DOGWOOD ACRES WEEKLY 06/23/08

DOGWOOD ACRES, 06/23/08, ELANE CRUM

Hello friends. Saturday afternoon was just hot enough to hit the swimming hole. The girls changed into their swim suits and Rick got one of his pups, (the one he calls Pete) loaded in the pickup and we took off for Swan Creek. Just about the time we got there a big storm from the North came rolling in with wind, thunder and lightning. So much for our swim, we just turned around and went home. Rick had a Wall-Eye to clean from his night at the fishin' hole and while he was cleaning it Christie called and asked us to bring supper and come over.

Brother Jim just had a birthday and it was a good excuse for the family to get together and eat. Bill was grilling chicken to go with his Orzo and shrimp salad; Rick and I fried a couple of Wall-Eye so we all ate well. The kids were happy to get together with cousins and that helped them get over the disappointment of a swimming trip that did not work out.

I took the back roads home one evening last week, going 176 to Round Mtn. Rd and crossing Bull Creek at the Goodnight Hollow Slab. There must have been twenty cars at the slab with lots of kids swimming off the side. As I cautiously eased onto the concrete bridge assuming they would make room for me to cross, I was not so sure they would. Parents seem not to notice or care, I'm not sure which.

After finally making the crossing, I stopped at Meadows Cemetery where I found Kenny Bilyeu, who had just climbed down from the attic of the old school house. He is making plans to put a new roof on one side and was checking it out. When it was built 102 years ago, they did things a little differently, including making such a steep pitch that he said it will be hard to stand on it.

While Kenny and I were visiting, Rocky Raub came by on his way home from work. I had not seen Rocky for years and years, but do remember when he was a little boy. His daddy, Alvie Raub, was one of my dad's best friends and our families used to visit a lot. Rock said he had broke his ankle and been off work for nine weeks. It was his first day back on the job and he said that ankle was swollen up and "throbbing like a Robin's caboosky". He was anxious to get on home and take his work boots off.

Rick has switched his fishing hours around, doing a little bit of daylight fishing now. I went by the fishing hole Thursday evening and got there in time to see him pull in his first Wall-Eye for the night. He had just come from Forsyth Hardware and had a new ladder to stand on. Can you imagine standing on a ladder and fishing for eight hours straight? I can't, but then, neither could I sit in the seat of a truck and drive for ten hours at a time like he used to.

I enjoyed meeting James and Linda Orick from up around Oldfield who were fishing there beside him. Linda writes the High Lonesome news column for The Douglas County Times, which I always look forward to reading. James works just up the road from us at Delmina Woods so I suppose he is also adding bear wrangler to his list of outdoorsman talents.

Saturday morning Rick and I went to coffee at Chuck and Pam Taylor's. They truly do live in the middle of the woods and see more bears than I would want to see near my house. We missed their recent appearance on KY3, when they were interviewed about the black bears that roam at will on their property. Pam said they have a nice blackberry patch on the pondbank, but will only get berries if the bears don't get them first.

Sister Christie is looking forward to blackberry time and Rick suggested I go with her and pick a gallon in memory of Daddy. Christie shared Daddy's passion for blackberry picking but I am allergic to chiggers and use that as a good reason to stay away. We did discuss what she should do if a bear approaches the berry patch. There was various opinions but my thought would be to stay very near the car with a door left open and ready for a quick dive.

I met Linda Matthews Groves and Barbara Craig Wiland at McFarlain's for lunch on Monday. We passed up the fried green tomatoes for crunchy green salads, but really the visiting was more important than food. It has been 41 years since we graduated from Forsyth High School, so we had a lot to catch up on. Melvin and Barbara are spending a few weeks in their motor home at Treasure Lake. When not here, they travel around the country doing volunteer work for MAPS, working on construction projects with churches and ministry institutions.

Sure hated to hear about the vandalism at Helphrey Cemetery over the weekend. What kind of mind must a person have to do such a thing? I hope they catch the culprits and give them what they deserve.

