Author Topic: How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?  (Read 19293 times)

KBCraig

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How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?
« on: June 29, 2008, 01:06:49 AM »
From 1970-85(ish), Shepherd of the Hills was just as much a part of our Branson vacation as was SDC. We only missed it once or twice, because of weather. Our routine was to "arrive after 3 (next day free)" at SDC, go to SotH that night, then spend the next full day at SDC.

When I went back in '98, I made sure to take my boys for the tour and the show, using that same routine.

Over the years I fell in love with one Sammy Lane, looked up to (literally) a couple of different Young Matts, booed a few Wash Gibbs, and knew there was only one Old Matt and Shepherd (I really miss those actors from the '70s/'80s, whose voices I can still hear).

And no matter how many times I'd see the show, there was always the threat that Jim Lane was about to finally gun down Gibbs. (With his gun worn cross-draw for the stage, instead of inside his hickory shirt with the missing button, as in the book.)

When we went in '98, the actors were of course quite different, but also good. The only disappointment was Ollie, who was just too much of a caricature.

How many others here are fans of SotH?

I still think of Branson as SDC and SotH, with a side trip to the museum at School of the Ozarks/College of the Ozarks (they changed the name). The only music shows we ever saw were Baldknobbers (once, I think), the Presley Family, and another local family show whose name escapes me. I don't care about Branson for outlet malls, or Vegas/Nashville reviews. I've never been on a lake cruise, but I wouldn't object if I had enough time and money.

I think we went one time to Whitewater. Maybe caught a few go-karts and putt-putts. We seldom went that far east on 76, because for us "Branson" started at Kimberling City (where we usually stayed, when "Branson West" was just an empty crossroads) and ended at Shepherd of the Hills.

We admired that the two attractions bought up all the land between them. As an objectivist/libertarian/free-marketeer, I still admire that: ownership is the ultimate form of zoning. Better to own it, than demand the government restrict other owners.

Anyhoo, I only mentioned that, to mention this: do you remember the Shepherd of the Hills bookstore that was in the middle of nothing between SDC and SotH, on the north side of 76? When I was a kid, there was an elderly widow who owned the place, which was a fascinating bookstore. When I visited in '98, I could see the old building, which looked like it had fallen in.

Sorry for the rambling. SotH: big fan, or not?

Kevin

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Re: How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?
« Reply #1 on: June 29, 2008, 07:41:26 AM »
yea im a pretty big fan of soth but i just wish they had more to do there. maybe more crafts demos and themed shops like sdc. its such a big place yet you can go there in the middle of the day and there are hardly any people.

betamike

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Re: How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?
« Reply #2 on: June 29, 2008, 09:13:30 AM »
Loved Shepherd of the Hills but only went a few times with my family as a kid and a few more when I worked at SDC.  I would like to go back though and see it again.

I very much remember the old bookstore out on the curve.  I always wanted to go in there but never made the time (poor excuse) and now it's gone.  That cut-through made traffic a little easier to manage, but really took away one of the things I always enjoyed....the twisting and turning drive through the hillside.  I know this sounds crazy, but you really did feel like the characters from Harold Bell Wright's novel might have traveled those same windy pathways as you drove on them.


There is mention of the bookstore in the link below:
http://www.themessagetree.com/march2003/therapeofthehills.htm

I did venture up one of the old roads that used to intersect off of the main highway just to see if could locate the old gift shop and I'm not sure if what I found was the same bookstore or not, but here are a few photos of "something" that existed at around the same spot.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/skinnytie/250878159/in/set-72157594296835039/
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KBCraig

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Re: How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?
« Reply #3 on: June 29, 2008, 09:46:08 AM »
It's a shame about the road, but it did need to be done. I remember traffic backed up for miles as people tried to turn left, and the local folks with stickers on their front bumpers: "I'm a native, I'll help you turn left! <-----"

Dad had a rule of only turning right except at stoplights (there were only a couple of them back then), which helped a lot. We usually stayed at Kimberling City, so we had a right turn into SDC, then turned right to get to SotH.

