Holy Hills of the Ozarks Ketchell, Aaron K
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Holy Hills of the Ozarks Ketchell, Aaron K. Published by Johns Hopkins University Press Ketchell, Aaron K. Holy Hills of the Ozarks: Religion and Tourism in Branson, Missouri. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007. Project MUSE. doi:10.1353/book.3491. https://muse.jhu.edu/. For additional information about this book https://muse.jhu.edu/book/3491 [ Access provided at 27 Sep 2021 13:16 GMT with no institutional affiliation ] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Holy Hills of the Ozarks Lived Religions Series Editors: David D. Hall and Robert A. Orsi Holy Hills of the Ozarks Religion and Tourism in Branson, Missouri aaron k. ketchell The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore © 2007 The Johns Hopkins University Press All rights reserved. Published 2007 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 246897531 The Johns Hopkins University Press 2715 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363 www.press.jhu.edu Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ketchell, Aaron K., 1971– Holy hills of the Ozarks : religion and tourism in Branson, Missouri / Aaron K. Ketchell. p. cm. — (Lived religions) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13: 978-0-8018-8660-7 (hardcover : alk. paper) isbn-10: 0-8018-8660-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Branson (Mo.)—Religious life and customs. 2. Recreation—Missouri—Branson. 3. Amusements—Missouri—Branson. 4. Amusements—Religious aspects— Christianity. 5. Recreation—Religious aspects—Christianity. 6. Popular culture— Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title. br560.b76k48 2007 277.78v797—dc22 2006039423 A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction. “The Moral Vineyards” xi 1 “Temples of God’s Own Building”: Harold Bell Wright and the Roots of Branson Tourism 1 2 “Hills of Truth and Love”: Authenticity and the Sacred in Shepherd of the Hills Country 27 3 “I Would Much Rather See a Sermon Than Hear One”: Faith at Silver Dollar City 56 4 Jesus Is “the Greatest Star”: The Variety Show and Contemporary Branson Tourism 85 5 “Near Heaven”: The Dynamics of Sacred Space in Branson 129 6 Hillbilly Heaven: Labor, Leisure, and the Ozark Trickster 170 7 “The Aroma of God’s Spirit”: Branding Branson’s Future 205 Notes 233 Bibliography 273 Index 295 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments Most of this project was completed while I was a graduate student or faculty member at the University of Kansas, and many individuals affi liated with that institution are due thanks. Gratitude must fi rst be extended to Pete Shortridge. His keen eye for detail, thorough editing skills, and perceptive comments trans- formed this subject matter into a work that I feel is clear, concise, and informed. Norm Yetman, Bob Antonio, Tim Miller, Sandi Zimdars-Swartz, and Ed Canda must also be recognized for their contributions to the dissertation from which this manuscript emerged. I have known most of these scholars for over a decade, and in addition to regarding them as skilled mentors, I am also thankful to count them as friends. Throughout this process, Brad Carter has been an invaluable colleague, comrade, and volunteer research assistant. From its inauguration, he has offered thoughts, critiques, and pertinent materials that course their way through all chapters. A number of researchers and scholars working in and around the Ozarks have also been of tremendous assistance. Lynn Morrow, director of Local Records at the Missouri State Archives, has been ever willing to share his bounty of insights on the region and his wonderful collection of postcards, some of which appear in this book. Lynn has authored dozens of articles on the Ozarks, and his study of turn-of-the-century Branson tourism was an inspiration for my own initiative. Laura Jolley also generously assisted with the preparation of the book’s illustra- tions. John Schmalzbauer at Missouri State University has provided multiple op- portunities for me to present my work to audiences. These occasions allowed me not only to fi ne-tune thoughts during the latter stages of the project but also offered excellent venues for critique from individuals intimately familiar with Branson. John’s ongoing interest in and support of my scholarship is deeply ap- preciated. I was fortunate to receive funding from two sources for this study. Money provided by the State Historical Society of Missouri allowed for substantial fi eld- viii acknowledgments work and archival research. A yearlong dissertation fellowship from the Louis- ville Institute offered the ability to focus solely on writing, and input from other Institute fellows and scholars proved indispensable. I thank both of these organi- zations for their assistance. I have also received much support and encouragement from people associ- ated with the Johns Hopkins University Press. I