Spiritual Experience
August 2024
The walls of this 102-year-old lodge echo with the music of legends who performed in its comfortable living room. Leon Russell. Dr. John. Rusty Young of Poco.
This fall, Poco kicks off the lodge’s Living Room Concerts. During following weekends share the living room with Ricky Skaggs, Head East, Yonder Mountain String Band, Tab Benoit, the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Asleep at the Wheel and the Marshall Tucker Band.
Where is this musical Nirvana? Tucked in the Ozarks between Cuba and Steelville, overlooking the Meramec River Valley, the lodge has endured peaks and valleys—times when visitors flocked to its doorstep, times when its doors were locked.
The sprawling lodge, built of stone and stucco and native hardwoods, had slowly slid into decline when Robert Bell brought the old place out of mothballs and saved it from ruin. Robert knew the history of the old lodge, a “Roaring ’20s” retreat where folks could escape the soot of the city and hunt and fish and float, then dress to dine at tables spread with linen and china and silver. And he’s resurrected the lodge’s elegant dignity, with a twist.
Of all his renovations and innovations, Robert is proudest of his marketing plan. He should be. He’s assembled a mix of talented hotel staff and kitchen magicians who provide wonderful cuisine. But his big draw appears on Wildwood’s web page, which lists an entertainment lineup that attracts fans from all over the world to this Ozark hideaway. Every year, he assembles a who’s who of classic rock ’n’ roll acts, icons like Hot Tuna and Brewer & Shipley. The musicians love the relaxed atmosphere and the chance to mingle with the crowd. Everybody—on both sides of the guitar—keeps coming back.
Like a proud grandparent, the lodge displays its photos. It was here that a young St. Louis musician, Gordon Jenkins, honed his chops. Jenkins later became a famous producer for Decca Records. Listen to Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole, and you’ll witness Gordon Jenkins’ handiwork.
Robert has revived a long history of great music and great times at the lodge. But it takes a lot of fix-it to keep things rolling. His secret weapons include Miss Paula, who tends the dining hall and the vibrant wildflower gardens. If you’re lucky, catch Bill Freeman, twice retired—first from the highway patrol. Most recently he’s handed over the lodge’s fix-it duties to Curtis. All three are walking history books, telling stories about the river, the region, the lodge.
The long dining hall could be a movie set. Its hardwood floors, linen tablecloths, and gorgeous floor-to-ceiling French windows serve up splendid views of the rugged ridges and ravines. The guest rooms are European style. Their comfortably spartan appointments offer a subtle hint that rooms are for sleeping. Days should be active, with a vigorous examination of the great outdoors.
And when you return to the lodge, get ready for classic cuisine and tasty music.
The friendly spirits approve.
The Story of Being Human
February 2024
These are just a few of the dozens of presentations ready and willing to visit your town, your group, organization or local library. In fact, the Missouri Humanities Council may already have an event scheduled near you.
The council provides a list of 52 topics available through the Missouri Speakers Bureau. The bureau offers a list of highly qualified public speakers on a wide variety of topics about Missouri people, culture, history and geography. If you have ever been responsible for scheduling a speaker to spice up your upcoming meeting, you know the difficulty of coming up with unique presentations. As you search for that perfect presentation, check out the lineup from the Missouri Speakers Bureau.
With a tip of the cowboy hat to the real Rawhide, saddle up vicariously with the vaqueros, the first Hispanic cowboys who made the cattle drives to Sedalia and Kansas City successful.
Hear the dramatic story about the largest drainage project in the world. Within two decades, Bootheel swampland was converted into one of the richest agricultural regions in the nation.
Learn the stories of great African American women in Missouri, like Annie Malone and Harriet Scott.
Topics are as varied as Missouri’s vast and diverse history and culture, from the founding of Lincoln University, to a different perspective on the tragic Trail of Tears or the establishment of Missouri’s 19th-century utopian communities.
Listen to an oral historian recount stories from the Ozarks. Or find out why prairies matter, and learn the benefits of native plants, including pollinator habitats. Get insights to the Civil War through glimpses of 400 letters written between a husband and wife during the conflict, or follow the exploits of William Quantrill, “father of post-Civil War Missouri banditry.”
You can see a roster of the available presenters and presentations at MoHumanities.org/schedule-a-speaker/. The website offers details about how to contact and arrange speaker presentations.
I have been on both sides of the situation: looking for just the right speaker for a group, and now, as a member of the Speakers Bureau. My subject is titled “A Road Trip into America’s Hidden Heart.” I tailor my presentation to the location and the group. On March 23, I’ll join the Ozark Natural & Cultural Resource Center in Salem for the opening of a Smithsonian traveling exhibit named “Crossroads: Change in Rural America.” And on May 14, I’ll speak at the History on Elm lecture series at the State Historical Society of Missouri in Columbia.
Remember what Harry Truman said: “The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know.”
If you have a Missouri story to tell, contact the Missouri Speakers Bureau. Presenters are selected through an application process.