MOUNTAIN GROVE, Mo. – When used in controlled, supervised conditions, fire can be a beneficial land management tool. However, it’s important to stress that prescribed fire involves planning and on-site management. more

First of all, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! We have gone another year with our ramblings, and I feel so honored to share my stories with you. Our last series was a gruesome story of two Jews that survived the nazi holocaust. This week, I want to share my greatest Christmas with you! OK, rambling friends, are we all ready to sit back and relive the past? The year is 1994, and I wrote a play entitled "The Miracle of Mystery Mountain." Back in those days, we did outdoor productions involving dozens of volunteer actors. We practiced for weeks and then performed them for the public at Frontier Theater. This play was about two orphaned girls struggling for their survival in the California mountains during the gold rush years. Their parents were killed in a landslide, and the two teenage girls became instant orphans in Miner City. more

The following column is continued from Dec. 6. more

One of the most common sparrows in North America has a history that’s far more interesting than many people realize. more

You will never see seagulls in Missouri. more

The arrival of a Christmas catalog in the mail recently revived memories of when the Sears and Roebuck “Wish Book” saw double duty around our house. more

Hi to all my friends and neighbors of the Marshfield Mail. Here it is already week nine and I thought this series would be over in four weeks about Otto and Zelda, our two Jewish Holocaust survivors of World War Two. However, as fate had it Hamas the terrorist organization of the Gaza Strip attacked Israel and history is repeating itself all over again. I have been greatly troubled this week about what is going on in the world with the protest against Israel. Tens of thousands have hit the streets the world over offering support to Hamas. Their chant has been, more

Just exactly what lies beneath Marshfield? For a century or more residents have told stories of how a giant cavern lies below the sidewalks and streets, connecting businesses, private homes and even … more

“Harbinger of winter” is a term that has a more somber feel to it than its warm-weather counterpart – “harbinger of spring.” However, one marker of seasonal change – the arrival of dark-eyed juncos – is a well-known sign post of winter that makes everyone smile. more

I came into some unexpected treasure a few weeks ago — wire-tied hay bales. After several years of relying on rusty wads hanging in forgotten corners of the barn, we have a fresh supply of baling wire. Wire-tied bales used to be common on Ozarks farms, and thus, an ample supply of wire. But in recent years fewer square bales have been tied with wire than with hemp or plastic twine, and small square bales have largely been more

As the holidays inch closer and closer, I find myself feeling conflicted. I always loved the last six weeks of the year. Thanksgiving and Christmas are times of love and celebration, regardless of who you are. Everyone just seems to be a little bit happier. more

Cranberries have long been considered the crown jewel of Thanksgiving dinners, says University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein. more

To the Editor: more

Hi everyone, I am so very glad to be back for another week about our story of a couple that lived more

Whether you’re a native-born or naturalized Ozarker, Dr. Phil Howerton’s latest poetry collection, “Gods of Four Mile Creek,” is sure to touch your heart and sentiments. more

Hi everyone, I am so very glad to be back with week seven as we learn about two Holocaust victims of Hitler’s death camps to eliminate all Jews. Let’s do a quick review so we can get our new readers up to par.Their names were Otto and Zelda. They lived amongst us in our community keeping their past very private. She had her Nazi numbers across her forehead and he had his numbers on his forearm. This story is not easy to write about because it is so very terrible. Also: after getting started on this series: Hamas terrorists of Gaza invaded Israel. They killed and wounded thousands and beheaded dozens of young children to make a point of their hatred of Israel. Folks, friends and neighbors, how can human beings have such hatred toward others to be able to slaughter innocent civilians and children with no more thought than stepping more

What’s the one thing we never get back once it’s gone? And, how we spend it determines so much about our lives? It’s time. Sweet, precious time. We are all given a certain amount of it, to borrow, when we are born. Then, we get to decide what to do with it-or at least a portion of it. Some mindlessly squander it, seeming never even to gain awareness of it. Some cling onto it once it's gone, always wishing for a return of their “good ole days.” Also, there are some who wisely embrace this mysterious, abstract dimension that we call time. more

The square in Seymour was busy last week as country music artist Zach Bryan’s film crew set up to get some shots of southern Webster County for an upcoming music video. more

