ozarks
roots
the people, places and traditions that make the ozarks home
Down by the River They Come By Jennifer Ailor
Attendees take a step back in time at the Pioneers Descendants Gathering Crafters and reenactors have been a big part of the Pioneers Descendants Gathering in Ava, Mo. Demonstrations showcase the Ozarks between 1860 and 1960.
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On the cane-crowned banks of Bryant Creek east of Ava, Mo., a tent town sits in a mowed fescue field. Campfires warm iron pots of ham and beans, while cornbread bakes in Dutch ovens. Children in bonnets and button-tied pants play pioneer games. A blacksmith shapes hot iron. An aproned woman stirs a pot of lye soap. Men sharpen knives and clean rifles, women weave and sew. A surgeon explains his bloody torture tools. It’s a step back in time. For 15 years, Dale and Betty Thomas have hosted the Pioneers Descendants Gathering the first October weekend on their Edge of the World farm in Douglas County, Mo. The event celebrates the crafts, skills, tools, machinery and animals it took to make a living in the Ozarks between 1860 and 1960. It’s also a gathering of the Brown and Burden families, ancestors of Dale. The event has brought as many as 85 re-enactors and exhibitors and 5,000 visitors to the gathering. In addition to the reenactors gathered around campfires, chuck wagons and canvas tents, local musicians and bands play back to back on a flatbed trailer. A concessionaire serves cool drinks, fried fish, curly taters, hamburgers and savory desserts. Knappers chip away. A Brown-Burden family member explains the family’s genealogy. Novices throw hatchets at a target. Young men and old line up to aim muzzle-loaded guns at targets and fire away. An exhibitor splits rails, while another makes shingles with a half-scale 1857 mill. Families take wagon rides behind fine teams of mules or buggy rides pulled by leggy harness horses. Rows of old tractors and wagons, some of the latter made by Dale, draw curious old men who first used them as young boys. Visitors sign up for the raffle of the prized quilt Betty makes every year. Hot molasses is made on the spot and poured into glass jars for taking home. Under the shade of exhibit tents, quilters, spinners, weavers, gourd
Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com
DECEMBER 5, 2016