Lens & Pen Press

14/08/2024

Excellent article on the innovative, congenial, overall good guy and Dean of Library Services at Missouri State University - all hail, Tom!Thomas A. Peters

Missouri State's Dean of Library Services Tom Peters began working at the university in August 2012. He retires in December.

09/08/2024

Real photo postcard, circa 1920. “Taking his medicine in the Ozarks, Anderson Missouri.” Note the long gun on the ground by his feet. This hunter was thirsty! The spring-fed creeks and of the Ozarks were promoted in tourism literature from the beginning. Claims were made that additional benefits came from bathing and drinking from the pure waters flowing throughout the region....

Real photo postcard, circa 1920. “Taking his medicine in the Ozarks, Anderson Missouri.” Note the long gun on the ground by his feet. This hunter was thirsty! The spring-fed creeks and of the Ozar…

04/08/2024

What color is night? What a wonderful question!

What you see overhead is a combination of where you are, how our vision evolved, and that flimsy layer of atmosphere that keeps us all alive.

24/06/2024

We're anticipating the big auction this Thursday (June 26) at Potter&Potter Auctions in Chicago where we have consigned pieces we've long held. The entire catalog is online; bidding process is simple.

The Edward Patrick Byrne paintings are personal favorites. Leland and I found a stack of these futuristic/ultra modern paintings on board in a small antique shop in Edina, Missouri in the late 1970s. The vintage shop owner was the artist’s niece. Her Uncle Ed took up painting in his later years, but instead of the expected rural-theme subject matter, Ed, who was a rambler, painted Vintage Roadside (like the bright yellow Phenix motel), suburban ranch houses at brilliant sunset, and the occasional sketch of his favorite animals and people. Over the years we have placed some of his paintings with major collections or collectors.

Take a look at the online catalog: auctions.potterauctions.com/_BYRNE__Edward_Patrick__American__1877_1974___A_Gr-LOT80431.aspx

23/06/2024

Leland has always been ahead of the curve ... and once more he's done it again. He's kept a flip phone through every change in technology and all available upgrades. The world is finally catching up to him:

Flip phone sales and interest are soaring as more smartphone users say they want to stop being constantly pressured and distracted.

23/06/2024

Retirement has its own adventures. In our case – exploration of long-stored antiques and . Some of the treasures we brought to light will be offered June 26 (next Thursday!) at Potter & Potter’s Outsider, Folk, Contemporary and Fine tion (https://auctions.potterauctions.com/Catalog.aspx?auctionid=1184 ). As the title says, this auction will cover a wide range of tantalizing art and artifacts from the creative imaginations of fine and folk artists. Our offerings are on the “Folk Art” side.

20/06/2024

Pearl Spurlock, tourist guide and raconteur extraordinaire of the early Shepherd of the Hills days in Branson. “Sparky” was such a legend herself; we used this photograph as a full page illustration in See The Ozarks Pearl Spurlock became as well known as the characters and locations of Harold Bell Wright’s best-selling 1906 novel, The Shepherd of the Hills. As ‘furners’ traveled to Branson to pay homage to the events and people of the novel, most were treated to the knowledgeable services of “Sparky” – early on by horseback, and later in her car....

Pearl Spurlock, tourist guide and raconteur extraordinaire of the early Shepherd of the Hills days in Branson. “Sparky” was such a legend herself; we used this photograph as a full page illustratio…

11/06/2024

Although this was called Ozark Chair Shop, for the passing tourist what caught the eye were the colorful drip-glaze pots in many sizes that filled the shelves and yard. Nut head dolls, cedar boxes and wood carvings were more locally made souvenirs sold along the highways. “You may also see many small jars in a very attractive variety of colors to please the many tourists who stop there....

Although this was called Ozark Chair Shop, for the passing tourist what caught the eye were the colorful drip-glaze pots in many sizes that filled the shelves and yard. Nut head dolls, cedar boxes …

03/06/2024

This post on Ozarks Alive (https://www.ozarksalive.com/stories/the-boots-court-an-old-yet-new-place-along-route-66-in-carthage) brought to mind my visit in 2020 with the under-renovation Randles Court Motel in Eldon, Missouri http://beautifulozarks.com/historic-randles-court-motel-in-eldon/

It's great to see (over the years) the resurrection of the Boots Motel. You mention the Boots' sister establishment, the Randles Court in Eldon. It too has been renovated in period style and reopened after a small tangle with a tornado (2020) and delays caused by Covid lockdowns. I had the pleasure of seeing it when it neared Grand Opening in 2020:

The rock rubble classic motor court from the early days of America’s roadside culture is coming to life again along Business Route 54 through Eldon, Missouri. Jeremy and Jennifer Hart are renovatin…

30/05/2024

The caption of this real photo postcard reads: “Rube St. Clair, Champion Basket Maker of the Ozarks, C**n Ridge Novelty Shop, Ozark Route US 65 … Reeds Spring, Mo. Con Jock Studio.” This is a sharp, well-fixed image from a photographer/studio we have not encountered before. Unfortunately, a search of newspapers.com did not pull up any ads for the “Con Jock Studio.”...

