SDCFans - The Unofficial Fan Site For Silver Dollar City
Silver Dollar City & Celebration City Discussion => SDC Memories/ Park History => Topic started by: Preachin_Bill on June 14, 2013, 09:19:29 AM
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The old bookstore used to be across from the saloon where they do nothing but tintype photos now (Perhaps it was somewhere else before that, but I do not recall). It seems as though I remember it used to be a lot bigger when I was a kid and I was disappointed as I got older in how small it was getting until they finally moved it and it basically became very small. Is the bookstore even still around in SDC? Wish they would have never moved it...it was a favorite stopping point. But oh well.
And one thing that really bothers me is the the location of the sign. Outside the bookstore there used to be an awesome painting of a man reading a book, and the caption said "If you like reading, then you'll enjoy our books" or something to that nature and that sign was awesome! I'd like to own the thing if they aren't using it! Is it still around? I hope it's somewhere and I'm just missing it. Would like to see it/visit the bookstore on this upcoming trip.
Thanks.
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As sales dip at shops, SDC management changes things, cutting out those shops which are not as profitable, and replacing them with things that are. The bookshop did not make much money in its final few years, so the shop kept getting smaller and smaller, and was finally moved to a tiny little building next to the railroad tracks behind flooded mine. It lingered a few more years, and then, just a few years ago, was cut out. No more book shop at SDC. This is probably why Jacks Sandwich shop is now closed. It will be retooled for other use in the days to come. You will notice many arts and crafts are gone from the park, no basket making shop, for instance. I loved the bookshop, too. I was sorry to see it go. Many of my regional history books about the Ozarks came from that shop.
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Sad days. I understand that you have to make business decisions. Some of the books from my collection are from that bookstore that I bought when I was a kid. Even three of my civil war books (I'm now a history teacher) came from that bookstore, as well as the Baldknobbers book I believe. Dad must have wondered if I could even understand what I was reading when I wanted them as a kid, but he bought them for me anyway and I guess it was a good investment since I have read and used them. I also remember a basket shop...was it down by an apple butter store? I believe there was a quilt shop, too? And Of course they moved the saltwater taffy barn. That was no small shock to my family when that happened, but at least they kept it open somewhere else and the taffy is still tasty.
I'm gonna have to send an email and see if I can't locate that old bookstore sign! Top dollar for it! ;D
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Last time I saw the sign it was still on the outside wall of the tiny little building next to the railroad tracks behind flooded mine (which until this season had been the broom-makers). I, too, loved the shop and the sign in particular.
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no books at this point except what are offered in various shops, no dedicated bookstore though.
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No dedicated book store, but they sure are trying to sell you "Love Works" by Joel Manby! of course..I own a copy :D
It actually is a really good read, and would recommend it.
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The only titles on the shelves at SDC that I'd consider would be the Manby book, and Undercover Boss book. I've got copies of the knife maker's poetry book, the two softcover books about Branson and Shepherd of the Hills History, the Wright novel itself, and a little folklore book on sale at the Ozark Marketplace. Other than a few cook books, which I have no interest in, that is about all the titles they currently offer. A shame, too, as they used to carry Vance Randolph stuff...he's the classic Ozark folklorist and story teller, and Milton Rafferty's books on Ozark Land and Life, and many other really good regional history titles.
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Here's a photo of the sign in question
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skinnytie/1098410732/
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Every time I see this thread title, I think of the old SOTH bookstore. It was always a must-stop when I was a kid.
Someone posted pics of the ruins a couple of years ago.
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Every time I see this thread title, I think of the old SOTH bookstore. It was always a must-stop when I was a kid.
Someone posted pics of the ruins a couple of years ago.
Yep, I snuck up there. Here's some of the photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skinnytie/250878087/
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Thanks, betamike. Sad reminder of some great memories (Dogpatch too).
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It is still hanging on the side of the old book store building. At least it was Friday!
(http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z436/tiffanylynnt1/KidsFest2013041_zps8486355c.jpg) (http://s1189.photobucket.com/user/tiffanylynnt1/media/KidsFest2013041_zps8486355c.jpg.html)
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Glad to hear it Tiff. I didn't see it when I was there two weeks ago.
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Happy to report, as others have, that I saw the sign. Wonderful work of art. And there were books around the city of course, but it was nothing like before. I remember buying a book called "a man called shiloh" about the civil war and the author was there to sign the books. Don't get that anymore. Also, the knife shop was out of Ray's poetry books. I hope they will put more up.
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Gosh, this thread makes me want to be a bookshop owner and make it an Ozarks-themed shop. All the books one could find at SDC, and more!