betamike

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Re: How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?
« Reply #4 on: June 29, 2008, 11:17:57 AM »
Hahaha!  Your dad and my dad I think used the same game plan.  He would plan out EVERYTHING including when we would hit what and when.  We always did the SDC campground though, so that shoots down the right turn angle quite a bit.
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Re: How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?
« Reply #5 on: June 29, 2008, 01:09:43 PM »
We've been once and we didn't really like it. I was younger so I don't remember it all that well.
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Re: How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?
« Reply #6 on: June 29, 2008, 05:25:48 PM »
SotH is definately a great show with good effects and an excellent sound system.  It's packed with history that we often talk about in regards to rides and other attractions in the area.  With much of this history being erased by projects like the Branson Landing, SotH and SDC are two of the last refuges of this history.  I think you just have to visit the performance at SotH and tour Old Matt's cabin at least once, but I'm not a fan of any of the surrounding gimmicks they've added or tried.  Even much of Old Matt's cabin has been compromised with furnishings not always being of the period.  Plus, I thought Inspiration Tower was always a weird addition.  I remember when Mercy made fun of it in the evening show at SDC.
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KBCraig

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Re: How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?
« Reply #7 on: June 29, 2008, 10:30:16 PM »
The tower is definitely strange and out of place. I was reminded of Oral Roberts' "prayer tower".

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Re: How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?
« Reply #8 on: June 30, 2008, 12:13:44 AM »
It’s a great novel. I would love to see it made into a movie, but the movie should follow the actual novel. The play in Branson is fun, but the script needs a little re-working, but over all a great show.

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Re: How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?
« Reply #9 on: June 30, 2008, 08:48:48 AM »
As I recall, there have been several movies made from the book, the worst of which stared John Wayne. It made the family moonshiners and was fillmed in the Sierra Madres. The premeried the movie at the Owens Theater in downtown Branson and the locals were more insulted than amused. Were it not for the fact they got to meet John Wayne, they probably would have reformed the Baldknobbers right there and then!
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KBCraig

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Re: How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?
« Reply #10 on: June 30, 2008, 09:35:22 AM »
The John Wayne movie was horrible.

There was a 1919 version which Harold Bell Wright helped direct. Other versions were made in 1928 and 1964. I haven't seen any of these, but I keep an eye out for them.

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Re: How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?
« Reply #11 on: June 17, 2009, 04:55:41 PM »
Same here.  During my childhood, it was always SDC and SOTH.  Didn't really do much of the Branson thing.  Of course back then it was only the Presley's and the Baldknobbers.  Nonetheless, those were the only two things we did.  I miss the old days where you could drive for miles outside of "branson"  before making it to SOTH.  I miss seeing "Jim Lane's" cabin and all the remarks relating to the story.  Also, back then, they tried to make out like the story was true and everything was factual.  I also remember when taking the Homestead tour, they would take you by "Mad Howard and Little Pete's" cave and describe how they found his living quarters in the back of the cave, but it caved in and is no longer accessable.  Oh well....the good old days!

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Re: How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?
« Reply #12 on: June 17, 2009, 05:38:05 PM »
I picked up a 1969 36-page program at a garage sale, last weekend, and was thrilled with the shape it's in.  It featured SDC & Dogpatch, along with many other area attractions.  If anybody is interested in seeing the contents, I'll scan them & put them on my flicker account.  Still researching, we have a Harold Bell Wright in our family tree from KY/TN...
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Re: How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?
« Reply #13 on: June 17, 2009, 06:20:10 PM »
Along with my endless supply of SDC ephemera/photos etc, I also have a large mass of SOTH items as well, I will eventually get to those when I am finished with my SDC items.

Funny that yesterday I had a hankering to watch SOTH, and got out my John Wayne version to watch!

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Re: How many are also Shepherd of the Hills fans?
« Reply #14 on: June 17, 2009, 07:08:31 PM »
It's cool. I've been to it twice. The first time, it was, like, October or November, and we froze our booties off. The second time I went, it was only about a month after I had finally been able to read the book, and found that having read the book kinda made the show a bit less interesting to me. The best version of SOTH, as it almost always is with anything, is the book.

And the book I have? The 1907 first edition. Not in mint condition, but mostly just with the cover picture fading and the binding worn a bit.