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Topics - Junior

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31
Branson Talk / "A Salute to Hee Haw" Show
« on: March 11, 2013, 10:05:52 AM »
The Branson Star Theater, 3750 Hwy 76, Branson, will present "A Salute to Hee Haw" Show this year. The shows begin in April, and run through December. An ad I ran across on the Internet says "Join us for a salute to Hee Haw!This new Branson show features your favorite Hee Haw skits with a new cast and some returning Hee Haw cast members. Also experience the surprise second half as the new cast presents their version of the new Hee Haw Yee HawCelebration!" Anyone know anything more about this? First I heard of it. Who are the returning old cast members? Is this in any way tied to my beloved "Hee Haw Theater" that operated in Branson from 1981-1983?  I'm very curious about this show. Anything anyone knows and can share here is much appreciated.

32
SDC Memories/ Park History / A Diving Bell Question?
« on: March 09, 2013, 10:31:07 PM »
From '77-'84, the original run of the diving bell at SDC, Slim Pickens was the voice of Rube Dugan, Dub Taylor the voice of Grandpappy Dugan. I've been thinking about it lately, and if they brought back the diving bell with todays technology, who would be a good voice actor for the ride? My top pick right now is Tom Lester, the actor that played "Eb" in Green Acres. Tom Lester has a good country twang in his voice. But if revived, should he play "Junior" as the new Captain? Should Rube be killed off? Maybe Pickens' and Taylor's voices could be the new ghosts who meet the diving bell at the treasure location. I actually interviewed Lester in my radio days, and he was a very nice guy. This was about a year or two before the release of the kids movie, "Gordy." He told me in the interview that he was developing a talking pig movie, somewhat like "Arnold" on Green Acres. Any thoughts? How about your picks for voice actors? We would have to voice Junior Dugan, Rube Dugan, Grandpappy Dugan...and maybe Eli Tolts (the bad guy) or, if Rube is dead, so would Eli...so how about a voice for Eli's son, who could be the new bad guy?

33
Random Talk / I'm Back!
« on: March 09, 2013, 07:51:23 PM »
Something happened a few weeks ago...maybe two or three weeks ago now...and I'd been knocked out of my login here and could not find my password! So I'm back...just in time for the upcoming 2013 season. Some of you who check my Flickr site will have noticed the stuff I'd posted over the winter has been purged, and I'm prepped for the opening day next Friday. If the Lord is willing and the creek don't rise, I'll be at the park, camera in hand, on opening day. GLAD TO BE BACK! Thanks to RUBE for his assistance a few days ago via an email! -JUNIOR ;D

34
Random Talk / Star Wars Franchise
« on: February 22, 2013, 06:15:53 AM »
Saw something on AOL that stated Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford ARE in some type of negotiations to reprise their roles in the 7th Star Wars film Disney is gearing up for since buying Lucasfilm. Hamill said it could be him playing Luke Skywalker, in some sort of minor role, like a few scenes where he "passes the torch" to his son, or something to that effect.  Anybody see or hear anything else? I still would like to see the stars from the original three films have full blown roles in new films that would be set after the Endor/Ewok time from the third film.

35
SDC Memories/ Park History / "Lost" SDC Photos from the early 1980's
« on: February 20, 2013, 07:30:23 PM »
Well, friends, we have almost made it through the winter, and SDC will be opening for the 2013 season in just a short period of time. Previously during this off season, I've presented some old photos pulled from SDC published guidebooks, and I wanted to do it one more time before rope drop on March 15. So the series present here are photos from the early 1980's, culled from the booklet "From Silver Dollar City A Place to Remember." How many of you remember when the attractions on park held line entertainment? Anyone remember the Boxing Show, or did you play as kids at Tom Sawyer's Landing or at the old petting zoo located where Riverblast is now? How about that time your family got a tintype made outdoors at the wagon located where Half Dollar Holler is now? Do your remember the old Dockside Theater and the River Rat Rowdies Dixieland show? How about the great jig dancing by Ozark Ike at the old gazebo? Well over a dozen photos are presented here for you of many of the "lost" attractions no longer at SDC. Hope you enjoy this last trip for a while back to the SDC of your child hood...or maybe your parents child hood! Enjoy all these photos while you can, as I will "purge" my Flickr site the week that SDC opens for the new season.  You will enjoy the photos more if you click on them to enlarge, and read the caption below. Please let me know if you like the stuff presented here, and if  you do, I'll pull more of this stuff out of my archive from time to time for you to look at.   http://www.flickr.com/photos/juniordugan

36
Ok, we have made it through most of the off season. Park gates swing open again in less than a month! What are your plans for 2013? I plan to be there opening day(tentative plans at this point), with a camera in hand. After breakfast and rope drop, I'm heading right to the pizza restaurant for a few photos and then to Outlaw Run to check it out. Then, a good, general cruise around SDC to see what is new for this year, or what has been changed in some way.  How about you? When do you plan on going for the first time this year, and what are you excited about seeing/experiencing?

