Cultural Sustainability: Bringing Communities Together

By Jill Henderson

In the south central Ozarks lies the town of Alton, Missouri. With a population of around 600 souls, give or take a few depending on the year, Alton’s main attraction is a quaint but thriving downtown square that hems a modest county courthouse.  As is often the case in the Ozarks, most of Oregon County’s rural residents are farmers and modern-day homesteaders.  But for these folks, being rural doesn’t mean they are out of touch with modern ideas and progressive momentum – just the opposite is true.  And with the help of a woman living in the nearby town of Couch, this sleepy little hamlet is about to witness what happens when sustainability and cultural heritage meet face to face.

Garden Time: Do You Know Where Your Seeds Come From?

 By Jill Henderson

Ah, winter.  At last it’s time to kick back in your big easy chair with your garden-weary feet all wrapped up in those new fuzzy slippers you got for Christmas.  I can just see you now, gazing contentedly at the flickering flames of a glowing fire in the hearth, more than content with a summer’s worth of jobs well done and not a single garden chore on your “to do” list…  Yeah, right.  I mean, you’re a gardener, aren’t you?  When did gardener’s ever get a day off?  I mean, seriously – spring will be here before you know it and you don’t have a single moment to waste lying around gazing at fires if you want to have an incredible garden next year!  Gosh.

Being Chosen and the Spirit of Place

By Sara Firman (Sulis)

You can’t choose, it seems, without being chosen. For the place, in return had laid its claims on me and had made my life answerable to it…’ Wendell Berry in Jayber Crow.

I’ve lived in the Ozarks since the summer of 2002 when I happened to be passing through. Without meaning to, I fell in love with a piece of land; and, as love goes, jumped into its arms without much further thought.  The result was as tumultuous as you might expect.

Blackberries & Homemade Wine

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz -

(Excerpted in part from A Journey of Seasons: A Year in the Ozarks High Country)

Blackberry season is now in full swing and as usual Dean has been out gathering bucketfuls of the sweet-tart fruit.  I don’t usually go out picking with him, mostly because I don’t like the idea of being surprised by a big snake in the grass or heavy brush.  But because the blackberries are so plentiful this year, and because Dean has already stomped down the thickest vegetation around the patch, I finally decided to go with him.