Opinions

Intended for the Jan. 22 edition of the Times We hit the ground running this week as most committees had received bills to review. HB 2038 is scheduled for a hearing next week. HB 2038 establishes the Workforce Diploma Program. The Workforce Diploma program assists in the attainment of a high...

William Randolph Hearst, who inherited his father’s newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner in 1887, was nicknamed “Billy Buster” by his parents George and Phoebe Hearst. The name inspired Hearst’s co-worker Richard Outcaul to create a comic strip featuring Billy Buster, a boy with similar traits to Hearst. After Outcault sold an advertising license for the character to George Warren Brown of Brown Shoe Company in St. Louis, Brown’s portrayal of the Buster Brown character took hold, and Buster Brown became a household name in the early 1900s. The success of Buster Brown in the shoe industry and other marketing avenues was long lived, and families coast to coast recognized the name for nearly a century. It’s thought that the term’s widespread popularity may be linked to the name given to a site near Howards Ridge where today’s J Highway crosses Lick Creek.
The spot on J Highway where the bridge now crosses Lick Creek is indicated on older topographical maps of Ozark County as an historical spot. On some maps it is referred to as “Billy Buster Ford” and on others as “Billy Buster Crossing.”  Unfortunately, the background for designating this crossing...

William Randolph Hearst, who inherited his father’s newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner in 1887, was nicknamed “Billy Buster” by his parents George and Phoebe Hearst. The name inspired Hearst’s co-worker Richard Outcaul to create a comic strip featuring Billy Buster, a boy with similar traits to Hearst. After Outcault sold an advertising license for the character to George Warren Brown of Brown Shoe Company in St. Louis, Brown’s portrayal of the Buster Brown character took hold, and Buster Brown became a household name in the early 1900s. The success of Buster Brown in the shoe industry and other marketing avenues was long lived, and families coast to coast recognized the name for nearly a century. It’s thought that the term’s widespread popularity may be linked to the name given to a site near Howards Ridge where today’s J Highway crosses Lick Creek.
  The spot on J Highway where the bridge now crosses Lick Creek is indicated on older topographical maps of Ozark County as an historical spot. On some maps it is referred to as “Billy Buster Ford” and on others as “Billy Buster Crossing.”  Unfortunately, the background for designating this...

Times reporter Jessi Dreckman and her husband, Drew, had an especially fun Christmas this year with their 1-year-old daughter, Delilah.
There is nothing like the excitement of Christmas Eve and the joy of Christmas morning when you’re a child. My parents were especially enthusiastic during the holiday season, going to great lengths to make the holiday magical for me and my two siblings. I remember sitting in the living room with...

Times reporter Jessi Dreckman and her husband, Drew, had an especially fun Christmas this year with their 1-year-old daughter, Delilah.
There is nothing like the excitement of Christmas Eve and the joy of Christmas morning when you’re a child. My parents were especially enthusiastic during the holiday season, going to great lengths to make the holiday magical for me and my two siblings. I remember sitting in the living room with...
Editor’s note: To read more of retired Gainesville educator Jane Elder’s blog, “Ozark Road,” visit gainesvillemo.blogspot.com. Monday I trimmed my Christmas tree. Yes, I did. Andy hauled the boxes from the garage and stacked them on the floor. Each Christmas I vow to do this earlier. But I have...
Tomorrow, Dec. 19, is a pretty special day to me. On that day 45 years ago, I married David Jones. Every year, when I drag out that old wedding photo, I can’t help but laugh, remembering the unintended silliness of that day in Columbia, where we were both grad students at Mizzou. For starters,...
Editor’s note: To read more of retired Gainesville educator Jane Elder’s blog, “Ozark Road,” visit gainesvillemo.blogspot.com.   Monday I trimmed my Christmas tree. Yes, I did. Andy hauled the boxes from the garage and stacked them on the floor. Each Christmas I vow to do this earlier. But I have...
Tomorrow, Dec. 19, is a pretty special day to me. On that day 45 years ago, I married David Jones. Every year, when I drag out that old wedding photo, I can’t help but laugh, remembering the unintended silliness of that day in Columbia, where we were both grad students at Mizzou. For starters,...

This statue of Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, a West Point grad, stands in Keokuk, Iowa, where Curtis served as mayor before being elected to Congress before the Civil War. He resigned to rejoin the Union Army when the Civil war started and commanded the Union forces at the Battle of Pea Ridge. Many historians today consider him the most successful Union general west of the Mississippi.
Following the Battle of Wilson Creek on Aug. 10, 1861, during the opening months of the Civil War, the victorious Confederate forces swept north and east from Springfield, hoping to capture St. Louis. Of course, they met opposition—but they also faced one of the worst Missouri winters on record...

Pages

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423