Being a booster of a hometown requires one sometimes to make do with what we have. Local history is frequently more disappointing and less dramatic than we envision it. In grade school I became obsessed with the Marshfield Fort. Dad had read me the juicier parts of FWG’s blue centennial book, which mentions little beyond its plundering and destruction. Dissatisfied that no photo or drawing existed I set out to correct this insufficiency. Needing little else beyond hubris and art supplies, the stockade timbers of construction paper came to life, -it did look eerily similar to my Fort West playset. In my version of local history, a desperate crayola struggle ensued betwixt a blue command holding out against a gray horde who’d apparently taken up a position between Citizens State Bank and the post office. A determined stick figurish Col. Hampton stood atop the works, sword in hand encouraging his brave men to hold out, as the rebel lines maneuvered around the courthouse. All seemed lost till Captains Butts and Bodenhammer with 200 horsemen, concealed behind Beckerdite Music, attacked the rebel rear joining battle. Blood ran down Marshall Street. My masterpiece was first presented at show and tell, which truthfully should have included a parental warning, as no gore was spared in relating the imaginary Battle of Marshfield. Afterwards I was quietly informed “it probably didn't happen that way and had to write sentences. The following is an attempt at academic honesty on the topic” -CCH more

It is the first day of December as I take pen and paper in hand. more

With Saint Nick’s annual visit approaching and winter’s cold starting to settle in, I can imagine some folks hoping to find warm fur caps, gloves or coats under the Christmas tree. more

The deer hunter sits in his stand waiting. He has done that many times in his life. Many times, he has wondered why he hunts. Why, he goes into the wild. It is not nearly so important to get wild meat as it once was to feed his family. Is this deer hunting, that important to him? Is that why he keeps doing it? He wonders. more

A few months ago, cousin Robert Haymes, knowing my passion for old stories and local history, sent me some of his father’s writings. What he sent was clear and concise and truly painted a picture of life here seventy plus years ago. With minimal editing it is today’s article. David Haymes, was not only an encyclopedia of genealogy and local facts, but also a collector of funny tales he often regaled me with. Thankfully he took the time to write this and much more down before being robbed by dementia, and passing on to his eternal reward. What a legacy for his grandchildren and those yet unborn who will want to know what our world was like. It's now your turn, during this holiday season, leave a legacy, take the time to write it down or record it with your phone. Someday it will be priceless. Happy Thanksgiving! –CCH. more

Some just-nippy mornings it wafts on the air as lightly as the fragrance of apple blossoms in spring. more

In scarcely more than a week, it seems, the verdant and overgrown woods of summer have given way to the colorful tapestry of fall. more

When an albino deer appeared north of Marshfield a few years ago, folks viewed it as unique, not supernatural or otherworldly. This stands in stark contrast to two millennia of folk belief. Native Americans viewed the appearance of white deer as very good luck and a sign of strength and abundance, however the reverse was true should it be killed. Some southern tribes have legends claiming a white doe is a maiden trapped by a witch, in order to separate her from a lover. Old time Ozarkers felt a sense of dread. Don and Sue Tyson were filled with wonder and joy as they watched a doe give birth to twins near their front porch, one being tan the other snow white. The Tysons watched the little fellow daily until he became accustomed to their presence, this proximity enabling them to document its life through pictures and video. Dale Richerson had seen the animal on multiple occasions, but failed to get a picture. “I just got lucky one morning and got a little video.” The video he captured soon went viral, drawing the attention of local media, even getting picked up by the UPI. Soon other pictures began popping up on social media, with many hoping he would pass his genetics on and start a herd of similarly colored animals. For sometime folks with their video app at the ready cruised the roads north of town hoping to get a glimpse of the otherworldly-looking celebrity. These deer are rare but not unheard of, according to Francis Skalicky with the Missouri Department of Conservation, who was quoted at the time, "One in 30,000 sounds like a rare ratio…However, when you have over a million deer in Missouri, which we do, that means you will probably have a few albino deer a year. We get reports of them around the state." Under the game code they're legal to harvest, the same restrictions and permits applying to all white tail deer. In the latter half of 2023 the young buck vanished, not being seen again. Did he succumb to disease or fall to an arrow or bullet? Local rumor had it being poached out of season. The Tysons lament his apparent demise, “We still talk with him and cannot imagine who took his life and what kind of person would kill something so beautiful.” One informant being a tad more blunt than the rest stated, “There always has to be a butthole around…” more

I heard coyotes outside my bedroom window last night — not quite in my yard, but near enough I could have seen them in daylight. more