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The SDCfans antique bookstore and collectables shop :D
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Another fan of the bookshop and the printshop. I used to love getting "old-timey" posters made there -- anyone remember the "comic-looking" Baldknobber poster?
I bought my now-weathered copy of Hartman & Ingenthron's Baldknobber history at the SDC bookshop. I agree 100% that there needs to be some sort of Ozarks history book store that sells Randolph/Mitch Jayne/Milton Rafferty/Lynn Morrow books -- of course, Lynn's book about Shepherd of the Hills country might not be too popular, as it "pops" some myths. ::)
T.
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I've got Lynn's SOTH Country book; it was a "textbook" for one of my Ozarks classes. I thought it was great to find out more info on Marmaros... (ie one of the myths that gets "popped", lol)
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"SOTH Country" is a great book, even though I disagree with him just a wee bit on his comments about "the bull goose of the Ozarks", Vance Randolph. ;D
Trying to stay on topic here, with the demise of "The Ozarks Mountaineer" and the SDC bookshop, I'm unaware of any real Ozarks speciality book shops, save the regional shelves at Barnes & Noble. The Wilson's Creek National Battlefield's gift shop does carry a few Ozarks-related titles, as do other state & national historic sites (Nathan Boone Homestead, Ozarks National Senic Riverways, etc.)
T.
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For those of us who don't have the book to which you are referring, what is the Marmaros myth that was popped?
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http://books.google.com/books?id=6D0-YmjQfdsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Shepherd of the Hills Country: Tourism Transforms the Ozarks, 1880s-1930s By Lynn Morrow, Linda Myers-Phinney
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I've got the Morrow book, too. It does take an honest, plain spoken look at tourism myths about the Ozarks. It took me awhile to accept some of it, but, she's probably right. I also have a biography on Vance Randolph by Robert Cochran that tells his life story, and Vance, "Bull-Goose" that he was, had a hardscrabble life to some extent, an alcoholic, somewhat of a "dandy," never had much money of his own until later, and when I visited the Veterans Cemetery where he is buried, not even the cemetery superintendent knew who he was. Kind of sad. Some of the folks who built up the Ozarks in literature and in tourism put on somewhat of a front at times to sell their ideas or projects. That's marketing, I guess.
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I've got the Morrow book, too. It does take an honest, plain spoken look at tourism myths about the Ozarks. It took me awhile to accept some of it, but, she's probably right. I also have a biography on Vance Randolph by Robert Cochran that tells his life story, and Vance, "Bull-Goose" that he was, had a hardscrabble life to some extent, an alcoholic, somewhat of a "dandy," never had much money of his own until later, and when I visited the Veterans Cemetery where he is buried, not even the cemetery superintendent knew who he was. Kind of sad. Some of the folks who built up the Ozarks in literature and in tourism put on somewhat of a front at times to sell their ideas or projects. That's marketing, I guess.
The next time I'm in "Fayettepatch", I plan on making a pilgrimage to Randolph's grave. What I found the most tragic in Cochran's biography as to how hated Randolph, May Kennedy McCord and others were by the so-called "progressive" crowd in the Ozarks were -- the scene where Vance and McCord, "The Queen of the Hillbillies", were publically called out for their work in Springfield comes to mind. Ironically, these are the same folks that Lynn Morrow discusses in SOTH Country (Lynn is a great guy, btw. I met him a couple of times when I was working for the Greene Co. Archives as an intern in graduate school.) As much as a love the Cochran book, it just isn't the most readable in terms of a biography of Randolph. I've always wanted to tackle that project, but no time.
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Glad to see there are others here who read regional history material. I love the stuff, and have a personal library with hundreds of titles. I also have a lot of back issues of Ozarks Mountaineer, Ozarks Reader, and other regional periodicals. I keep a newspaper clipping file on various Ozarks topics of interest to me, as well. I've got copies of the books mentioned on this thread.
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It might be fun for several of us to compose a "must read" list of 10-15 books relating to local history...
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I think my must read list would have to include more titles than that! :) I'd say read as many Vance Randolph titles as possible, Milton Rafferty, Leland and Crystal Payton, Brooks Blevins, Ernest Otto Rayburn, Ellen Gray Massey, throw in Donald Harrington, Ernie Deane, Lynn Morrow and Linda Myers Phinney, Robert K. Gilmore, Phyllis Rossiter, Larry Dabblemont, Tom Koob, Phillip Steele, and that just scratches the surface. Elmo Ingonthron did a great job with his trilogy, and many, many folk who wrote little booklets sold in tourist shops did a really good job of telling Ozark tales and stories, and bits of local history you won't find anywhere else...but be careful of the non-academic, touristy stuff, as some of it just plays on the hillbilly image and is partially or totally made up crap to sell to the vacationers. After you have read several sources, you will be able to determine most of the time what is the truth and what is made up.