The late Sunday night rain and wind really rattled a few windows. Anita Biggs said they had hail big as half-dollars at their house. I have not heard if they found any damage when daylight came. The week's forecast looks pretty rainy, surely it will clear up for Aunt Reba's auction on Saturday. It starts at 9:06 a.m. and there will be a lot of good stuff, including old collectible dishes and tools. Maybe we will see some of you there. Bye for now.

ELANE CRUM
RE/MAX Associated Brokers, Inc.
Office: 417-336-7987
Cell: 417-239-4059

Website: www.elanecrum.com
Website: www.elanecrum.remax-midstates.com
Fax: 417-334-5300

SHORTY SMALL'S

The Branson Landing riverwalk is probably my most favorite place to visit in Branson. Every chance I get, I take a walk along the lake there. It has been interesting to see the continued development of the marina and shops. Both of the cruise boats are up and running, the new Lake Queen and the Landing Princess. Monday night I noticed activity at Shorty Small's and discovered they were serving "training" meals by invitation only. Somehow, I managed an invitation and was given $60 in play money to purchase a real meal. I WOULD have preferred not to eat alone, but there was only me and after all it WAS free food! They asked that I order an appetizer, entree' and dessert, fill out a survey and tip the server. I ordered an onion loaf and ribs...ate a little and brought the rest home for Rick. Of course he was out fishing, but it will keep and surely beats ROAD KILL!

ROAD KILL CAFE

I cannot say "which" of my neighbors had a delicious road kill lunch last week. You have to get road kill quickly while it is still fresh...and he did. The big rattlesnake had just been run over and was still wiggly so I am sure the meat was not tainted. Being late in the evening, it was preserved overnight in an ice cream bucket safely stored in the freezer. Sure do hate that I missed out!

I think I ran over a copperhead coming home from work tonight...guess I should start carrying an empty ice cream bucket...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

June 19 was my brother's birthday....Jimmie Bilyeu can finally go the speed limit...this picture with Grandpa and Grandma Bilyeu was taken in 1955 at the old house we lived in on Day Road.

AUCTION, ESTATE OF ARTIE RAGSDALE

AUCTION
SAT. JUNE 28 at 9:06 A.M.

ESTATE OF ARTIE RAGSDALE,
REBA RAGSDALE OWNER.

FROM US HWY 160 IN FORSYTH TAKE SHADOW ROCK DRIVE AND FOLLOW SIGNS TO 519 BLAIR.

NICE 4 BR, 2BA ATTACHED GARAGE WALKOUT ON 225’ X 150’ LOT CALL FOR MORE INFO

* TOOLS, CAST IRON, FURNITURE, COLLECTIBLES, FRIDGE, FREEZER, GUNS*

Large lot hand tools, craftsman drill press, cast iron including Wagner, Griswold, Favorite, #13 footed corn pone, dutch ovens, camel bells, child’s oak rocker, leaf blower, large lot of garden tools, antique wash stand, antique chair, 2 drawer table, rocker, old school desks, lot pictures some very old, feather art, antlers, long horn set, shoe shine box, afghans & blankets, portable dishwasher, whirlpool fridge, Roseville pitcher, old coffee grinder, collection of tea pots, mustache cups, marcrest pottery, telescope, 3 pc bedroom suite, book case, corner desk, lg lot books including lots of westerns, old spurs, Noblet Paris wood clarinet, Conn French horn, New Haven mod 152, Stevens 20 ga 107b, victor S&W 22 ctge, Remington army w/two clips, Franchi 20 GA made in Italy, Remington mod 31 20 GA, 20 GA pump w/polychoke, 16 GA Remington 1148,, pellet guns, ant table & chair, file cabinet, oil lamps, biscuit jar, cookie jars, 4 drawer chest, 2 antique churns, Deitz red globe lantern, oak school desk, old trunks, organ, sears fridge, Citation freezer, ss milk pail, lot crock bowls, wash boards, Kenmore W/D, ant dressers w/beveled mirror, granite pan, antique cook stove, antique heating stove, live trap, wall mirror, quilts, ant table w/ 4 chairs, x-long full size bed, old jelly dipper mandolin, railroad pictures, wash tubs, several vises, several cow bells, wheel barrow, wagon wheels & rims, lot scrap metal, LOT MISCELLANEOUS TOO NUMEROUS TO MENTION

ESTATE OF ARTIE RAGSDALE, REBA RAGSDALE OWNER. TERMS ARE CASH OR APPROVED CHECK. REFRESHMENTS WILL BE AVAILABLE.
ANNOUNCEMENTS DAY OF SALE TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER PRINTED MATERIAL.


