I want to thank the citizens of Marshfield for electing me to another term as Mayor. The weight of this honor does not go unnoticed. I want to thank all of those that showed support by delivering Easter eggs, watching the forum or even a simple message to say you were on my side. It all means the world to me. Your confidence in my continued leadership is humbling and so appreciated! more

Good news, armchair critics: Young people can still write compelling and coherent prose and poetry with exceptional candor and grammatical skill. more

Last night around 11 p.m., we heard a familiar noise from the darkened hallway outside our bedroom door. It was part moan, part growl and part muffled meow. Tom and I glanced at each other because we knew what that sound meant. Percy had another mouse. more

Continued from the Feb. 28 edition of the Marshfield Mail: more

Hello to all my wonderful friends and rambling reader family. I will admit it has been a tough week for me because I have had a mental war going on between my ears. more

One hundred and thirty years ago, John Bollinger, who owned and operated the water mill in the vicinity of Pitts and Burford, had a dog that went mad. According to the Chronicle, before it could be killed it bit several head of cattle, numerous hogs and a flock of ducks; more

The Missouri Ozarks are chock full of both caves and legends about them. Gaudily colored advertising of outlaws and wayward conquistadors, cry forth from tourist brochures, billboards and painted barn tops, often alluding to buried hordes of plunder. Caves with more credible tales get more dignified advertising and historic markers. These “cave tales” whether true or not have one big difference with Marshfield’s subterranean wonderland; those caves actually exist. It is easy to build a cave legend around some wild tale. In Marshfield we seem to have legends “of” a cave, rather than those “about” one. Where did they come from? Three answers, wagons, newspapers and land speculation. more

A submitted response from David Tunnell, who brings us  a different story from his grandfather George Tunnell regarding last week's “Quote of the Week”.  He writes: more

Have you ever heard the legend of the cave? For generations, tales have persisted that beneath Marshfield lay a grotto of extraordinary breadth and depth, connecting many of the buildings around the square. The stories range from outlandish to downright plausible, with no one able to put an “X” on a spot of known entry. Rumors of alleged openings, some still supposedly in use, follow every building with a lower level. The only thing found thus far that even closely denotes an entrance is/was an old cistern in the back of the Ritz, which served in the theater days as part of an arcane cooling system. It is unknown whether it survived the remodel, but pictures of it can be seen at the museum. Scouring the rock outcroppings in the park and springs around the city yields nothing, but every old-timer you ask, can relate, with a twinkle in his eye, about somebody long dead, “who coulda told ya.” more

Species: Eastern Bluebird more

Jan. 26, 2024 more

A friend called a few days ago asking if I had a lantern she could borrow, not an unusual request from someone needing a light, but she had another purpose. more