Hi everyone! What a week the last few days have been! On October 7 the world was told and shown on media everywhere of a major attack on Israel from the terrorist organization: ‘Hamas’ who is the controlling political party of the Gaza strip next to southern Israel. After lighting up the sky with deadly rockets, over a thousand Hamas fighters from land, sea and air breached the more

If you haven’t heard the soulful voice of Oliver Anthony in the last eight weeks, I truly do not know where you’ve been.  Many Missourians were able to listen to him live Saturday … more

Like many folks of my generation, I tend to see much as it once was, not as it is. more

I have recently been stirred by the idea of delving into all alternative healing methods- studying them, asking experts about their ideas, and experiencing the benefits, of course. Among the stories of sicknesses and diseases that are all around us, and all the fear propagated by the media, we may be led to feel hopeless. The stress adds up, and it can feel like nothing is within our control. Like it’s never going to get better. Like the way out is through medication, drugs, or alcohol. But there is another way- a way that is our birthright. more

Hi everyone! Are we all ready to dive into part two of– Holocaust Survivors Living Among Us? more

Bear with me as we take time to remember Dee, for more than 23 years my South Dakota Bride, but much more than just the local newspaper editor’s wife. more

Hi everyone, I am so very happy to be back for another rambling. The last few weeks, we have had a lot of fun and adventures reading about urban legends and stories of our Ozarks. Folks: this week, we are shifting gears and going to learn about a couple that lived among us on a typical Ozarks farm for many years. Their life and background is fascinating to me. They were both survivors of a German concentration camp during Hitler's reign. The Germans were very precise record keepers, requiring each prisoner to be tattooed with numbers. The lady had her identification numbers across her forehead, and the man had him on his forearm. You may ask, and rightly so, why are you so very interested in this terrible time of history and this couple? My interest in Hitler and Germany began in 1963 when I was a third grader. I saw movies of the Allies capturing concentration camps and bulldozing tens of thousands of bodies into pits to bury the bodies. Our school teachers taught history back then without the fluff and wanted us kids to know what our soldiers had freed the world of. My family came from Germany, and my wife was born in Nurnberg. My mother-in-law told me of the time when she met Adolf Hitler as a young girl at school and got clobbered over the head by an S. S. Nazi soldier for not saluting the Fuhrer. Hitler began WW2 in 1939, and after conquering Poland, he began his roundup of Jews and undesirables to be slaves in war factories or sent to concentration camps. Friends, our couple that immigrated to our country were both victims of Hitler's hatred. This story of Otto and Zelda Hofstein is heart-wrenching and disturbing. In order to help understand how a whole nation could take on the world, we must understand Hitler's Germany. Hitler was a very evil and cunning politician; he became the ultimate leader in 1933 and implemented his programs to transform his nation fundamentally. Number one: Indoctrinate all children through the schools. Number two, control the news media. Number three, create a hate group to blame the nation's problems on. Hitler hated Jews. When he began WW2, he envisioned conquering the world and terminating all Jews. Number 4, Hitler also hated Christians who believed in the Bible. He strongly warned the preachers never to mention anything about government activities from the pulpit, or else they would be rounded up. (mmm mmm, is today's America repeating history?) When Hitler's army began their invasion of Poland, they destroyed buildings and structures and began rounding up all Jews and former military and government officials and terminating them on the spot. Word spread quickly! The Polish army was no match for German armor and was defeated in only 35 days. Meanwhile, The families of Otto and Zelda both lived a few miles from Warsaw in the country and were able to hide out in various caves and underground hidden cellars when German soldiers came around. Everyday life was searching for food, hiding their gardens and animals in the forest, and always on guard for Nazi soldier patrols. Fast forward two more years, and our Hofstein and Abram families are struggling, to say the least. They have evaded German capture by changing their names and dressing differently. The two families have joined ranks together and live in a secret cave next to a big cliff. One evening a Nazi patrol is spotted, and our Zelda is hoeing the cabbage and spots a motorized patrol of 20 Nazis coming their way. She runs to warn everyone, but it's too late. The soldiers have already spotted her. Oh no, folks! We have got to stop at this point. Next week, the brutal treatment of our Zelda and Otto and their families will begin. Tell your friends and neighbors to read the Rambling. This series will be several weeks. Do not miss a single issue. Until next time, my friends. This is Rambling Roger. P. S. This story is not for the fluffy; we will describe in detail what happens to them, their families, and millions of others just like them. more