MOUNTAIN COUNTRY AUCTIONS

RICK FINDLEY 546-8794 BILL AUSTIN 796-2484

DOGWOOD ACRES WEEKLY, 06/15/08

DOGWOOD ACRES, 06/15/08, ELANE CRUM

Hello friends. This week has been a change of pace for me, although not necessarily what one would call a vacation. Neal and LeaAnn were directors for the Jr. High Church Camp at White River Association Youth Camp and talked me into helping out with crafts. I have always been a rather crafty person and felt like this might be an area where I could be useful, so committed myself.

Ashton and Erin helped choose some projects and with Ashton as a helper, I felt somewhat prepared when craft time rolled around Tuesday afternoon. Although there was over 60 campers, Neal had told me to expect 10 or 15 to choose crafts over outside games, so we were ready. Twenty-six sixth, seventh and eighth graders came to that first craft session but by the Grace of God and extra help from Becky Chambers, Samantha Dobbs, and Neal Crum, we got it done.

Camp really was a rewarding experience and gave me an opportunity to give back the blessings that camp had given to me as a young person.

Erin is looking forward to attending camp this week but stepped on a nail in the chicken yard Sunday night. She and her mama spent the rest of the night in ER so don’t know yet if she will get to camp or not.

While Dawn’s foot is almost back to normal after a nail incident, Trent got a nail in the arm this week. I have to tell you, I am just a little paranoid about nails after the body piercing experiences my family has been having.

I was telling Christie about Erin’s accident and she recalled a time when she was Erin’s age and almost missed camp. It was not a nail in the foot, but a bicycle wreck the day before she was to leave for camp at Baxter Springs, Kansas. At that time the road in front of our house was gravel, so she had a lot of wrecks, but this one was a doozy. She said her goal was to see how fast she could ride up the road and still make the turn into our driveway. Well, she did not make the turn successfully, but Mother patched her up with lots of gauze and tape and off to camp she went.

Rick and Harvey Westfall have been doing a little Wall-Eye fishing and catching one every now and then. I have fried some and they are really good.

We went with Harvey and Sherry to Ridgecrest Thursday night for the “Little Hosea and Big Smith” concert. There was a big crowd and we sat with Aunt Bonnie Bilyeu, second pew from the front. I think she enjoyed hearing Mark play Uncle Chester’s old Martin guitar again. It holds years of memories for all of us but still has a lot of music left in it.

As expected, Hosea and his nephews, along with Miss Molly Healey on the fiddle, gave us a wonderful evening of music that blessed from the top of our heads to the bottoms of our feet. I would not have missed it for the world, although now I have the new CD and can listen anytime I want.

Rick and I took Ashton and Erin to Silver Dollar City Saturday for the Kids Fest. Ashton talked PaPa in to riding Thunderation and Erin talked me into going through Grandfather’s Mansion. I had been through it several dozen times in the last 30 or 40 years so knew it was pretty tame. We were afraid the girls would be bored with us, but I think we all had a good time.

Brother Jim and Dawn had a big Sunday dinner with Elk rib steaks, Pheasant and Chucker on the grill with potatoes and onions. They do know how to cook and just hearing about it makes me hungry.

I need to share a belated Happy Birthday greeting to Elsie Jennings in Rockaway Beach. Her sister-in-law, Henrietta Wallace, called to tell me that Elsie turned 92 years young on May 21. Her daughter, Juanita, came from Texas and spent a week and they had a family dinner at Lambert’s in Ozark. Elsie is the oldest sister of Henrietta’s husband, Dale Wallace.

