Tag Archives: Harry S. Truman Dam and Reservoir

OSCEOLA Book Signing

Many thanks to Larry Lewis of Osceola for arranging our presentation to the St. Clair County Historical Society last week. With Larry’s recommendation and the support of Angie Jones, Director of the St. Clair County Library, we were invited to … Continue reading

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A Chronology of Development on the Osage River and Tributaries

For our presentations this month for the Greenway Network at River Soundings and for the Big Muddy Speaker Series in St. Charles, we created this chronology of development on the Osage River. DAMMING THE OSAGE: A Chronology of Development on … Continue reading

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Artesian White Sulphur Spring Well Park, Clinton, Missouri

Cabinet card, circa 1890 Established in 1887, in the era when spring water was associated with health, the Artesian Spring Well on the western edge of Clinton was a lively place. The Artesian Hotel catered to visiting spa enthusiasts. A … Continue reading

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PADDLEFISH OF THE MISSISSIPPI

Drawing from Scientific American (19th century) Living paddlefish are somewhat hard to draw and preserved paddlefish are even harder.  Their physical representation has been poorly illustrated.  They’re not only hard to draw, they are near impossible to mount. Their habits … Continue reading

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LAND OF THE OSAGE

Postcard, 1950s We couldn’t fit this one into the book, but it is definitely an unusual image. While Harry Truman was born in Lamar, not terribly far from the stronghold of the Osage Indians, we haven’t seen any association of … Continue reading

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FAIRFIELD (MISSOURI) COVERED BRIDGE

 Real photo postcard. Penciled on back: “Fairfield Mill in July 1910” There was a mill and a small manufacturing complex at the hamlet of Fairfield, Missouri on the Pomme de Terre River built, it is said, by Judge George Alexander. … Continue reading

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PADDLEFISH (SPOONBILLS) AT OSCEOLA

Trophy Paddlefish This looks to be taken below the Osceola Dam which was removed when Truman Dam and Reservoir was built. While the primary paddlefish spawning beds were over gravel bars between Osceola and Warsaw, paddlefish on spawning runs would … Continue reading

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Rethinking the Osage River book

We are interested in things, the common denominator of which is the Osage River – for 35 + years exploring prairies, small towns, the Ozark-prairie border, doing some snake hunting in the middle part. Leland has fished the lower Osage … Continue reading

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The Osage River: research trip to Heritage Days in Warsaw, Missouri.

Research, for this writer, is almost the best part of a book project. For in our case that often means – road trip!  Many trips to the Ozarks tracking Father Hogan’s horseback reconnaissance for a settlement for Famine immigrants were … Continue reading

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Osage River and a chance encounter

Recently, I was settled in a dark corner of the State Historical Society of Missouri (Columbia, Missouri) focused intently on the screen of a microfilm reader, trying to decipher badly focused text of a yellowed 1933 newspaper, when a voice … Continue reading

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