https://beautifulozarks.com/coon-ridge-novelty-shop/

  The caption of this real photo postcard reads: “Rube St. Clair, Champion Basket Maker of the Ozarks, C**n Ridge Novelty Shop, Ozark Route US 65 … Reeds Spring, Mo. Con Jock Studio.” This is…

04/04/2024

My hero - Annie Busch! and her trusty sidekick, Lorraine Sandstrom! They ran the Kickapoo Prairie Branch library when our two boys were in school. It was in walking distance (if needed) and we used it often. Their cheerful management and get-'er-done philosophies kept our research going (see our books on amazon!) Ross Payton spent many hours on Orion before we had our own computers at home. Springfield has been blessed many times by Annie's leadership and the ex*****on of such forward-looking plans. These facilities raise Springfield's profile to newcomers as well as long-term residents. Tonight there's a program on the upcoming eclipse - timely...
https://sgfcitizen.org/economy-growth/leaders/annie-busch-looks-back-at-career-as-a-problem-solver-who-led-library-transformation-into-digital-age/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=SGF+A+M+%3A+How+Annie+Busch+led+the+library+into+the+digital+age&utm_campaign=SGF+A+M++04%2F04%2F24

Thanks Mike O'Brien for this reminder of these extraordinary contributions to our community.

A role model for other women taking on leadership roles, Annie Busch has been a force to be reckoned with, whether in numerous community volunteer roles or in pushing for creation of more modern Library facilities.

01/04/2024

Happy Easter Season to all!

19/03/2024

Irish language (at least in print) seems inscrutable to me. all those vowels, consonants, and accent marks don't lead me to the sound I hear from native speakers. Maybe this will help:

Find out how to pronounce common Irish names with our audio guide, plus read our Irish language hacks so you figure out names yourself.

13/03/2024

Nine years ago... Leland and I made a presentation at the Osceola Library on our then-new book, Damming the Osage. Osceola lies on the banks of the Osage - now upper reaches of Truman Reservoir. The book attracts new audiences every year.

07/03/2024

Not a fan...

To "spring forward" is more damaging to our health than to "fall back," according to some surprising science.

02/03/2024

HUGE event coming our way! Total eclipse of the sun - April 8! And trust me - the Ozarks are excited! Towns in the path of totality have been preparing for a while. That 4 minutes of darkness in the middle of the day is an extraordinary experience. Sounds like the weekend leading into it will be fun too!

If a man lived on the moon, even he might be aware that a bunch of folks in the Ozarks are anticipating his rare midday appearance during the 2024 total

01/03/2024

Back in the '70s and early '80s Highway 36 was a main artery in my antique quilt business. (Maine Antique Digest) Intrigued to find it now is recognized as "The Way of American Genius"! Sorry some of that genius didn't rub off!

Soak in the brilliance on a road trip along this brainy Missouri route

02/02/2024

This informative, provocative article by Kaitlyn McConnell of Ozarks Alive and the The Daily Yonder brought to mind some painful lessons learned in the aftermath of the Truman Dam lawsuit. Although the possible development folks are speculating about down in Newton County AR is still just that - speculation, still the connections described and power players involved are worrisome. Whether it's the federal government moving mountains of earth for "the public good" (Truman Dam for example - which brought low wage seasonal work to Warsaw but not much else) or private hustlers looking to reap huge personal benefits (anyone seen the series "Ozarks" on Netflix? or taken a look at the price of real estate at Lake of the Ozarks and the lake's water quality) these kinds of back channel acquisitions warrant much closer scrutiny.
https://dailyyonder.com/ozarks-notebook-quiet-land-purchases-create-worries-about-development-for-buffalo-national-river/2024/01/24/

Photo by Kaitlyn McConnell

27/01/2024

Hogan describes the scenery along the river as the tug pulls the clipper ship slowly toward New Orleans, 107 miles distant. Once I looked out over the ship’s bulwarks and saw we were between what seemed to be two long, low earth-mounds, one on either side of the river; there was a bend in the river at the place. These mounds, on which there were trees and houses and gardens and people, were the first patches of elevated grounds that I saw since the tug took us in tow....

Hogan describes the scenery along the river as the tug pulls the clipper ship slowly toward New Orleans, 107 miles distant. Once I looked out over the ship’s bulwarks and saw we were between what s…

20/01/2024

The Berlin was picked up by aptly named 'tug' boats, that tugged it through sandy shallows to the deeper water of the main channel. Then one tug headed back out for another incoming ship and one "began its hard task, towing us up against the current to New Orleans, 107 miles distant." My 2017 exploration was a reverse course - downriver from Baton Rouge to meet my guide, Richie Blink (...

