Record Group 8.11 Center for Ozarks Studies
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Special Collections and Archives Contact information: Duane G. Meyer Library [email protected] Missouri State University http://library.missouristate.edu/archives/ Springfield, MO 65897 417.836.5428 Record Group 8.11 Center for Ozarks Studies Collection Number: RG 8.11 Dates: 1790-2004 Volume: 54 Cubic Feet Provenance: The Special Collections and Archives Department acquired the Center for Ozarks Studies material from the College of Humanities and Public Affairs in 1999. Leslie James began processing the collection in 2002, with support from student assistants Carolyn Schweighauser, Todd Hubbs, Jennifer Hazen, Shannon Western, Stephanie Hagenhoff, and Erin Williams. Publications were added in 2011. Copyright: This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code). Access: The collection is unrestricted with the exception of certain archaeology reports. Single photocopies of unrestricted materials may be made for research purposes. Citations should be as follows: Identification of the item, box and folder number, Center for Ozarks Studies (RG 8.11), Special Collections and Archives Department, Missouri State University. Missouri State University and the Special Collections and Archives Department do not hold copyright for all items within the collection. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain all necessary permissions to publish anything from the Center for Ozarks Studies materials. Restricted items will require permission from the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) or the institution the document originated from. Most of CAR's Cultural Resource Management reports are restricted to federal, state, and local officials, planners, engineers, and professional archaeologists. As a result, CAR asks that requests for viewing be submitted to them in writing on agency or company letterhead. Biographical / Historical Sketch Discussions began in 1975 at Missouri State University to establish a center focused on researching the Ozarks region, and in 1979, those ideas came to fruition when the university established the Center for Ozarks Studies. Robert Flanders, professor of history, served as director for the Center. The Center was originally located at 1030 Florence, a small house south of Craig Hall. Its purpose was to promote pride in Ozarks heritage and to research and study the Ozarks region. The COS provided a variety of services in the i form of consultations, documentary information, public programs, and local history courses. The Center also conducted several grant-funded projects which included films related to Shannon County, Missouri, oral histories, and historical research on the Mark Twain National Forest. The Center closed in 1995 following Dr. Flanders’ retirement. When asked, Dr. Robert Flanders indicated that the most important thing the Center accomplished was to demythologize the Ozarks and to give the people of the Ozarks something substantial about their own people. COS accomplished this through efforts such as OzarksWatch magazine and the Sassafras presentation. Scope and Content The information within the Center for Ozarks Studies material encompasses a wide timeframe beginning as early as the mid 1800s and ending in the 1990s. The Ozarks region includes Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Most of the material relates to various grants and research projects conducted by the Center. Below is a brief list of series, followed by a more detailed series description. Series I COS Office Files Series II Courses Series III Robert Flanders’ Personal Papers Series IV Subject Files Series V Forest/Fire-free Range Series VI Oral History Transcripts Series VII Buffalo River Oral History Project, Phase I and II Series VIII Shannon County Projects Series IX Shannon County Project Oral History Transcripts Series X Shannon County Current Wave Series XI Haseltine Family History Series XII Missouri Counties Series XIII National Register Nominations Series XIV Historic Inventory Surveys Series XV Arkansas Series XVI Tourism Series XVII Sassafras Series XVIII OzarksWatch Series XIX MissouriFind Series XX SERIES NUMBER NOT IN USE Series XXI Photographs Series XXII Audio Cassettes Series XXIII Reel to Reel tapes Series XXIV Postcards Series XXV Oversized Materials Series XXVI Slides Series XXVII Maps Series XXVIII Publications ii Series I: COS Office Files These files pertain to the business of the Center for Ozarks Studies. Materials include bibliographies, correspondence, grants and contract information, and conference materials. Series II: Courses This series consists of materials used by Robert Flanders for courses he taught, including readings, syllabi, and tests. Series III: Robert Flanders’ Personal