Messages

16

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Famous Movie Quotes with Silver Dollar City Tweaks

« on: August 17, 2015, 01:02:13 PM »

SCARLETT
     Oh, Rhett, Rhett, please don’t say that.
     I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for everything.
     I’m so sorry that we ran out of time and didn’t
     get to ride The Lost River of the Ozarks.

RHETT
     My darling, your’re such a child.
     You think that by saying I’m sorry, all the past can be corrected.
     Here, take my handkerchief.
     Never in any crisis of your life, have I known you to have a handkerchief.
     If we had rode the Lost River that day,
     I’m sure you would have had no way to wipe the water off your face.

SCARLETT
     Rhett, Rhett, where are you going?

RHETT
     I'm going back to Silver Dollar City, Back where I belong.
     I’m going to ride the Lost River, all by myself and get bathtub wet.

SCARLETT
     Please Rhett, please take me with you.
     I want some barbecue and a funnel cake.
     I want to ride the train. I want to see Terry Sanders.

RHETT
     No. I'm through with everything.
     I want peace. I want to see if somewhere,
     if there is something left in life with charm and grace,
     something like the National Harvest Festival.
     Do you know what I'm talking about?

SCARLETT
     No. I only know that I love you.
     And that I do want to ride Fire In the Hole, and the
     Lost River, and everything else—except maybe Thunderation.
     It always makes me dizzy, when it spins down that hole.    

RHETT
     That's your misfortune.

SCARLETT
     Rhett! Rhett! Rhett! Rhett!
     If you go to Silver Dollar City, where shall I go?
     What shall I do?

RHETT
     Frankly, my dear, I don't give a mill dam across the Lost River.
     And next time, you'll have to ride the tram back to Lot C all by yourself.

17

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Famous Movie Quotes with Silver Dollar City Tweaks

« on: August 16, 2015, 05:20:22 PM »

“I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda rode Rube Dugan’s Diving Bell.”
     - Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront (1954)

“Toto, I’ve got a feeling that we are not in Tom Sawyer’s Landing anymore.”
     - Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz (1939)

“I love the smell of Shad Heller’s forge in the morning.”
     - Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now (1979)

“Love means never having to say that you are too dizzy to ride Wildfire again.”
     - Ali MacGraw in Love Story (1970)

“Houston, we have a problem. I believe Fire in the Hole is broke down again.”
     -  Tom Hanks in Apollo 13 (1995)

“Miss Tilly, you are trying to seduce me. Aren’t you?”
     - Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate (1967)

18

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Famous Movie Quotes with Silver Dollar City Tweaks

« on: August 16, 2015, 04:29:57 PM »

...I'll think about that tomorrow. After all, I came after three so tomorrow is free.

19

Construction/Rumors / Re: If FM Is Leaving, What Does Its Last Season Look Like?

« on: July 28, 2015, 05:25:47 PM »

What am I missing? Has SDC made an announcement that the Flooded Mine is going away? Is this a rumor, or has this been decided, or what?

20

Construction/Rumors / Re: Land size ..

« on: July 21, 2015, 11:14:00 AM »

I have done a little research on the land records of Section 29. Here are some highlights of the early history:

-- In 1870, the Atlantic and Pacific (A&P) Railroad announced plans to construct a new railroad across the White River region, from Monett, Missouri, to Batesville, Arkansas.

-- The A&P Railroad was given a land grant by the US Government of 140,000 acres. The grant consisted of alternating sections of land on either side of the proposed route.

-- George Gilbert of Springfield, Missouri, purchased all of section 29, the square mile that included Marble Cave. He purchased the land solely as an investment.

-- In 1884, Mr. T. Hodge Jones purchased all of sec. 29. The land was transferred to the corporation, The Marble Cave Mining and Manufacturing Company.

-- In 1884, J. B..Emery, president of the Marble Cave Mining Co., filed a plat for the town of Marble City with Stone County.

-- In 1893, Arthur Lynch of Jackson County, Missouri, bought the one-square-mile cave property (sec. 29) for $7,000.

-- In 1893, Arthur sold sec. 29 to his brother, William Henry Lynch who was living in Canada. The price was $10,000.

-- In 1901, a small plot (2 to 4 acres) was donated by Levi Morrill for the Marble Cave School, but this was probably in sec. 20.

-- Year Unknown:  80 acres (E ½, NE ¼ of Sec. 29) transferred to Lizzie Goodan.

-- (about 1913 ?) William Henry Lynch died and his land in sec. 29 was transferred to his daughters. (I believe this was 560 acres).

Please let me know if any of this is in error or it I left out anything.

21

Other Parks / Re: Stone Mountain Park Under Fire

« on: July 15, 2015, 02:50:26 PM »

...,I would agree that removing the carving would be erasure, IF it were actually a remnant from the confederacy era itself. In fact, the carving was started in the 60's and considered finished in 1972.