Just over a year ago, our good neighbors, Larry and JoAnn Rice with her mother, Henrietta, moved to Nixa and shortly after, Larry passed away. Today I received an email from JoAnn. Really, it is an email to our entire community so; I will share it with you as JoAnn has a wonderful way of expressing her thoughts.

“Elane.....I know you are sitting at home taking time from Rick's Father's Day, just to write your article for the newspaper, so I hope I get this e-mail to you in time. You don't know how much we appreciate the time that it takes from your family time to write your articles. Mom and I will keep in touch 800 miles north (UGH....BURR) with your article as well as Alice Wymans and Marilyn McDaniels.....as they mail our paper to us. God Bless all of you for your time and effort to keep us all close and to keep us up on the hometown news. I go back about 30 yrs. ago, with the Taneyville article of Thelma Bilyeu’s and then your Mom's and now yours.....what a blessing you all have been and how we have grown up with your family through the articles.

Mother and I are very sad to leave this area, but just like Jeremiah 29:11 says, God has plans for us and I think this plan was His, before we were even thinking or talking about it. It has been a very lonely year for Mom and I since Larry's death Memorial Day last year.....no family close by, only friends and our church families.....but the holidays have been Mom in her room and me curled up in an easy chair watching the parades and footballs games eating by ourselves.....so this move will be by family and we will have all kinds of laughs and hugs from them as we move.....which we need.

We have been so blessed to have spent 30 yrs. in Forsyth and in Nixa.....wonderful friends made through 25 yrs at The Junction running our business.....and what beautiful neighbors and friends we have from "H" Hwy (even our dear Republican friend, Harry....we love him too) and now our friends and neighbors in Nixa. Please "THANK" everyone for being there for us.....we love each one of them in a "special" way. Please thank also Forsyth United Methodist Church.....they have been such comfort, love and friends to all of our family. I couldn't have made this past year in moving without them.....they will always have a special spot in my heart and in my prayers. My last couple of days here packing have been in tears, as I am so sad to move, but know this is the best for Mom and I for care and love, but I don't think I will be able to tell anyone "goodbye", I will just get in the car and drive, so please say a prayer for us as we travel to our new home and family close bye....it is too hard to say "goodbye"....but we know we will see them as God takes our hand and we go home to spend eternity. I will never forget when Larry was told he had 4th stage cancer.....he told Dr. Johnson, as sick as he was, "no big deal, life is short, it's not eternity"....so we will all see each other in our new life in heaven.

The last thing that Larry said as he was dying to our daughter, LaDona, was "I am so proud of you!" At 47 yrs. old and with her family grown, she went to work for the Kentucky Women's Crisis Center as a counselor for abused and unfortunate women in this life. It inspired her to return to college and as she just completed the second year, she has excelled by making "A",s, 4.0 and the Dean's List 3 semester's.....at Northern Kentucky University. Larry and I were so proud when we got the letter from the University telling us about our daughter and I wanted to put it in the paper but with his sickness and me so busy caring for him and Mom, I just didn't get it done. So many people in Forsyth knew her and I would love for them to know that she is the happiest I have ever seen her and she is making a future for herself.....she is planning on not only this 4 yrs, but the second 4 yrs. in college.....she knows her future is hers and she is going for it....our God is so AWESOME and I know he is guiding her in her path of life.

Didn't mean to write a book, but I wanted you to know just how much our family has loved living in a wonderful place as Forsyth, with many friends and church family, but also to tell you how much we enjoy your column, Alice's and Marilyn's.....Thanks gals for all the time and work.....we love you for it.

Love, JoAnn and Mother Henrietta.....95 yrs. old this November.”

Goodbye and God Speed to you both. You will be missed, but not forgotten. Bye for now.

Dogwood Acres Weekly 06/09/08

DOGWOOD ACRES, JUNE 9, 2008, ELANE CRUM

Hello friends. Bill, Christie and Colby Biggs and four grandchildren have returned from a weeklong vacation in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. We saw them Sunday afternoon, looked at vacation video and heard all about their trip. Christie said it was pretty relaxing after the boys got used to minding and found that “Grandpa don’t mess around”.

