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Chris' Corner Growing back into my allergies?
May is freshly here, and for me, that means the annual battle against allergy season is about to kick into full gear. Like clockwork, the pollen levels rise, the trees bloom, and I start to feel the … more
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LIVE AND LEARN It is myth that good fences make good neighbors
"Good fences make good neighbors" is a quote that is often misused.  The phrase is normally used to justify building a fence and keeping neighbors at arm's length. But that was not the … more
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I had another column written for this week before Mother's Day; then I came across this photograph of Mom (Hazellee Daly Hamilton) and her crew. It’s one of the few pictures I have of the entire family, and probably the most honest representation of who we were at home on our farm near Elkland. Taken in the fall of 1979 — the year after I became editor of the Buffalo Reflex, this spontaneous snapshot captures the raw essence of Mom and her close-knit band of boys as most everyone saw us. At the far left is Russell, back for a few days from his new home in New Mexico, where he was an emerging artist. Between me (in the middle) and Russell is our youngest brother, Stephen, a student at Southwest Missouri State University, and behind Mom is David. I think he was either a farm hand or a sawmill worker at the time. And then there’s Dad, Harold Hamilton — farmer, fisherman, hunter and all-round patriarch of the clan. Now, Mom may appear here to be a typical Ozarks farm wife and mother, but she was never “typical.” When not corralling her boys, Mom was a medical technologist, second in charge of the lab at Cox Medical Center in Springfield, while Dad was ahead of his time, too, as a stay-at-home dad. This image could be a bit misleading, too, if we appear as a bunch of backwoods outlaws. In fact, Russell and I, along with Mom, had college degrees, and Dad was just a few hours shy of one. Stephen was headed in that direction, too. David was the sole self-avowed “good ol’ boy.” I think Mom’s pride in all of us is evident here in the twinkle in her eyes. She and Dad agreed we were the best crop that farm ever raised. Over the years I’ve included everyone in this picture in one or more of my columns. Now you get to see them as I knew them. Only David and I remain today. Stephen died in 1980, Russell in 2014, Dad in 2005 and Mom in 2008. Even the farm is gone, too. Truth be told, I don’t need this picture to fondly remember Mom and our crew, but it tells our story better than me.
OZARKS RFD Mom and her boys
Kathie Cox
SUMMERSVILLE BOOKENDS
Do you remember as well as I do? The small library seemed even smaller by the dark paneled walls. Wrinkled brown and orange carpeting, obviously unpadded, covered the concrete floor. Unfinished … more
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How I learned to cook
When I was a boy, most mothers taught their daughters how to cook. My mom would have liked to do the same, but for one drawback  — she had no daughters, just boys. The eldest of … more
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Kathie Cox
SUMMERSVILLE BOOKENDS
Thanks to many helpers, our Friends of the Library’s annual Plants & Books Sale on Saturday was a great success. About $200 were added to the Friends’ treasury to be used for … more
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Commentary: Learning from our failures
Author and leadership coach John C. Maxwell once said, “Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward.” If you look back and see areas where you fell short, take time to consider the … more
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Eat crow while it is young and tender
The idiom “eat crow while it’s young and tender” may sound unusual, but it has an interesting meaning. I first learned it from my friend Bob Roberts in Springfield (he grew up in … more
This is what we do
It’s been a wild few months here in the Ozarks — tornadoes, storms, flooding. We’ve seen it all lately. And while the floodwaters didn’t quite reach the chaos of 2017, they … more
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Trouble with tariffs, a historical perspective
Regarding the new reciprocal tariffs, I have a genuine concern that many people are blindsided by political hype. I am afraid that soon after the April 2 "Liberation Day," we are going to discover … more
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What I used to eat, but don’t now
When I was a boy, dinner and supper were much different from today. We didn’t have pizza, tacos, burrito, cashew chicken or Chinese stir fry. I’d heard of them, but didn’t know … more
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Your Neighborhood in a Six Word Story
Six-word stories are a fascinating form of storytelling. They pack a complete narrative into just six words, forcing writers to be creative and concise.  The origins of this storytelling … more
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Missouri 8th Congressional District candidate Jason Smith speaks to his campaign workers Tuesday, June 4, 2013 in Cape Girardeau, Mo. A special election Tuesday in the 8th Congressional District features Republican Smith, of Salem; Democratic state Rep. Steve Hodges, of East Prairie; and candidates from the Libertarian and Constitution parties. The winner will succeed Republican Jo Ann Emerson, who resigned in January to take a job as of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.(AP Photo/Southeast Missourian, Fred Lynch)
Liberation Day
A big reason why the American people chose President Donald Trump to lead our nation was his promise to bring back a golden age of American prosperity. For decades, American manufacturers and farmers … more
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‘Intentional isolation’ trend leads to loneliness
In today’s fast-paced world, many people are choosing to live in ways that separate them from others. Ann Meyer, co-creator of the website “The Neighboring Life,” calls this trend … more
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Nearly famous
Once upon a time I was nearly famous. The Mallard brothers, Lynn and Delvin, did their best to make it happen — they put my name on a sandwich on the menu at their popular Buffalo eatery, … more
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SUMMERSVILLE BOOKENDS
Summersville Friends of the Library have set the annual Plants & Books Sale for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, April 25, so mark your calendars! We’ll be needing plenty of vegetables, … more
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Jim Hamilton
Wish I could turn off the news
Most days I wish I could turn off the evening news, but I can’t. I can’t help myself. I’ve been a news junkie for almost as long as I could read. I blame my mom and her mother. … more
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Civic bullies only win when no one else speaks up
As I travel across Missouri, meeting with community leaders and residents, working to strengthen neighborhoods and encourage civic engagement, I hear the same concern in every town: civic bullies. … more
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SUMMERSVILLE BOOKENDS
It’s tea time! The Summersville Library’s 11 th annual Princess Tea Party StoryTime will be held from 10 a.m. to noon this Saturday! The Miss Texas County Pageant winners will be our … more
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Sisters, from left, Violet, Velma and Vera Smotherman are wearing flour sack dresses made by their mother. The girls grew up in the 1930s and ‘40s in Mtn. View, and are the inspiration for this series contributed by Vera’s husband, Dwight Thirkield.
A childhood story of farm, family and small-town America, Pt. 9
Life on the farm ended in 1943.  Grandpa Luther passed away on the 26th of April, 1943. Vera's mother and daddy decided to sell the farm and move back to Seattle. They had visited the … more
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