My experiences with Shad are rather bland. I knew that he was an icon when I worked there. I remembered the Beverly Hillbilly episodes, and for those of you from the St. Louis area, if you are as old as me...when I was little and lived in Hazelwood (When it was a brand new neighborhood on the edge of St. Louis County.) Shad appeared on Channel 30 (KDNL) on a kids show called "Mr. Patches" and promoted SDC. He also was on Channel 5 (KSD) on "Corky's Colorama," another kids show. That led to me and my brother asking mom and dad to take us to SDC! On that first visit in 1970 I was excited about seeing Shad at the forge. I was too nervous to approach him. When I worked there at SDC starting in 1978, I went out of my way to say "Howdy" to him and always considered myself lucky to get him to look my may and grunt, or on a good day, return the "howdy." I got the impression the whole time that I worked there that unless Shad knew you, he probably would not talk to you. I think he saved everything for his "performances" at the blacksmith shop and forge for the tourists. One of my good friends from high school worked in the Foods Department at SDC during that time, and her parents were managers of the blacksmith shop for a couple of years, and always spoke highly of Shad. I wish I could have gotten to know him better, but he was a tough nut to crack. During the time I worked at SDC a biography on Shad was released, and I purchased it and read he was an alcoholic. Fortunately, he put the bottle away years ago and didn't drink anymore during his SDC years, but I kind of figured he wasn't too friendly with folks he didn't know (except for the tourists) because of the alcoholic thing, but I really don't know. His Wilderness Settlement was the hip place for SDC performers to work and hang out, as he was a master actor, and I felt privileged to see the Toby Show there, and know many of the young peroformers (including Terry Sanders) who honed their craft under his teaching. Those working with him at the Wilderness Settlement were the "true" hardcore talented entertainers in the area. Like everyone else, I was sad to hear in his last few years Shad and his wife Molly were in the College of the Ozarks Nursing Home due to poor health, and was sad to hear of their passing. They were both true legends in entertainment in the Branson area. Both are buried at the Notch Cemetery (Shepherd of the Hills Cemetery) just around the bend from the Indian Point turnoff to SDC.