Volume 5, Number 2 - Winter 1973-74
THREE MINUTE STORIES NOT IN PRINT
OZARK INGENUITY
by Mrs. Al Evans
This is a story of an incident that happened on Big Creek, as told many years ago by James Washington Taberto his grandson, Bill Hughes. It took place in the 1890’s, at the little village of Nance which is located in Taney County along the Ozark-Taney County line, about a mile north of U.S. Highway 160.
The village was named for Jack Nance who had the general store and was postmaster. Jack was well known there-a-bouts as a real joker.
In front of Nance’s general store and postoffice stood an old oak tree. The tree was hollow and needed to be taken down, but Jack Nance didn’t want to get invloved in all that labor.
He studied the situation for a few days and came up with an idea how he could get that tree down without doing the work himself.
Early one morning he took his ‘coon-skin’ cap, climbed high up in the tree and hung it on a fork, being careful to place it so the tail was hanging down just like a real live coon. Then he sat back to wait for the men in the settlement to come for their morning loafing in front of the store. After they all arrived, Jack Nance started looking up in that tree. Soon the others did the same and all became excited when they saw Jack’s ‘coon’. They decided to get that varmint, however there wasn’t a gun among them. They threw rocks and sticks but that ‘coon’ wouldn’t budge.
Finally somebody, maybe it was Jack Nance, suggested they cut down the tree to get at whatever it was that was up there. "It’s alright to fall the tree" Jack told them, "but you’ll have to clean it up and remove it from the store grounds." They agreed and everyone ran for axes. That tree was soon down and the group found Jack Nance had ‘joked’ them again. But they kept their word and cleaned up the tree. As far as it is known there was no retaliation.
If I was to give this story a title, I would call it "Ozark Ingenuity".
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