History
It is my impression, based on source documents I've read in the old courthouse and county records elsewhere, the non-white population of Howell County continued to diminish after the Civil War. It remained low for decades, below one percent of the total population. Negroes freed after the war did...
If I have any patience at all, it results from having lived with my grandmother, Beulah McKillip Casey, during my formative years as a child on a Shannon County farm.
Grandma was born in 1899 to Civil War veteran Alexander McKillip, who by all accounts was a mild-mannered man, and his wife...
Predating Howell County, the extended Hall family arrived in the Pottersville area while it was part of Oregon County. Their life here was representative of people of color in this part of the county and the Ozarks. How African Americans were treated varied over the years, but there was always a...
If you are a writer, whether you’re John-Boy Walton of the TV series, The Waltons, or Tobias Wolf, author of the bestselling memoir, This Boy’s Life, your family and where you grew up provides a wealth of writing material.
It’s true for me growing up in the Ozarks. I still recall the images—...
In looking back at the first European arrivals in our county, around the end of the 18th century, racial tensions would be primarily between Native Americans and whites. The two races had been at war for a century in the eastern United States as the conflict spread ever westward with the growing...
It hardly seems possible, but forty years ago this week during Wendell Bailey’s 1980 U.S. Congressional campaign, I appeared on his behalf at the St. Louis County Pachyderms. Wendell had been invited to their “Meet the Candidates” event, but had to be in Willow Springs for a birthday party. ...
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft announced on July 21 that the Missouri State Archives and Missouri Historical Records Advisory Board (MHRAB) are offering 45 Lite Registration Packages, each valued at $130, to representatives of the state’s genealogical and historical societies interested in...
Looking into our past, I'm impressed at the resourcefulness of Ozarkers in making a living. I have personal experience with some people who found an unusual niche and a way to make a living in a unique business.
Fifty-four years ago, at the ripe old age of twelve, I found my first job. Wanting...
Willow Springs celebrated the 4th of July with a parade this past Saturday for the twenty-sixth year in a row. It was one of the best in memory, despite the pandemic. The crowd was spread over a wider area along Main Street than in previous years. In the recent past, most observers gathered...
One hundred twenty years ago this month, Howell County was abuzz with news of a murder - over a dog fight. The story initially garnered little attention in local newspapers. Though the incident occurred on June 2, 1900, it was three weeks before the West Plains Journal-Gazette got around to...