Hi, rambling friends. Let's start this new year with a story that is part of our local history. Let's step back in time to March of 1981. I had a 1980 Ford four-wheel pickup with deep mud logger tires that I thought could go through anything. One day, on my way home, I decided to take a different route to enjoy the country roads. I was on Sand Springs Road and went to the bottom of a hill, and suddenly, I was confronted with a challenge I was unsure about. The old country road was underwater for about 50 yards. Back then, we did not have the luxury of our roads being graveled with white gravel as we do today. I stopped my truck and thought, "this could be a problem!" Being young and invincible, I said, "Go for it." I backed up a ways, revved my four-wheel truck up, sped forward at a high rate of speed, got about 100 feet, and sank it to China. Here I am now in the middle of a swamp of red clay and mire and mad. All I could do was get out, talk to myself, and walk home for the last two miles. Got a friend with a tractor and long chain, and he pulled me out. After being pulled out, my friend with the tractor went home, and I got to thinking about where I was at and the importance of this spot. more

Taken from the writings of Vance Randolph and others. more

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