Grandpa Bill has lots of quotes that Christie calls “Bill’isms”. Marty and Sean grew up with these and now the grandkids are learning things like “One learning is worth a thousand tellings”.

Vanessa got her learning experience when she went through a revolving door out of security in the Dallas Airport and was almost sent to Mexico by herself. Dakota got his when he dived into the ocean with eyes and mouth wide open. He asked Grandpa Bill why he didn’t tell him about the salt water and Bill said, “would you have listened”. No probably not, so there you go.

Puerto Penasco is a fishing village so they enjoyed the fresh seafood and an unforgettable cruise aboard a rustic and rusty triple-decker vessel.

I fried a mess of trout for dinner Sunday evening and they were so good! Rick got a really big one with pink meat like a salmon. Of course we ate too much so he had to go fishing again Sunday night, hoping to get a Wall-Eye or two. High winds and rain cut his fishing trip short, but he did bring home a 21-inch Wall-Eye.
We share a mailbox post at the end of our drive with Martha DuFlot and that is where we catch a few minutes to visit once in awhile. Last week there was a mama bear with three cubs in her back yard and a big daddy bear carried off granddaughter Nicole’s bottle of bubbles. I think that was closer than they cared to be to the black furry creatures.

After dark Saturday night I began building a hotdog fire in the Chimenea and asked Ashton and Erin if they wanted to cook hot dogs. They said that sounded good, but “what if a bear comes up?” I tried to act brave and did not tell them I had already thought about that myself. I told them the fire would probably keep it away and we had our roasting sticks for weapons. We enjoyed our wiener roast and cats were the only furry visitors we saw. Of course, it was dark and a black bear would not have been easily seen!



Rick saw Scotty Van Allen at O’Reilly’s last week; he said she did not recognize him at first as his hair and beard are a lot grayer than they used to be.

Thursday afternoon we took Neal, LeaAnn, Ashton and Erin to the Noah show for LeaAnn's birthday. We got to sit in a different location than last week and it gave us a different perspective. The kids enjoyed it every bit as much as we thought they would and we saw things second time around that we missed the first time. After the show we went to Golden Corral for dinner.

Friday night we took Ashton and Erin to the Bull Rides in Ozark where we saw Pine Ridge neighbors, Jim and Julie Evans. They were enjoying their first live bull ride experience and found it to be much more "real" than on TV. Jim has been really busy at Sight and Sound Theater with the Noah show where he is in charge of all kinds of things. Their daughter, Violet, is working concessions at Sight and Sound and we had bought Cappucino and yummy roasted almonds from her.


Last week we went to visitations for Dale Adkisson and Yvonne Cook Canida. I visited with Dale's son, John, who used to work with Daddy on the Lake Queen in Branson. He said that he and Keith Wyman worked together that summer and would catch a ride with Daddy at the end of H. On their way home in the evenings they would stop and take a bath in Bull Creek on F Hwy. That was when there was still a slab bridge and it was easy to pull off the road and get to the water.

Yvonne Canida is one of our Lone Star family and will be missed a lot. It was good to see Wanda Ehlers, a former teacher at Lone Star School; sixty-some years ago. Wanda stayed with Ernest and Rosa Lathrop and walked to school with their daughter, Lora Lee, aka Debbie. I think Debbie and Yvonne were in the same grade; they were also cousins on the Lathrop side of the family.

Jim and Dawn Bilyeu had company last week as her sister, Sarah Riley, was here from Oklahoma. Dawn's foot is better and Dr. said surgery will not be necessary. I noticed Jim got the last corner of the walls down at the old house; the area where they were working when the nail went through her foot.


Hosea Bilyeu and Big Smith will be in concert at Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Springfield Thursday, June 12 @ 7:00 p.m. Big Smith backs their Uncle Hosea for his CD release, “Little Hosea and Big Smith”, and will perform a few gospel tunes on their own. It promises to be an evening filled with music that will warm your heart and put your toes to tapping. Bye for now.