Growing up here, I've always lamented the lack of local ghost stories associated with our hometown. Maybe we are a tad too practical-minded for our own good, keeping well away from such foolishness as ghosts. If ghosts exist, experts in such matters state ghosts may be a “replay” of people long since dead, their moments of terror and trauma making an impression upon the environment. In that case Webster County oughta raise quite a crop of ghosts, after all we boast the death and destruction of the 1880 tornado, sites of killings aplenty, cemeteries that gather twilight mist and dark, lonely stands of timber…yet despite these romantic settings, the tales are few and far between. This doesn't mean we are without supernatural fireside fodder, here are a few I've picked up over the years. more

Some Old-Timey Thoughts on Witches more

Few Missouri trees have histories that are more interesting than the Osage orange. more

I take pride in calling myself an Ozarker, and indeed I am. more

In the spirit of the season it seems appropriate to share some traditional folklore and stories. The Ozarks were first populated by frontierfolk who brought with them a firm belief in the supernatural along with a tradition of combating evil with “church-sanctioned” magical remedies. It was also believed these same malevolent forces which affected people were also lodged in certain plants and animals. In a society that depended on the forest and timber, much folk belief revolved around trees. Fragments of this eons old lore, linger to this day. Perhaps you've heard a few of these. more

When I was a boy learning of life in the woods, my dad taught me to recognize animals by what they left behind — the contents of their scat. more

The news on television is depressing. Social media is mainly things that do nothing but put me in a bad mood. There are price increases, shortages, strikes, protests, politics, COVID-19, flu season, and more. The outdoors is calling me to practice nature therapy to escape all that. more

“The Wild Robot” more

Hi everyone! O K rambling friends for several weeks now we have been diving into six different principles how Hitler changed Germany after World War One into a Nazi nation. He employed eight different principles in which we have gone through six. Let me remind you what we have covered so far. Indoctrination of children, taking guns away from good people, censoring the news media, creating a crisis, establishing a hate group and controlling the preachers. This week is going to be explaining Hitler’s ‘cancel culture'. When the Nazis’ came to power they knew the importance of changing the culture was a top priority. For the first months of his dictatorship he banned certain books, statues, literature, control of education for students, religion, entertainment, signs, plays and fine arts and promoted the hatred of Jews. The Nazi party established a party line of doctrine and everyone had to conform or else be arrested and sent off to a concentration camp for torture and death. There were massive book burnings in public places and you were considered a good citizen if you did your part to burn or destroy anything you had that did not comply. In America today we have been purging ourselves of much of our past culture as well. More slowly perhaps than Hitler demanded his citizens to do so but nevertheless it has been taking place. Let’s name just a few. Remaining our military bases that were named after confederate generals. Taking down statues of the civil war. Many schools have banned the Bible however books that teach about the acceptance of LGBT is considered normal. At one time I used to read the school books that grade school children were being taught. I will never forget the first time I read a first graders primary reader that having two moms or two dads was normal. As a child of the 50’s and 60’s and what was taught in school then is like a night and day difference when compared with our education in today's classroom. What is considered good today would have been considered pornography in the fifties culture of our past. One principle in which politicians know too well is the well known principle of telling lies. When they repeat their lies over and over again their lies are accepted as the new truth. Remember when the prime minister of Israel came to America a few weeks ago (Benjamin Netanyahu) to address the joint session of congress that certain Senators and Representatives would not show up? These actions send a powerful message who they support and don’t! Remember last October 7, 2023 when Hamas invaded Israel when 1400 civilians were killed, raped, cut heads off of innocent women and children and dragged hundred of hostages back to Gaza to be brutalized. Today, Hamas still holds many hostages which they will not release. The leaders of Hamas have and did employ all of the principles Hitler used to change his nation into Jew haters. It makes me feel so sad when our colleges are guilty of spreading hate and discord among our college students to take the side of Hamas. Oh by the way the name Hamas means —EVIL! It is so so sad to see our young people blindly holding up signs and proclaiming to be Hamas and Jew haters. How would these students, faculty and staff like for a hate group to do to them what Hamas did to the Jews? Oh I am sure the rules would change very quickly if the shoe were on the other foot. One of my first eye opener wake up calls of how colleges change a conservative student into a liberal was when I used to listen to a college professor on a well known local radio station in the 1970’s. Guess what, he was the professor of religious studies and when asked if the Bible were true he said, “no” it is simply a bunch of legends and stories. Now I will get down to where I am, what I believe. I wondered for a long time how the Bible could be true and not just a bunch of stories handed down like the college professor proclaimed on radio. He made me think for a long time and finally I realized there is one thing no man can do! Prophecy! Predicting the future is impossible for everyone. more

As of Monday, Sept. 30, my daughter Melissa’s mother, DeAnn, has been gone 30 years. The date is an important mile marker for me, my daughter and all who remember Dee, but I let it pass with little notice, just a telephone call to Melissa. more