July 1997 - Life in Oak Springs, the Homeplace

Life in Oak Springs, the Homeplace

July 1997

This series of posts on each Friday during 2015 continues the stories of “The Homeplace Saga” series of family saga, historical fiction families in the area of Oak Springs following the novel “Christmas at the Homeplace.” Here is a peek at ‘Life in Oak Springs,’ and the surrounding valley, in July of 1997.

The 4th of July Gala Celebration at the Oak Springs Country Club was a weekend to remember, according to those who attended it this weekend. Good golf, good food, and fun games for the kids were the highlights most often mentioned in the news article.

Scott Gates completed the requirements for the Farm Operations Associates Degree at Ozarks Community College and took part in graduation exercises on Saturday, July 18, at the end of the summer term. A total of 35 persons took part in the graduation exercises and over 250 persons attended the graduation ceremony.

Brian Kirk, President of the Oak Springs Historical and Genealogical Society (Society), reported that members of the community had continued to provide very interesting documents and artifacts from their closets and attics that the review committee had been processing. He noted an interesting sidebar to the review process was that many of the items brought to the attention of the committee were related to others in the community, not necessarily to their own family, of the people providing the materials. Many folks noted they felt these items were important, but didn’t know what to do with them. The donation rate, he added, was running above 75 percent. The others, of course, were items families wanted to keep in their possession. He said that those were especially appreciated, and each was recorded and added to the database of information being gathered. The Society, he added, is still accepting donations of material so do not stop bringing what you find to the Library. Judy Watson will be happy to process it, he said.

Locals:

Ozark Communications, Inc. formally applied to the City Council to be the exclusive cable television provider to the City of Oak Springs. This was in response to the Request for Proposal sent out by the City earlier. Theirs was the only application received by the time of the deadline set for application.

The Oak Springs Enterprise ran a front-page article feature the opportunities for kayaking and canoeing on Oak Creek that featured photos of Oak Creek Outfitters providing services to their customers on a summer outing.

Social Notes:

A graduation reception was held at the Homeplace Country Inn Heritage Room honoring Scott Gates following the graduation exercises at the Ozarks Community College on Saturday, July 18. Scott’s parents and sister hosted the reception: his father, Paul Gates, his mother and her husband from Jackson, Mississippi, Beverly Bevins Gates Threshold and Winnie Threshold, and his sister, Heather Gates. Total guests in attendance exceeded 70 persons including family, friends and co-workers at The Bevins Corporation.

On July 26th, Bart and Diane Bevins returned from a week long vacation trip to the Lake of the Ozarks. They told friends it was great to just sit on the balcony of their condo and stare across the lake for long periods of time. Bart especially enjoyed, he added, taking in several new restaurants they had not tried on previous visits. Diane concurred in that. They highly recommended such a get-away to anyone feeling stressed in their job.

Cop Shop:

Jeremiah Loomis was released from the state penitentiary after having served over twelve years of an original 20-year sentence on drug charges based on his operation of a meth lab in the hills southwest of Oak Springs. The story went on to tell how his brother, Jasper, was charged in the murder of the public defender that represented Jeremiah in court on the drug charges. Jasper was killed by police officers, acting in self-defense, when they attempted to arrest him for the murder and he attacked them with a hunting knife. {For 'the rest of the story,' see: "Murder by the Homeplace:" http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Homeplace-William-Leverne-Smith/dp/1469926652/} 

Vandals reportedly did extensive damage to three cars parked along west Maple Street overnight on July 17-18. Police are still investigating the incident.

"May everyone have a homeplace, if only in your mind."




Dr. Bill  ;-)