Okay, I can see your point. I suppose the carving could actually be considered “revisionist history.” Another point-of-view on this is that a perfectly good natural formation was scarred by blasting the monument into it. It could never be completely restored. The best that anyone could do is to blast it away and then shape it so it looks like a natural chunk of rock fell off of it. Also, I agree that the corporation should not say anything about it.

22

Other Parks / Re: Stone Mountain Park Under Fire

« on: July 15, 2015, 11:28:33 AM »

My opinion is not going to be a popular one with everybody. I don’t like to see political issues discussed on this forum but some times it does get political. I see this as a freedom of speech issue. What it boils down to is people wanting to erase history and it is been going on since ancient times. In ancient cultures, such as ancient Egypt, every Pharaoh changed the monuments to tell the story the way he wanted it told. If he didn’t like his predecessor, he simply ordered that the previous Pharaoh’s name be erased—everywhere it was carved into stone. 

Right now in the Middle East, ISIS is destroying ancient artifacts and complete ancient cities that have survived under the sands of history for literally thousands of years. They want to reset history back to year zero and start with an erased slate. I don’t believe they can destroy everything but that can mess up the historical record so bad that it will be difficult to find the truth. It is a horrible war crime. I don’t mean to minimize the deaths of people, ethnic and religious cleansing, but protecting a country’s history, cultures, and national treasures in times of war has always been a priority for advanced nations, such as the United Sates of America. 

The erasing of history seems to be running at an all time high in these current troubled times. The liberals in our country have been waiting for chance at historical cleansing. They will not stop with the Civil War monuments. There are those who want to blast away every hint of religion on government buildings. If you have ever looked at our government buildings you will know that they are covered with reverences to founding our nation upon religious freedom. Those who want to erase history will not stop with the government buildings. They seek to change our money, rewrite the history books (if there is anything left to change), change our laws, and even rewrite the constitution. There are some that even want to remove crosses from tombstones. What it boils down to is hatred of God and war against him. It is what the Bible refers to as the great falling away and it is the beginning of the end times and tribulation.

Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox now. I know this opinion is extreme but I’ve told it the way I believe it to be. If this is too extreme, then censor me and remove this message.

23

Branson Talk / Re: Spirit of 76 Project

« on: July 08, 2015, 05:02:47 PM »

Okay, I went back and read the Spirit of 76 Project article that is posted on this SDCfans website. It does say that a Trolley System is proposed to run in the center lane. I not sure, from reading that article, if the Trolley will be constructed or if they are just leaving a space for it to be added later. I guess a trolley would be better than a bus system. However, now I'm wondering what kind of problems it will create for cars using the same center lane as a turning lane. I've been to San Francisco and it is rather scary to drive there and share the road with the trolleys.

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Branson Talk / Re: The "What's Wrong With Branson" Mega-Thread

« on: July 08, 2015, 10:57:00 AM »

I’ve studied the Branson Spirit of 76 Project at:   http://bransonspiritof76.com/  I’ve been reading about this project for many years and it seems that their purpose has changed. In the beginning there was a lot of talk about improving transportation. There was talk about building a monorail system, similar to Disney World, so that visitors could easily catch the monorail train and go anywhere on the strip. It was meant to ease the traffic problems. Now that part of the plan has been reduced to getting people to ride a bus. Many people don’t like riding a bus. It ranges from fear of the unknown (like where do I get on and where will it take me?) to fear of being robbed or assaulted. I agree that this project will make Branson more attractive. I’m not sure it will solve any traffic problems.

25

Construction/Rumors / Re: What items at SDC do you feel are important to your visit?

« on: June 23, 2015, 07:42:04 PM »

1. Saloon Show - 5
2. Ribhouse – 5
3. Dockside Theater - 3
4. White River Mercantile - 1
5. Riverfront Playhouse - 3
6. Echo Hollow - 4
7. Flooded Mine - 5
8. Grandfather's Mansion - 5
9. Treehouse – 5
10. Midtown Shopping Area - 4
11. Boatworks Theater - 1
12. Carousel Barn - 1
13. ThuNderaTion - 2
14. Kiddie Rides (the insects/frogs) in Grand Expo – 2
15. Storytime Theater in Half Dollar Holler - 1
16. Corkscrew Pass - 1
17. Hill Street - 4
18. Homestead Area's non-paved area - 5
19. American Plunge - 1
20. Frisco Barn - 3

26

General Silver Dollar City Talk / Re: Any secrets in SDC? (secret areas, etc.)

« on: June 19, 2015, 09:54:23 PM »

A few weeks ago I finally got a chance to go to SDC, by myself, and just take pictures all day. I was purposefully looking for hidden and abandoned places. I already knew where most of the places were that I was looking for, but I kept finding things I had never noticed before. There are lots of sections of abandoned rides, especially the old Float Trip. There are sections of it that are still the way it was the last day it operated, with props, old signs, and the water still flows through it.

