This is an archive of KSMU's series A Sense of Place. These stories focus on the history of the Ozarks. We think you’ll enjoy listening to these timeless features on places of historical significance in our area.
In the age of four dollar coffee drinks and drive-through pharmacies, the soda fountains and dry good stores of the past seem to be the stuff of movies and distant memory. In this installment of our local history series, Sense of Place, KSMU’s Emma Wilson brings us the story of one Ozarks store that keeps this tradition alive.
In our series about local history, Sense of Place, we bring you in-depth stories about our region’s history and how it’s shaped the Ozarks, Missouri, and the nation. KSMU’s Emma Wilson brings us this story about a deadly January afternoon in the depression-era Ozarks and how its impact reached far beyond.
During the Civil War and in the years after, people in rural southwest Missouri were torn in alliances between the North and South. This tension, fueled through the use of media, religion and unresolved Civil War bias, made these hills the most violent area in the country until the turn of the century. These feelings led to the formation of the vigilante group, the Bald Knobbers. For our ongoing local history series, Sense of Place, KSMU’s Rebekah Clark looks at how the organization, known as the “law-and-order league,” shaped the history of the Ozarks.
In our ongoing local history series, Sense of Place, we delve into the human history of the Ozarks to discover why things are the way they are today. In this segment, KSMU’s Emma Wilson explores the geologic history of Greene County and how it has impacted human development in the area.
Springfield, Missouri doesn’t exactly come to mind when you think about a “capital of country music” but there was a time when Springfield had a tremendous effect on the country music industry. For our ongoing local history series, Sense of Place, KSMU’s Emma Wilson explores one television program that shaped tourism and the musical landscape of the Ozarks and beyond.
The historic Kendrick House in Carthage is one of the last standing antebellum homes from the pre-Civil War era. Today, the house stands as a museum commemorating its involvement in the war, and is the site of many legends of paranormal activity. For our ongoing series Sense of Place, KSMU’s Rebekah Clark shares how the grounds were used during the Civil War, and tells of some local controversy about the haunting of the house.
On Friday, a new marker will be unveiled to honor a local heroine who had a huge impact in the lives of Springfield children during the time of America’s Civil War. For our ongoing local history series, Sense of Place, KSMU’s Emma Wilson examines this new monument and the woman it commemorates.
Imagine a romance budding between an American woman and a German prisoner of war who works on her Missouri farm during World War II. It might sound a bit far-fetched to some, but this story line is inspired by actual events. The author of a new historical novel about this chapter of Missouri’s history is in Springfield tonight to unveil the book and talk about the real events that provide the setting for the story. KSMU's Missy Shelton reports.
This year marks the 150thanniversary of the Civil War. Towns all over Missouri are celebrating through reenactments of Civil War events that happened in our area. In October, the city of Cassville will reenact the Claiborne Fox Jackson Legislature and the Secession Convention at Cassville. For our ongoing local history series, Sense of Place, KSMU’s Rebekah Clark looks into what really happened in Cassville, and the impact it had on the entire state during the war.
With the decline of tourism in some places along Historic Route 66, many once-popular landmarks now sit abandoned. Interstates detour drivers around the historic road, and even a renewed interest over the last decade in traveling Route 66 hasn’t been enough to save some businesses along the Mother Road. For our ongoing local history series, Sense of Place, KSMU’s Rebekah Clark tells the story of one local landmark that’s fighting to stay alive.
Walking the streets of downtown Springfield, a person is likely to pass by vacant lots—buildings that have seen vendors and owners come and go over the generations. However, one business has adapted and survived through changing times—and four generations later, it’s still providing the same musical expertise it did a century ago. This year marks the 100th year for Hoover Music Company, located in downtown Springfield. For our ongoing local history series, Sense of Place, KSMU’s Rebekah Clark looks back at the impact the business has made on the Ozarks through music.
For over a hundred years, the grist mills that dotted the rural Ozarks were an important hub of commerce and communication for the farmers and families who brought their wheat and corn to be ground there. For our ongoing local history series, Sense of Place, KSMU’s Emma Wilson explored one of these old mills in Ozark County.
While most dorms are built for the sole purpose of housing students, one Missouri State University dormitory had a long history as a Springfield staple before the university even bought it. For our ongoing local history series, Sense of Place, KSMU’s Emma Wilson explores the history of this historic building turned university dorm.
Today is the 150th anniversary of the first shots fired in the American Civil War. For our ongoing local history series, Sense of Place, KSMU’s Emma Wilson visits with two women who trace their roots back to soldiers who fought during one of the bloodiest times in American history.
Often, fashion shows are a platform for the new, the different, and the excessive. For KSMU’s local history series, Sense of Place, reporter Emma Wilson previews one event that may be better described as an “old fashion” show, where guests will discover history through the fabrics of our ancestors.
We often think of “global community” as a 21st century term assuming we’re only able to interact with people on the other side of the world because of new technology. For our ongoing local history series, Sense of Place, KSMU’s Emma Wilson explores the life of one Ozarks resident whose contributions not only impacted the world economy before the dawn of the 20th century, but changed the wine industry forever.
Few events have impacted the Ozarks as greatly as the Civil War. With the sesquicentennial upon us, there is a renewed interest in what makes this region’s participation in the war unique. For our ongoing local history series, Sense of Place, KSMU’s Emma Wilson explores the battles of Newtonia and the upcoming documentary about one of them that premiers Thursday.
Almost every schoolchild knows the name George Washington Carver and most folks could tell you he was a legendary pioneer of science. But few know of his early life that began here in southwest Missouri. For KSMU’s local history series, Sense of Place, reporter Emma Wilson interviews the author of a new biography about him.
Though it made international news at the time, few recall the tragic 1928 dance hall explosion that changed West Plains forever. For this segment of our ongoing history series, Sense of Place, KSMU’s Emma Wilson explores the history of this mysterious disaster and the woman who penned it back into the public conversation.
The holidays, more than any other time of the year, are steeped in tradition and each family has their own. KSMU’s Emma Wilson sought out three older Springfield residents to share their memories of Christmas past.
Here in the Ozarks, it seems there’s no shortage of small mom-and-pop museums. For our ongoing series, Sense of Place, KSMU’s Emma Wilson profiles one of these unique attractions on Springfield’s north side.
With the advent of new technology and coal-powered factories in the mid-19th century, mining exploded as a booming business across the United States, and the Ozarks were no exception. For KSMU’s ongoing series, “Sense of Place,” reporter Emma Wilson explores the history of mining Missouri’s mineral heavyweight, lead.
In our ongoing series, a Sense of Place, we look to the history of our area to find out why things are the way they are today. KSMU’s Emma Wilson reports on a book that preserves the voices of Springfield residents past.
In our ongoing Sense of Place series, we bring you stories of years gone by here in the Ozarks. In the spirit of Halloween, KSMU’s Emma Wilson visited a historical hotel with a history of haunts.
When settlers made their way to the Ozarks—often by covered wagon—they brought with them their faith. Through today, churches have played a tremendous role in the formation of communities as well as the glue that held them together. For our ongoing series A Sense of Place, KSMU’s Emma Wilson visits a church that can trace its involvement in the community back over 150 years.