Dogwood Acres Weekly 06/02/08

DOGWOOD ACRES, 06/02/08, ELANE CRUM

Hello friends. Rick and I ate out a couple of times last week; I mean really out. When I got home he was splitting wood to build a fire in the Chimenea that we have placed in Grandma's Flower Garden. I call it that because of the tall purple Iris and Creeping Vinca that I brought from Mother's homeplace in Hurricane Hollow. We have moved a garden bench to that area and find it to be a pleasant place to roast hot dogs when we want to "eat out".

When Kasie was over the other night she remembered playing in the hammock that used to swing between a couple of trees. That seems like a long time ago, but she was just a little girl when we moved back home. I could go to sleep in a hammock in five minutes, but that was before I had to worry about black bears nosing around. If Ken Puchta gets close enough to that bear again, maybe he could put a bell around its neck so we can hear it coming.

We went to see "Noah, The Musical" Thursday night with Mike and Joyce Stenger and Harvey and Sherry Westfall. Since it was an area appreciation show, there were several people there that we knew, but such a large crowd that I'm sure we missed someone. Christie and her family were there, Galen and Joyce Chambers, Galen's parents and Joyce's mom, Ruby Brafford, Jeremy and Stephanie, Carissa and Hunter.

I worked until 5:00 p.m. that day, so Rick rode into town with Harvey and Sherry and they came by my office. Charlotte Barnes thought Harvey was our son, so needless to say, his head was pretty big the rest of the night and he was calling Rick and me Mom and Dad. Remember, Harvey just retired from GE a few months ago, so he felt pretty special.

After church Sunday night we went to Neal and LeaAnn's house to celebrate Ashton's 14th birthday. Papa Bill made homemade ice cream and Erin showed us her pet turtles. The girls had spent Saturday with Uncle Martin and found a little turtle in his driveway so she is building quite a herd of turtles.

Ashton and Erin begin Summer School today; since Ashton is a freshman now, it will be her first day at Bradleyville. I think she is a little nervous about going to a bigger school. After all, there were only eight kids in her eighth grade graduating class at Plainview.

Georgine Cummings has had several good weeks of visiting with three of her brothers, Gifford, Carl and Eugene Boswell. These four siblings are the surviving children of Ralph and Martha Ball Boswell who raised their family of twelve kids in Branson on what is now called Boswell Ave. Georgine said it was two miles to downtown Branson and since neither of her parents drove, they would walk to town for any shopping that was done. To go to church at First Assembly of God on Sundays, they called the taxi which was driven by Mr. Waddell and sometimes by Pearl Spurlock.

Their grandfather, John Boswell, had a farm a little farther out where White Water is now. Long before Georgine was born he owned two businesses in downtown Branson, but they were destroyed in the big fire of 1912. The family has quite a rich history in Branson.

While the three brother were visiting Georgine, she and her son Darrel took them to see the Baldknobbers and Pierce Arrow Shows. After their visit here they all went back to Gifford's home in Chillicothe where Georgine enjoyed eleven days with her brothers. They went to three different churches there to hear some of the family in a singing group called Glory Road Gospel Band. During their time together they went to Thompson, MO, to visit the grave of their great-grandfather, William Boswell, and other Boswell family members also buried there.

I enjoyed my visit with Georgine and tried to imagine walking a dusty trail from Boswell Ave. to my office which is in downtown Branson. Times have changed.

Bye for now.

SKYLER SANDERS BENEFIT

LITTLE HOSEA & BIG SMITH IN CONCERT

HOSEA BILYEU & BIG SMITH IN CONCERT
RIDGECREST BAPTIST CHURCH, SPRINGFIELD, MO
JUNE 12, 7:00 p.m.

Here is the flyer on Hosea's CD release concert on June 12, 7:00 p.m. There is no admission charge, but a love offering will be taken. The love offering will go to help with the expenses of a 2009 mission trip to Zambia.

This concert and CD is a little different than others we have been to as Hosea has written all of the songs. It is definitely a concert not to miss!