I noticed several old roads and abandoned sheds down in the woods. There are lots of old signs that are hard to see now, because brush and trees have grown in front of them. There are abandoned sides of buildings because something has been built in front of what used to be out in the open. It was amazing that I was continually running across things I didn’t know were there. If you take your time and really look around, the details of SDC are amazing. I took photos for hours, until my battery ran down. I believe I’ll go back and do that again sometime. I certainly didn’t photograph everything.

27

SDC Memories/ Park History / Re: SDC Memories

« on: May 21, 2015, 09:09:07 PM »

Was that disagreement about just how small or big Marmaros actually was?

As for the history of Marmaros: some of the people I have interviewed are minimalists and others are maximalists. For example, Walker Powell told me that Marmaros “was nothin’ but a few old sheds.” He doesn't believe there was anything resembling a town there.

Frisco Jack is a maximalist. He believes it was a good sized town with homes, a general store, hotel, post office, blacksmith shop, school, pottery factory, and furniture factory. His idea of the guano mining operation is much grander than Powell’s. The only thing that I really argued with Frisco Jack about was the locations of some of the buildings and existing original photographs. I have not seen any evidence that the Marmaros General Store was at the same location as the SDC General Store. But, it could have been. Also, I still have NOT seen any photographs of any part of Marmaros. I’m still hoping that one will appear.

On the other hand, I discussed all this with Jack H. who knew and talked to Charley Sullivan back in the 1950s. Sullivan lived in Marmaros as a boy in the 1880s and is the only eyewitness to have come forward that I know of. Jack H. believes that most of the oral tradition about Marmaros is true. However, I asked him about the original foundations. He said that the only foundation that was still there in the 1950s was that of the old hotel. It had a perimeter foundation of stacked rocks. But, the majority of Ozark buildings did NOT have a foundation then. They usually had only a few flat rocks at the corners to hold up the sills.

Now, I have taken all this info and tried to find written sources for it. I have been surprised, so far, at what I have found in old newspaper articles. Most of the tradition seems to be true as far as I can tell, with a few exceptions. There was a school at Marmaros but not until the mid-1890s and this was after the rest of the town burned. Also, I have NOT found any evidence of the pottery works or the furniture factory, at least not any written sources before the 1960s. But, the research goes on.

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SDC Memories/ Park History / Re: SDC Memories

« on: May 14, 2015, 11:01:31 AM »

I made a special trip to SDC yesterday to listen to Frisco Jack’s presentation. It was NOT very well attended with only 4 people there. Like Duelist said, he told some interesting stuff I had not heard before. I talked to Frisco Jack before it started. He said this talk was a special thing SDC was doing for high school kids this week. There are 4 different lectures they can attend. The s SDC talk is only one of several he is doing this week. He also speaks on other history topics, such as: The Panic of 1837, The War of 1812, and several others.

I wanted one of the flyers than Pintrader posted and I wanted Frisco Jack to autograph it. Frisco Jack did NOT know what I was talking about. He said he had not seen any such flyer. SO: If any one has an extra, or can tell where to get one, please let-me-know. Someone at SDC probably still has a stack of these.

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SDC Memories/ Park History / Re: SDC Memories

« on: May 08, 2015, 11:20:06 AM »

Made a trip to SDC today and they were passing out these flyers.  Said Frisco Jack would be doing this for the next 10 days starting tomorrow.  Not quite a historical exhibit but there is some interest being shown to at least tell some history. 

I have talked with Frisco Jack. He knows a lot of history and has some really good stories. He and I have argued, politely of-course, about some of the history concerning the Marble Cave Mine and Marmaros. I would really love to listen to his talk and I think I'll try to get into to one of his presentations.

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SDC Memories/ Park History / Re: Original Silver Dollar City Entrance Sign photo?

« on: April 29, 2015, 06:15:53 PM »

I’m still somewhat confused about Pintraders’s photo because I don’t know where that was taken (exactly) or what direction the camera was facing. It looks like the ‘S’ curve that they recently bypassed. But if that is true, it would seem the arrow on the sign is pointing the wrong direction. Back in the 1960s and early 70s, I remember several signs on 76 with the miner pointing the way. It seems like one (or more) may have said something like, “You are almost there.”

In the early 1960s, Indian Point Road cut across directly in front of Wilderness Church and the McHaffie homestead. There was a parking lot in the square where the gazebo is now. By 1963, they closed that parking lot and opened another one where Flooded Mine, the depot, and the (old) woodcarvers barn is. Eventually, a new highway was constructed to route traffic around SDC to Indian Point. So, there have been several different places to enter SDC in the past.

Another thing: it seems that the miner on the old signs morphed into an ax carrying woodsman somewhere along the way. I like to know when that change happened.