose from bed at 7:30 on a SATURDAY and rushed to our computer and wrote the article I am enclosing. Even if you cannot publish it, thanks for the inspiration which caused me to reminisce about my childhood.
Audrey Ellington
Springfield, Missouri
Ed. Note: Ms. Ellington's submission is in the file for a future issue.
[2]
Your publication serves a real need, and I want to compliment you on the contents--especially the recent issue on the German influence in the northern Ozarks area. Great work!
I'm familiar, in a way, with the work that publishing a monthly magazine really is--and I know you do a lot of other things too. You're doing a great job, and the copies of OzarksWatch will be valuable for many years to come. I'm engaged in teaching my seven-year-old grandson about area history, and recently I chose to read to him from your publication in addition to some of Springfield historian Jonathan Fairbanks' works--and he was most interested! That's a real test because he is so often bored. But not last Saturday!
Bob Glazier
Springfield, Missouri
Ed. Note: Bob Glazier is certainly "familiar, in a way" with the publishing business. He is editor and publisher of Springfield./magazine.
Two years ago, on our visit to relatives in the Rhineland area, just West of Dusseldorf, we were guests in the home of Mr. Wilhelm Toups. Two years prior to that he had researched and published as a feature article in the "Almanach fur den Kreis Neuss," several hundred family immigration records. He was unaware at the time that many of them were the people who settled in Loose Creek and Osage County.
When I used the old German dialect, handed down by our parents, their attitude was one of disbelief. Six weeks after our return, Mr. Robert Rameil, chairman of the Meerbusch Historical program, came to Loose Creek and neighboring towns to do a feature on the existing German culture in this area.
Joe Muenks
Loose Creek, Missouri
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