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Jessica Leroy and her mother, Mary Collins, work to preserve Ozarks history through two social media entities. Leroy runs Headstone History, dedicated to stories in local cemeteries, and Collins runs Dora Historian Ozarks.
Jessica Leroy and her mother, Mary Collins, work to preserve Ozarks history through two social media entities. Leroy runs Headstone History, dedicated to stories in local cemeteries, and Collins runs Dora Historian Ozarks.
Sharing shared history means something special to Mary Collins and Jessica...
Terance the turkey stole the show Saturday morning, taking home the Best in Show trophy at the Hootin an Hollarin pet show. Owner Danny Drury couldn’t have been prouder of his feathered friend, who was all decked out in a red, white and blue bowtie in honor of this year’s Hootin an Hollarin theme, “Celebrating 250 years of the USA.”
There was a little bit of everything at this year's Hootin an Hollarin pet show. Dogs and cats were certainly represented, but they had plenty of unusual company Saturday morning, Sept. 19, as a water buffalo, lemur, duck, donkey, pig, turkey and even a hare sheep joined the lineup on the...
GHS FBLA juniors dressed as fave coaches win best dressed award These Gainesville High School FBLA juniors poked a little fun at their favorite high school coaches during the 2026 Hootin an Hollarin bed race and in the process won the best dressed award. Team members are Chase Luna as GHS boys baseball coach Blake Hobbs, Emma Donley as GHS girls basketball coach Nathan Houk, Mylie Frye as GHS assistant boys basketball coach Lance West, Twyla Parkison as GHS girls softball coach Joe Walrath and Avery Rodrigue as GHS assistant boys baseball coach Bryce Hambelton.
Despite the heat last Friday afternoon, 13 teams lined up for the Hootin an Hollarin bed race and another eight teams climbed into, onto or behind the racing outhouse for one of Hootin an Hollarin’s favorite events, which brings speed, costumes, comedy and good-natured chaos to the Gainesville...
All queen pageant photos by Karla Smith The 2026 Hootin an Hollarin queen and her court Ella Sue Barber, center, was crowned 2026 Hootin an Hollarin Queen during the pageant held Thursday night. Her court, pictured from left, includes Deputy Queen Khloe Simmons, who was also named Miss Sweetie Pie by her fellow competitors, Princess Cami Strain, Queen Ella Barber, Princess Rachyl McGinnis and Princess Zoie Moody.
This year’s Hootin an Hollarin queen pageant was held last Thursday night, Sept. 17, 2026, on the Gainesville square with 22 Ozark County contestants ages 14 to 18 entering the competition.
The girls entertain the crowd with a square dance and then take to the stage one by one where they answer...
This aerial photo, taken by Ed Doiron, shows about three quarters of the approximately 2,000 people who were at the free Hannah Harper concert, held Saturday night of the 2026 Hootin an Hollarin festival. Festival organizers said they had no idea how many people would show up, and they worried that it may be standing room only with the crowd wrapping around all sides of the square. But, likely thanks to the heat, there was just about the perfect number of people to comfortably sit in lawn chairs along the east side of the square where Harper performed on the Main stage.
The 65th annual Hootin an Hollarin festival came to a close Saturday night, Sept. 19, after three days of music, contests, food, vendors, quilts, square dancing, parades and plenty of good old-fashioned Ozark County fun on the Gainesville square.
This year’s festival, themed “Celebrating 250 Years...
If you enjoyed following along with the Ozark County Times’ coverage of this year’s Hootin an Hollarin festival, we’d love to invite you to subscribe to your hometown newspaper.
The Times’ small staff was on the Gainesville square from the moment the National Anthem was sung Thursday night until...
Dennis Gillan
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide was responsible for 48,824 deaths in 2024. The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. That year, an estimated 14.3 million adults seriously thought about suicide, 4.6 million planned a suicide...
The Gainesville Saddle Club photo on page 1 shows riders in the club a few years after it was organized in September 1955, when this photo was taken. The Sept. 8, 1955, edition of the Times reported members of the newly organized club “paraded around the square, and it was one of the largest and best displays of horses seen in Gainesville in a number of years.” This photo appeared in the next week’s Times with the riders identified as, from left: H. V. Gaulding, Ira Duggins, Joe Bill Blisard, Stacy Landers, Nancy Lou Gaulding (Walker), Pearl Wood, Emmett Edmonds, Stanley Chaney, Edley Hamilton, R. G. Landers, Elbert Hale, J.O. Wood, Robert Dreckman, Paul Hambelton, Dallas Herd, Jack YUates, Al Farless, Charlie Kirkland, Ray Wallace and Don Copelin.
When the Times contacted Gainesville native Stacy Landers, now living in Washington, Missouri, about the photo on page 1 of this week’s Times, to ask if he remembered being one of the horseback riders lined up below Janian’s Holiday Inn at Theodosia, his answer was a surprise:
“I have a copy of...
Ozark County is currently under a burn ban, which was enacted by the Ozark County Commissioners on the recommendation of the fire marshal’s office last Thursday, Sept. 10.
The burn ban applies to all residents and visitors of the county, stating they are not allowed to have an open fire or...
Twenty two local girls enter this year’s queen pageant
The 2026 Hootin an Hollarin queen pageant will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, on the Gainesville square. The pageant is directed by Becki Strong, Jerri Sue Crawford and Tiffany Pleasant, with plenty of help behind the scenes. Kyle...