Papers This small series includes course papers written by Robert Flanders, research information for publications, and correspondence. Series IV: Subject Files Subject Files consist of copied articles and miscellaneous subject clipping files on various topics including archaeology, mills, and the Missouri census. Series V: Forest/Fire-free Range The Center assisted the Center for Archaeological Research in a fifteen-month historic and pre-historic cultural resource overview of and for the Mark Twain National Forest. The Center’s contribution to the final report was a two volume, partially annotated bibliography for sources of Ozarks history and culture, and an essay. The series consists of subject files relating to the National Forest system. Series VI : Oral History Transcripts Oral history transcripts of various COS projects are combined under this series. Audio cassettes of oral histories are located in Series XXII: Audio Cassettes. Series VII: Buffalo River Oral History Project, Phase I and II The National Park Service contracted the Center for Ozarks Studies to conduct two phases of oral history interviews with persons associated with the Boxley and Erbie Valleys of Buffalo National River, Arkansas. Audio cassettes of the oral histories are located in Series XXII: Audio Cassettes. Series VIII: Shannon County Projects The Center produced several media projects related to Shannon County. Shannon County: Of Home and the River (1977) was a 32-minute multi-image program using 3 screens and 6 projectors. Sassafras: An Ozarks Odyssey (1978-79) was a 52-minute multi-image program that included multiple projection surfaces and 12 projectors. A Taste of Sassafras (1980) was a 25-minute derivation of Sassafras: An Ozarks Odyssey. From 1976 to 1981, the Center for Ozarks Studies produced two sixty-minute documentary films about the history and culture of Shannon County for national television broadcast. The result of the project was Shannon County: Home and Shannon County: The Hearts of the Children. These films were funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and produced in partnership with Veriation Films, an independent film company from Palo Alto, California. Home won the CINE Golden Eagle in 1982 and an American Film Festival Blue Ribbon in 1983. The Center for Ozarks Studies also composed a history of the Alley Spring community of Shannon County as part of a grant-funded project for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, iii National Park Service in 1985. The report was entitled, “Alley, a Mill Hamlet: Society, Economy, Landscape”. The material within this series is the research accumulated for the film projects and the Alley Spring history. Information may also be found relating to counties bordering Shannon County. Series IX: Shannon County Project Oral History Transcripts These transcripts relate to the Shannon County Projects listed above. Many of the transcripts have corresponding audio cassettes within Series XXII: Audio Cassettes. Series X: Shannon County Current Wave This series consists of news clipping subject files related to the Shannon County Projects and Shannon County in general. The Shannon County Current Wave is printed in Eminence, Missouri. Series XI: Haseltine Family History These research materials relate to the Haseltine family of Greene County. Series XII: Missouri Counties These subject files for various counties in the state include news clippings, journal articles, brochures, and family histories. The series is sorted by county. Series XIII: National Register Nominations Robert Flanders was a member of the Historic Preservation board responsible for evaluating submitted nominations for the state of Missouri in the 1970s. Nominations relating to the Ozarks region were kept for this series. Series XIV: Historic Inventory Surveys This series is predominantly inventories of Iron and Washington Counties completed in 1979-1980 as part of a grant-funded project. Ironton, Arcadia, and Pilot Knob were priority areas for the project. Other projects included surveys in Benton, Camden, Miller, Osage, McDonald, Barry, Stone, Taney, and Ozark Counties. The series also includes various county inventories conducted by students for what appears to be class assignments/projects. Series XV: Arkansas Subject files, brochures, and news clippings relating to northern Arkansas make up this series. Series XVI: Tourism This series contains brochures and maps primarily from Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Series XVII: Sassafras Under a grant from the Missouri Committee for the Humanities, the Center for Ozarks Studies collaborated with MSU’s Media Production Department in the conception and creation of Sassafras: An Ozarks Odyssey, an hour long multi-image program presenting the Ozarks region as a geographic