The Berlin was picked up by aptly named ‘tug’ boats, that tugged it through sandy shallows to the deeper water of the main channel. Then one tug headed back out for another incoming shi…

20/12/2023

Thursday, December 14, 1848, Hogan's ship approached the continent. As the outflow of the Mississippi River reached the Berlin, he wrote: To a person from the British Isles, the United States, as seen at the mouths of the Mississippi, is a mockery of sublime anticipations. This is possibly my favorite sentence of all the sentences in both memoirs. Encapsulated in those five words (“a mockery of sublime anticipations”) are the romantic dreams of an Irish schoolboy, envisioning the windswept prairies and their indigenous inhabitants awaiting the word of Jesus that he, that dreaming boy, would bring....

Thursday, December 14, 1848, Hogan’s ship approached the continent. As the outflow of the Mississippi River reached the Berlin, he wrote: To a person from the British Isles, the United States…

19/12/2023

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/big-spring-missouri?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=f3f69149e7-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_12_19&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-f3f69149e7-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=f3f69149e7

Big Spring near Van Buren, MO. It's always puzzled me that Father John Joseph Hogan, the young Irish priest who established a pre-Civil War settlement of Irish immigrants in this area, did not mention the springs of the in his memoirs. Only one, now called Tucker Bay Spring, is briefly mentioned. There he administered the last rites to the wife of owner, Appolanaris Tucker, in 1858.
Springs are an iconic part of our wilderness areas and created lush havens in the forests. Perhaps Hogan, coming as he did from Ireland's green hills and fields, did not see them as remarkable. Or perhaps in the vastness of the forested Ozark hills, he missed Big Spring

Often referred to as the largest spring in America.

06/12/2023

Having passed Key West, the next landmark was the Tortugas. In 1825, a lighthouse had been constructed at Garden Key (one of seven Keys included in the “Dry Tortugas”) to warn incoming vessels of the dangerous reefs. All eyes on board the clipper ship Berlin searched the night's horizon for that light. In the early hours of the night of December 11th, as we were sailing westward of Key West, a sailor was sent aloft into the rigging, having orders to look out northwest to starboard for a lighthouse, which he was to report as soon as seen....

Having passed Key West, the next landmark was the Tortugas. In 1825, a lighthouse had been constructed at Garden Key (one of seven Keys included in the “Dry Tortugas”) to warn incoming vessels of t…

13/11/2023

The two biggest tourist centers of the Ozarks are Branson and Lake of the Ozarks. While graphics used to promote travel do not necessarily accurately or honestly represent those places, they can betray the character and history of places. Such is the case with the imagery used to advertise and decorate souvenirs of these two attractions. Branson, near the Missouri-Arkansas line in southwest Missouri, began attracting travelers in the early 190s....

The two biggest tourist centers of the Ozarks are Branson and Lake of the Ozarks. While graphics used to promote travel do not necessarily accurately or honestly represent those places, they can be…

10/11/2023

Hey, Kids! Grandpa's On Tv by Edward Frascino

09/11/2023

We left young John Hogan in Liverpool a week (and 175 years) ago. After his arrival from Dublin, he walked the docks and scanned the ships waiting for cargo and preparing to sail. There among them was the Forfarshire, on which he had already engaged his passage to New Orleans. The sight of it was a let-down: She was a wide, large, dirty, heavy-looking ship....

We left young John Hogan in Liverpool a week (and 175 years) ago. After his arrival from Dublin, he walked the docks and scanned the ships waiting for cargo and preparing to sail. There among them …

01/11/2023

When Americans took to the highways for family vacations, license plate toppers were affixed to their automobile’s back plate. They advertised a place or business. A few identified the vehicle owner’s profession. They were in vogue before cars were required to have two plates and before automobile designs that don’t have space around the plate for the advertising message. Most are from the 1930s to 1980s....

When Americans took to the highways for family vacations, license plate toppers were affixed to their automobile’s back plate. They advertised a place or business. A few identified the vehicle owne…

26/10/2023

A while back Leland reviewed an intriguing new book by Thomas Michael Kersen looking at a very different, non-traditional side of our Ozarks. Read the review: The saga of young anti-moderns settling in a region renowned for its pre-modern image is the subject of an intriguing new book, “WHERE MISFITS FIT: COUNTERCULTURE AND INFLUENCE IN THE OZARKS” Available at the University Press of Mississippi and on amazon.com
https://hypercommon.com/2021/10/the-saga-of-young-anti-moderns-settling-in-a-region-renowned-for-its-pre-modern-image-is-the-subject-of-an-intriguing-new-book-where-misfits-fit-counterculture-and-influence-in-the-ozarks/

A while back Leland reviewed an intriguing new book by Thomas Michael Kersen looking at a very different, non-traditional side of our Ozarks. Read the review: The saga of young anti-moderns settlin…

25/10/2023

One hundred seventy-five (175) years ago today, October 24, 1848, John Joseph Hogan, age 19, departed from his family home in Cahirguillamore, County Limerick, to travel to St. Louis to study for the priesthood. Not the traditional path to holy order perhaps, but his chosen path to fulfill his desire to become a missionary on the plains of the still-new country in America....

One hundred seventy-five (175) years ago today, October 24, 1848, John Joseph Hogan, age 19, departed from his family home in Cahirguillamore, County Limerick, to travel to St. Louis to study for t…