Rural Missouri - June 2011 - (Page 3)

C O N T E N T S Features 4 Departments Comments National and statewide news Columns Hart to heart 8 In the beginning Electric cooperatives began wiring rural Missouri 75 years ago 5 12 The Missouri Lyon hunt In 20 minutes, skirmish puts Missouri in Union hands 8 14 Mail Bag Letters from our readers 16 Out of the Way Eats Beaver Creek Paylake & Fish Fry 24 Hearth and Home It’s a shore thing 26 News Briefs News you can use 30 Marketplace Classified ads 32 Around Missouri Missouri happenings 36 Neighbors Restoring Stover 38 Just4Kids Fun stuff from Buddy 16 Beaver Creek Paylake & Fish Fry Catfish doesn’t get any fresher than this 19 Drowned Heavy spring rains submerge most of southern Missouri in a historic year of flooding 19 29 In the middle of everywhere Plato, Mo., is now the center of population for the United States 36 Restoring Stover Joe Ryan is bringing life back to Stover’s Second Street 29 About our cover ust off historic Route 66 in Lawrence County sits what might seem like a ghost town to many passersby. But to Missouri-based artist Lowell Davis, it seems like home. For Lowell and his wife, Rose, Red Oak II is a replica of what the town of Red Oak was like when Lowell grew up there in the ’20s and ’30s. The town, barely still in existence, is located about 20 miles northwest of where Red Oak II is now located in southwest Missouri, near Carthage. A world-reknowned artist, Lowell is known for his paintings and farm-life figurines. He enjoys having the transplanted town setting literally right outside his front door as inspiration for his work. Lowell and Rose reside on the property in the Belle Starr home, the actual house the woman outlaw grew up in. Starr, born in Carthage, was an infamous cattle and horse thief, often considered a female Jesse James. Cover and photo at left by Heather Berry. J While Lowell owns a few other buildings on the property, most are now privately owned. Larry and Lois Frickenschmidt, who have purchased several of the buildings, want to see Red Oak II become a family destination where tourists and locals can come to walk around and enjoy the intriguing little village. Travelers to this quaint “town” will enjoy such sights as a stone jail, feed store, the 1888 Elmira schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, general store, the nostalgic Phillips 66 gas station with its glass-globe pumps and the town hall, shown at the left, where Republicans and Democrats have their own benches on the porch. The picturesque red building with the Mail Pouch Tobacco sign, on the cover, is called “the birdsong,” and is a perfect photo spot on the peaceful property. Visiting Red Oak II is free. For directions or contact information, visit www.redoakII.com. To order prints of these photos, see page 14. JUNE 2011 3 http://www.redoakII.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - June 2011

Rural Missouri - June 2011
Contents
Comments
Columns
In the beginning
The Missouri Lyon hunt
Mail Bag
Beaver Creek Paylake & Fish Fry
Out of the Way Eats
Drowned
Hearth and Home
News Briefs
In the middle of everywhere
Marketplace
Around Missouri
Restoring Stover
Neighbors
Just4Kids

Rural Missouri - June 2011