37
Random Talk / The Ozarks Mountaineer
« on: February 13, 2013, 08:43:01 AM »
The Ozarks Mountaineer was published in the Branson area for 60 years. This regional magazine featured arts and crafts, Ozarks history and legends, and is the bible for all things Ozarks related. SAD NEWS: this publication ceased with the Nov/Dec issue. Hard economic times have caused this periodical to fold! If you are not familiar with the magazine, I hope you will pick up a copy of it and thumb through it if you spot one anywhere. Go into a big library and you will find bound copies of the magazine. ebay often sells copies in the book section of the auction site. Type in the work Ozarks and more than likely many copies will pop up that you can bid on. I have been a subscriber, and I've picked up copies off the news stand. Well worth your time, I promise. At various times the office of the magazine was located in Kirbyville, near Branson, or in Branson. They had excellent bookstores over the years, including a store at Engler's Block and one at good ole Mutton Hollow. For a couple of years, I was an "Ozarks Mountaineer Ambassador." I distributed copies of the magazine at many northwest Arkansas hospital waiting rooms and clinic waiting rooms. I even distributed hundreds of copies at the famous War Eagle Fair a few years ago. Two of my poems were published in the magazine, but sadly, an article I submitted to them back in 2004 was never published. My old English 101 professor from School of the Ozarks, Fred Pfister, was the last editor of the magazine. I cannot tell you how this breaks my heart that the magazine has folded. It is a fond part of my life in the Ozarks from my teenage years to last December. You can still check out the last issue of the magazine by going to the Ozarks Mountaineer Website. Just type the title into your search engine and the site should be among the first listed. I have hung on to almost every copy of the magazine I have found in the last several years, and the back issues are an important part of my personal library. I use the magazine as research material for the articles I write about Ozarks history and folklore. Sometimes I thumb through copies just for the fun of it. I hope you will look for a copy of the magazine. Thanks for letting me vent here!

38
Random Talk / Brumley Gospel Sing 2013
« on: February 08, 2013, 10:17:47 PM »
We now interrupt our time travel to the old school SDC for this announcement:

BIG BRUMLEY GOSPEL MUSIC SING COMING UP IN 2013!!! If you are a fan of traditional Southern Gospel Music, you will want to check out the Brumley Music Festival card I posted on Flickr. It has the full line up, dates, times, places, and lists a phone number and Website in case you want more info or want to purchase tickets. The event is not until later this year, but it often sells out, it's popular folks, so check it out soon:   http://www.flickr.com/photos/juniordugan   

39
SDC Memories/ Park History / Even more "Lost" SDC Photos-1978
« on: February 06, 2013, 03:49:25 PM »
So I've moved the time machine ahead only 8 years now, to 1978. The last set of photos showed "lost" SDC arts and crafts and attractions that existed in the late, late 1960's and early 1970s. now, just 8 years later, the "old" classic SDC was changing. More and more people were coming to SDC, over a million people a year by this time, so old things were fading out like the medicine show, and other things. This set of photos from 1978 shows many more arts, crafts, attractions, and, most important to me, the unique, colorful "citizens" that worked at the park. As you go through the photos, please click on them to englarge them, and read the captions below for a better description of what you are looking at. This series of photos shows SDC as I saw it as a new, young employee of 15 years of age. (I'm 50 years old this year!) So, enjoy taking another leap back in time...                     http://www.flickr.com/photos/juniordugan       

40
SDC Memories/ Park History / Tanglewood Chapel
« on: February 06, 2013, 08:53:15 AM »
I've touched on this "lost" Branson attraction before, but decided to start a separate thread about Tanglewood Chapel. So here it goes...
-
Tanglewood Chapel and gift shop, located on Fall Creek Road, was founded in 1981 by Lloyd and Louise Durre. Lloyd is best known as playing the Old Shepherd in the play from 1962-1989. The hewn log chapel and separate hewn log gift shop were made from century old logs and built on several acres of heavily wooded property. The Durre's also cut hiking trails throughout their property and encouraged visitors to walk the trails, then go into the chapel for meditation. Lloyd was a talented artist, a teacher in the Branson schools (I missed having him as my art teacher in high school by one year...he retired!) as an actor in the Shepherd of the Hills play, and as a lay minister. I assume the Tanglewood Chapel and the nature trails were a complement to his lay minister activities. He painted a dozen portraits about the life of Christ which decorated the chapel. Louise ran the gift shop, the operation that kept the doors open and the trails cleared. She sold quilts and other handmade arts and craft items made in the Ozarks. as the decade of the 80's closed and moved on into the 1990's, the Durre's health faded, and Louise passed away first. Lloyd followed a few years later. They both were cremated, and their ashes scattered at Tanglewood Chapel. The log buildings were leased as small shops on and off for a few years, but eventually, the buildings fell into some disrepair, and business after business moved in and out of the buildings, until finally they sat for years locked up and empty. The majority of the acres were sold off, and the one acre that the two log buildings sit on is grown over in heavy brush. The Durre's had three kids, all adults now, and they donated the dozen paintings their father did to Friendly Baptist Church in Branson, where, I assume, they are on display. The paintings were valued by an art appraiser last year at about $12,000. (By the way, the music director at the church is none other than Bob Mabe, former owner of Bob O Links Country Hoedown, and an original founding member of the Baldknobber's Hillbilly Jamboree!)


