I wasn't shortchanged for vacations when I was a kid. I lived in a dual-income household long before it was necessary for economic survival. So when my mom, the schoolteacher, got three months off during summer, we were assured of traveling SOMEWHERE.
A sleepy little fishing village in southern Missouri was a couple hours' drive from my Miami, Oklahoma hometown. It was a fun, homey, funky place to get away for a couple of days. And the trout fishing was good on Lake Taneycomo, a dammed-up portion of the White River that was more of a swollen watercourse than a lake. But the ice-cold water teemed with rainbow trout.
As a result, I have fond memories of many trips to Branson. And the majority of them involve staying at the same place: the Anchor Inn, right next to the old bridge that crosses Taneycomo.
The Anchor Inn was a cottage rental outfit. The individual cottages sat among the oak trees on the top of the cliff that overlooked Taneycomo below. It had a pool that I remember as being as big as the municipal pool that still exists in Miami, but which was no doubt quite a bit smaller.
It was quite reasonable, or dad would not have been a return customer. We must have stayed at the Anchor Inn at least ten times during my childhood.
Once, though, we stayed in a different spot that had a cabin right on the lake. The rental included a boat, which I went out on with my father and older brothers many times. I was too young to fish, so my job was to keep pulling the stringer out of the water and admire the catch.
The point of this reminiscence is that Branson, Missouri was once known as a quiet little Ozark getaway, not a place where musical performers go to end their careers. ;-)
In the 60's, the musical acts consisted of the Presley Family and the Baldknobbbers. It was down home, yee-haw stuff, complete with matching buffoons in straw hats and overalls. Dad would never consider spending his hard-earned money on such nonsense. It was better destined for salmon eggs and fishing gear.
But the musical acts caught on, and today, that sleepy fishing village has turned into one of the top vacation spots in the US. Perhaps you have visited there yourself. But you probably weren't there when you were a kid, unless you grew up in the south-central United States.
But odds are a Boomer kid has fond recollections of a similar situation where a quiet spot turned into a massive tourist attraction. If so, take today's account of sleepy Branson, Missouri, and change the names as needed.
Comments (3)
"...complete with matching buffoons in straw hats and overalls."
...featuring buffoon "Droopy Drawers" at the Baldknobbers, I believe.
Posted by Mike Ransom | July 24, 2007 9:11 AM
Posted on July 24, 2007 09:11
I visited Branson both as a kid and as an adult. I liked it as it was, but I also like it as it is now.
My family travels to Branson several times a year now, mostly to Silver Dollar City. It is a 4 hour drive from South of Tulsa. The Branson traffic is a hassle, but if you learn the side roads and by-passes, you can still get to where you are going.
I was glad to see this story!!!!!!!! Thanks Ron.
Posted by Doug Fletcher | July 24, 2007 1:08 PM
Posted on July 24, 2007 13:08
Great post....actually,
vacation meccas were locally-based, just like local radio and tv stations. I guess regional would be the best word. The marketing was hardly national, but just a few states at most. People travelled very
little, and when they did, not terribly far.
A weeks vacation just one or two hundred miles from home was typical. Yes, occasionally, you would
get lucky and take a cross country trip to a national park or even Florida, most mostly it was to local tourist trap heavens like Branson. Others I can think of that grew big
from little roots would be Gatlinburg, Tenn...(
you can almost thank Dolly singlehandedly for that), Sandusky, oh(Cedar Point), Sturgis(obviously on a biker
basis, but 30 years ago it was just a little town, and still us 51 weeks of the year), Hilton Head, S.C, and Key West, which was a sleepy military base with a lanky, quiet fishing village and retirement haven attached until the cool
folks and partiers made
it grand central crazy.
I don't know if an amusement area could survive today on a regional basis. People's
expectations have increased so much that
they won't go to a place that doesn't have all the disney-esqe bells and whistles, and
air fares are slo cheap that people can afford to go to the top 5-10
national biggies in fla,
cal, etc.....That quieter vacation era will never be replicated,however. And
in many ways, like the kid whose fav toy was the box everything else came in, we prob had a better time than the kids today have anyway.
Todays kids have amusement park-like water parks, while we had postage-stamp sized pools, but I would bet we had more fun jumping off the boards than the kids today have in 5 acre water parks....
actually, I'm certain of it.....
Posted by scott | July 24, 2007 3:07 PM
Posted on July 24, 2007 15:07