Back in the 1970s and 1980s when the Trimble Family owned Shepherd of the Hills, they distributed thousands of brochure racks throughout the Ozarks. In addition to placing their own brochures in the racks, they also produced and distributed an "Ozarks Entertainment Guide," and left it in the racks, too. In my files, I've found several of the old entertainment guides, and discovered (or remembered) that since Branson only had limited venues in those days, the entertainment guides included attractions in Eureka Springs, Harrison, and Cassville, too. The guide broke down attractions into several categories, daytime and nighttime entertainment, caves, museums, historic points of interest, and special activities. Here is a glance at some of the "lost" attractions from the 1978 brochure:
Daytime Entertainment: Dogpatch USA, Sammy Lane Pirate Cruise, Farwell's Dinosaur Park, Fun Spot, Grandpa's Farm, The
Zebulon Pike, John the Diver.
Nighttime Entertainment: Foggy River Boys, Plummer Family, Merle Croney Family, Bob-O-Link's Country Hoedown, Beacon
Hill Theater at College of the Ozarks, Corn Crib Theater, Mid-Ozark Jamboree (at Dogpatch) and Heart of America Rodeo
(in Mutton Hollow.)
Caves: Dogpatch Caverns, Crystal Caverns, Crystal Cave.
Historic: Jim Lane Cabin, Pioneer Homestead (Forsyth) Rosalie House (Eureka Springs),
Museums: Memorial Museum (Shepherd of the Hills), Jesse James Museum (Where Veterans Museum is in Branson)
Carriage House Museum, (says it was 9 miles w of Branson-I don't remember this one!) Longs Wax Museum (where
the wax museum is in Branson now), The Castle at Inspiration Point (Eureka Springs) and Bryant Art Museum (Harrison)
Special Events: Kewpiesta (Branson), White Bass Round Up and Fish Fry (Forsyth), Kimberling City Arts and Crafts Fair,
Square Dance Weekend (SDC), Hootin and Hollerin Festival (Gainesville, MO), Older American Days (SDC).
Anyone remember any of this stuff? Any childhood memories? Check my Flickr site for a few shots of what the 1978 Entertainment Guide looked like:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juniordugan