Hope you enjoyed a brief history of this unique "lost" Branson attraction. Anyone have memories of Tanglewood? Anyone visit this place or walk the trails? If you have photos, please post!  -JUNIOR  :)

41
General Silver Dollar City Talk / Celebration City Update?
« on: January 29, 2013, 05:04:58 PM »
So what's going on at CC property? What actually remains on the park? Are all rides sold and moved out by now? We know there will be no development on the property until the state/feds build an improved roadway on the west side of town...that according to an interview that Pete Herschend gave a year or so ago. Has anyone actually driven onto the lot and walked the perimeter of the park? Any photos from the last few months. I am assuming a security team patrols the property 24 hours? Any updated info is appreciated.

42
SDC Memories/ Park History / "Lost" SDC (Images from 1970)
« on: January 25, 2013, 11:13:34 AM »
OK, time travelers...let's go back to Silver Dollar City in 1970. I've posted almost 2 dozen images from the "Official Guide to Silver Dollar City Capital of the Ozarks" booklet that was sold at SDC over 40 years ago. In these images you will see some famous citizens of the past, as well as many "lost" arts and crafts and attractions that no longer exist at SDC. http://www.flickr.com/photos/juniordugan   

43
SDC Memories/ Park History / SDC Growth in the 1970s: Pathfinder Maps
« on: January 13, 2013, 07:06:01 AM »
It's fun to track the growth of SDC by looking at Pathfinder maps. Notice how shops move from location to location, some disappear, some are added. New sections were added to the park in the 70's, at first the area going down Hill Street where the Tintype Shop/Printing Shop, Saloon, and Fire in the Hole were added in '73, then the addition of the "Deepwoods" section in 1977. Check out four Pathfinder maps from 70, 76, 77, and 79 and see how SDC grew back then. I pulled the old maps from my files. Some of these you may have seen before, others probably not. Back in those days, I had a tendancy to write on the maps. If you notice one has what looks like a trail sketched on it around the old stage depot, through the float trip, down to FITH...that was my sketch of the Butterfield Stagecoach Ride route at the time. That old route is where Wildfire and Powderkeg now sit, but back then, it was all out in the woods. Click on the illustrations to increase the map size and look at map details better. Have fun!   http://www.flickr.com/photos/juniordugan  

44
Random Talk / Cave "improvements"
« on: January 01, 2013, 08:31:22 AM »
I live in NW Arkansas, and one of the local "show caves" is currently undergoing "improvements." As you all know, Marvel Cave is NOT a down the tower and then back up the tower tour because in the 1950's the Herschends blasted a tunnel out for the exit where the cave train is. Not unheard of "improvements" back in those days, although some conservationists would balk today. However, the local cave I'm talking about, War Eagle Caverns...also a privately owned show cave just like Marvel Cave, is blasting out a 100 foot tunnel so people on their tours can have better access to additional passageways and to some small lakes and streams that previously were not accessible to the general public because you would have to crawl on your bellies in mud with bats inches above your head to get to those sights. When completed, the lakes will have bridges over them, so folks can get back even deeper in the cave. Current tour is about a half mile of walking, but when the improvements are done, the tour will be longer and there will be better access for a bit more of the 4 miles of cave that exist. They are closed for the winter season, and the bats are hibernating now, too, so blasting has been suspended. When War Eagle Cave reopens in March, the new tours will be offered. So what do you think? Is it, in this day, acceptable to blast passages through a natural cave system for the purpose of increasing tourism to the cave? Conservationists, again, might be upset that the fragile cave ecosystem could be disturbed...the bats, and other creatures would be disturbed. What do you think? Legally, the couple that own the cave can do anything they want to with it, it is their private property, after all. Chime in.

45
General Silver Dollar City Talk / End of 2012 Season
« on: December 29, 2012, 05:37:02 AM »
Here we are folks. Last two days of the season at SDC. I hope those of you with the ability to get to the park will take advantage of the deep discounts many shops will offer. The park will go silent for two and a half months, and then on March 15, we all can look forward to the new season and the debut of OUTLAW RUN! Thanks to the PTB at SDC for another great year. I'm happy to be a season pass holder. It was nice to visit five times this year, I just wish it could have been ten times! I really enjoyed watching the new coaster come along. It seemed so much progress was made from visit to visit. Anyone else have any final thoughts or ideas? :)

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