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I think my must read list would have to include more titles than that! :) I'd say read as many Vance Randolph titles as possible, Milton Rafferty, Leland and Crystal Payton, Brooks Blevins, Ernest Otto Rayburn, Ellen Gray Massey, throw in Donald Harrington, Ernie Deane, Lynn Morrow and Linda Myers Phinney, Robert K. Gilmore, Phyllis Rossiter, Larry Dabblemont, Tom Koob, Phillip Steele, and that just scratches the surface. Elmo Ingonthron did a great job with his trilogy, and many, many folk who wrote little booklets sold in tourist shops did a really good job of telling Ozark tales and stories, and bits of local history you won't find anywhere else...but be careful of the non-academic, touristy stuff, as some of it just plays on the hillbilly image and is partially or totally made up crap to sell to the vacationers. After you have read several sources, you will be able to determine most of the time what is the truth and what is made up.
That sounds very similar to what I tell my students, Junior. To place the Ozarks in the larger context of American history, I recommend Stephen Aron's American Confluence, which is a history of the Missouri-Mississippi River "confluence region", and the unique mixture of Osage, Eastern Woodland Indians (Shawnee, Cherokee, etc.), French, Spanish, African and American cultures; cultural studies such as David Hackett Fisher's Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in North America, and in particular his chapter on the Northern British (Scotland, Northern England and Ulster); Leyburn's The Scotch-Irish: a Social History, which is still the best one-volume history of the Scots-Irish/Ulster-Scots; McWhinney's Cracker Culture, although I am wary of all of the late Dr. McWhinney's theory of "Southern=Celtic, Northern Teutonic" societies, and the collection of essays entitled The Thistle and the Brier, which discusses the Scottish influences on Appalachia.
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An illustrated kid's adaption of Tom Sawyer, the Will Vinton claymation movie "The Adventures of Mark Twain," the Little House on the Prairie books, and the TV show "Christy" were what I grew up with, so when I moved to Missouri at age 8, I had already developed an emotional connection with rural Missouri. I'm not remotely surprised that the Ozarks ended up becoming very special to me.
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Clancymon: Thanks for the complement. Joy: I agree with your choices, too. There is so much rich history in the region, it's too bad more don't take a closer look.
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Maybe a little book called Shepherd of the Hills should be on that must read list too.... Just saying
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The Shepherd of the Hills should be on the list...and it's success is the majority reason why tourists came to the Ozarks after it's publication. Check out the Shepherd of the Hills Website www.oldmatt.com and go to the history section and read it.
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My wife has had a difficult time reading Shepherd of the Hills. I don't know that Harold Bell Wright needed to write the Ozark Hillbilly accent into the story. Makes it kinda tough for some folks to read...
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The accents are needed for character development. I found that the first time I read the book it was difficult, but as you read it more it becomes easy to read and makes the story more interesting and authentic.
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Having grown up close by it wasn't bad for me, you just have to say those words out loud in your head for them to make sense sometimes
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Shepherd of the Hills without the original language would be a travesty in my opinion. Without it, the integrity of the book would be compromised. Hubs and I saw the play last Fall for the first time in years. We were both disappointed that they modernized quite a bit of the language and "Bransonized" the production. It was still very, very good! I wish more people would attend. I worry about its future. If you haven't seen, I urge you to give it a try - especially I ally in the Fall when it's so colorful in the "holler" and the temps are cool.
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Here is another author to look for. Bob Hinds. He has little racks of his books in convenience stores and gift shops throughout the Ozarks. If you are interested in Ozarks material, look for his "Ozark Pioneers" about life in the 1800's and early 20th century in the West Plains/Hutton Valley area of Missouri. Also his "Ozark Laughter" and "Ozark Attractions" and "Ozark Recipes." He has other material for sale, unrelated to Ozarks life. Check out his Website, too: www.bobhinds.com
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Hubs and I saw the play last Fall for the first time in years. We were both disappointed that they modernized quite a bit of the language and "Bransonized" the production.
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I last saw the play in '99, and I was a bit disappointed then, too. I don't know if it was "Bransonized", but it wasn't nearly as good as in the '80s. I think the problem was professional actors trying too hard. The tempo was off, the dialog sounded rushed and stilted, and the accents were poured on so heavy that many of the lines were unintelligible. If I didn't have it memorized, I couldn't have followed it.
I hope to see it again this year, if my trip falls during the season. If it's not better than '99, I'll be really disappointed. It's such a great story when done right, and I never saw a bad performance in the '70s-'80s.
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When it comes to SotH, I get a little bent outta shape when these actors that ain't from around here come to our neck o' the woods, and overplay the accents ba thunder... 8)