fi rst met Henry Tom at a con- ference in 1998, when this project was in its infancy. Thankfully, he remained in contact and expressed his continuing enthusiasm for my scholarship as it grew and matured. I have also appreciated the opportunity to work with series editor Bob Orsi, whose studies of lived religion were truly inspirational while I was a graduate student. His comments on and critique of my manuscript helped to mold it into a work that I hope at least partially refl ects the skillful and rigorous nature of his own scholarship. This book also profi ted from the superb editing of Grace Carino, who is to be commended for both this effort and her patience during a time when I was mired in diffi cult personal circumstances. The roll of individuals in Branson who have offered their thoughts and time is too extensive to enumerate. However, hundreds of people have expressed an interest in this project and worked with busy schedules to meet with me and discuss their views on the topic. I hope their generosity is refl ected in the ethno- graphic quality and detail found throughout. I would like to mention a few who offered substantial contributions in many forms. These include Howard Boyd, Richard Freihofer, Don Gabriel, Peter Herschend, Michael London, and Raeanne Presley. Nahum Tate, while not an Ozark resident, is also owed much gratitude for sharing family documents, genealogical materials, and personal stories about his ancestral links to the region. Finally, when researching in the fi eld, basics like room and board can sometimes be diffi cult to arrange. I was often fortunate to be accommodated by Carol and Terry Smith, who offered their home and will- ingly listened to the travails of my research undertaking. I have been a student for all but a few years of my life. Such utter immersion in learning would not have been possible without the constant support of my parents. Their unwavering confi dence in my abilities has allowed me to cultivate a sense of inquiry that they initially instilled. My one great regret concerning this project is that my father passed away just months before its completion. He was an erudite man, and for many years, I looked forward to pridefully handing him a copy of the book and thanking him for making it possible. While working on a study that often involves miraculous things, two miracles did indeed come into my own life. Clara and Gus have encouraged this project in ways too numer- acknowledgments ix ous to list. Their captivating smiles, hearty laughs, simple words, and boundless wonder have truly been catalysts for this work. Finally, since the nascence of this study, Marcia Fisher has always unconditionally believed in my ability to com- plete a daunting enterprise and has taken every step along this long road with me. Without her strength, confi dence, patience, insight, and love, I would never have made it to this point. This page intentionally left blank introduction “The Moral Vineyards” A city of less than 7,000 permanent residents, Branson, Missouri, annually attracts more than 7 million tourists, with vacationers swelling its population to 65,000 during peak season. Located in the southwestern corner of the state, it is often described as the “heart” of the Ozarks and has prospered for nearly a century as a result of a multifaceted fusion of recreation with religious senti- ment. The tone was set early. In an 1862 letter, infantryman Robert Fyan called the region “one of the greatest countrys for Baptists that [he] ever saw—as they could be made ‘elect’ almost any place in this part of the moral vineyards.” Fy- an’s remark, offered forty years before the city was platted, explicitly addressed the preponderance of rivers in southern Missouri that allowed for baptism by immersion. The meaning quickly became more general, however, and Branson developed into a site where travelers could embrace tourism-mediated piety in a setting ripe for the cultivation of moral fruits.1 Visitors to Branson today are enticed by many attractions: recreational lakes, rolling hills, and scenic vistas; an outdoor drama that reenacts Harold Bell Wright’s place-defi ning novel The Shepherd of the Hills; a re-created nineteenth-century mining village–cum–theme park called Silver Dollar City; and variety show the- aters that feature big-name talent such as Andy Williams and Glen Campbell. A popular variant of Christianity has underscored all these tourist draws and fortifi ed every consumer culture success. The physical landscape has attracted sojourners since the 1880s, but it was not until the publication of Wright’s novel in 1907 that Branson established itself as a true tourist mecca. The city is now, by some estimates, the second most popular “drive-to” destination in the country and ranks in the top twenty American overnight leisure spots. It is safe to say that many contemporary visitors have not read The Shepherd of the Hills and do not realize that it was written by a Christian minister.