The Ozark Culture Region as Revealed by Traditional Materials

Abstract

The Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas were used as a datum area in which to test the hypothesis that folk materials, if documented, may be used by the cultural geographer. Using folk materials such as folktales and folk speech, supported by evidence from other sources including US. Census returns, a distinctive cultural region of eleven counties within the Ozarks was identified. Ethnic and ternporal evidence is presented concerning the patterns of occupancy of this localized folk group. Folk materials are of value to the cultural geographer as a source of documentation of settlement processes and may contribute to an understanding of the continuum of the changing occupancy of what is often a misunderstood and misrepresented region.There are lesser lines of historical field work, the place names that have connotations of olden days, folk customs and dialect turns that reveal traditions of times when tradition was a living part of the economy, the memories that still belong to the oldest members of the group.' HE cultural geographer is especially con-

“A Gentle Work Horse Would Come in Right Handy”: Animals in Ozark Agroecology

“…Under the traditional system, farmers learned and innovated from interactions with the biophysical environment and local social network. Ozark farmers became intimately aware of the biophysical characteristics and climatic fluctuations of their Ozark locality through enculturation and experience (Miller 1968). In anthropological teims, they possessed TEK, traditional ecological knowledge (e.g.…”

Fungi, folkways and fairy tales: mushrooms & mildews in stories, remedies & rituals, from Oberon to the Internet

“…Notable is the idea that societies derived from Anglo-Saxon culture tend to be mycophobic. Thus we read, "the ethnic core of the Ozarks ... [is]... predominantly white, Anglo-Saxon" hence, "Mushrooms were ignored" (Miller 1968). And, with somewhat more humor, the point was made that Jell-O, not dried porcini mushrooms, is indicative of a wholesome staple for the American diet (Newton 1992).…”

Traditions and Research Opportunities in Folk Geography

“…Donald Meinig's work on the Mormon areas of the western United States i s one example [25]. Joan Miller's work in the Ozarks i s the only study in a major U.S. geography journal that deals in-depth with language arts (in this case, folktales) in defining a culture region [27].…”

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