Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Joe Hilderbrand and Frances Standridge: A True Story

Leroy Donald was the business writer for the Arkansas Gazette.

On March 9, 2000, Donald was interviewed by John Thompson for the Arkansas Center for Oral and Visual History which operates out of the History Department of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Selected portions of that interview are of interest to anyone who knew of or heard of Joe Hilderbrand (some sources spell it as Hildebrand).

Here is the part of the interview that is of interest to this post (LD is Leroy Donald and JT is John Thompson:

LD:I think some of the real first news features was when Foreman sent me out to cover the panther, the Clarksville panther. Which there was a mountain lion on the, or a puma, on the loose up there, and so I went and chased the mountain lion. We did a lot of good news features on that one.

And then I chased Joe Hildebrand, the Outlaw of the Ozarks, did a bunch of features on that. Those were among the first of the news features that were done.

JT: What was that last one? Who?

LD: Joe Hildebrand.

JT: Joe Hildebrand was a?

LD: The Outlaw of the Ozarks.

JT: And he was a prisoner in a jail?

LD: Well, what he was, it was an old mountain family that lived up above Dover, on the mountainside. I think it is up above where Leland Duvall lived. Booger Hollow. He lived up, actually, I guess, you would call it Booger Hollow. And he had been down in the jail for various and sundry reasons.

I think he held up some people on the highway, you know, on an overlook up there, and he was just kind of a wild kid, nineteen. He was down there in the prison farm, and he would just get out every now and then, and they would catch him and send him back to prison.

Well, he got out one time on a furlough to go home and see his sick daddy and got in some sort of trouble with a branch of the family and ran off with his wife’s cousin, or something like that.

And Joe just didn’t realize it was time for him to go back to the prison, so they wandered around through the Ozarks at the time and created this, and made a national figure out of him.

They had cops and helicopters and dogs chasing him all over the place, and he really wasn’t running. He was just wandering around up in the hills where he was home.
It got to be a real, it was a front page story.

They finally caught him and sent him back down to the farm.

We did news features on him. I remember one of them, we had.

I found his girlfriend. One of the times he broke loose, his girlfriend was picking peaches up on Johnson Mountain, which is down below Booger Hollow, and they got a great picture of her up in the peach tree.

And I asked her, “You know where Joe is?”

She said, “He might be right behind you.”

I said, “Why?”

She said, “Because he might be gonna smoke you down.”

I said, “Well, tell him not to,” being that we got this great picture of her up in the tree, silhouetted against the sun. “Frances Picks Peaches While Joe Roams the Ozarks.” That was his girlfriend’s name, Frances.
One of the few photographs of Joe Hilderbrand, fugitive, taken before he went to jail in October, 1960. Earlier Joe, who said his greatest fun was working on jalopies with his old man, did a stint in reform school.



Locals gather outside the general store in Mount Village, near Russellville, Arkansas, October, 1960 while the hunt goes on for Joe Hilderbrand and Frances Standridge.



Mr. Lytle Hilderbrand, father of outlaw Joe Hilderbrand, who suffered a paralytic stroke which caused the occasion for his son's furlough from jail. He recovered but Joe didn't return to jail.



Mr. Lytle Hilderbrand and wife, parents of 24-year old Joe Hilderbrand, fugitive who is still in Ozarks, after escaping the law, begged officials not to shoot their boy.



A gravel road in the Ozark Mountain region near Booger Hollow, Arkansas, October 1960. It was on roads like these that Joe's father travelled in his rattletrap car trying to drum up sympathy for his outlaw son.



Mrs. Lytle Hilderbrand, mother of outlaw Joe Hilderbrand, stands on her porch with her double barrel shotgun.



Joe’s parents, Lytle and Bertha, keep vigil by cabin. Police thought Joe was hiding in the cellar and tossed tear gas bombs in. According to local lore, Joe was under floor with face buried in wet grain bags and fooled the law.



Joe’s pursuers swarmed through the mountains. These two patrolmen carry guns and walkie-talkie which linked them with searchers in other areas. They hid in various spots along road waiting for Joe and Francis to come along.



Joe’s wife Ola (right) stands beside her sister, Osie and her mother Nancy Jane (lower left), 80-year-old matriarch of the large Standridge clan.



Locals were originally sympathetic to Joe and Frances until the police used the lulls in their search for the couple to bust up illegal stills and confiscate rivers of moonshine.



The Ozark neighbors of Joe and Frances became considerably less neighborly after Joe and Frances stole and wrecked eight automobiles and the police started destroying their moonshine stills and taking their wares.



The parents and family of 18-year-old Frances Standridge who eloped with her uncle, the 24-year-old outlaw Joe Hilderbrand, October 1960.


Frances Standridge.

Several ballads were composed about Joe Hilderbrand, link over here to hear Glen Orhlin, performing it in Mountain View, Arkansas on October 7, 1969....Other ballads are at that same link.

In the foothills of the Ozarks
Back in northwest Arkansas
A convict came from prison
To see his ailin' Pa
But th mountains they were callin'
To come an' play th game
He answered th lonely call
An' won nortorious fame.

His sweetheart met him often
At th secret rendezous
Pretty blonde Francis Standrige
With eyes of baby blue
Keep Joe posted on th possee
That was far on his trail
He was wanted by th warden
In th Polk County Jail

Mountain talk got around
Joe would be shot down
Resentment burnt in th hearts
That loved Joe Hildebrand
Francis joined Joe with her rifle
An' love so true an' kind
T' run an' hide in th forest
With th possee far behind

One cold October night
They knew a broken heart
They were captured by two lawmen
Awaiting in th dark
T' say goodbye in handcuffs
Had not been in their plan
Ending th chase for pretty Francis
An' th convict Hildebrand

Life Magazine did a story on Joe Hilderbrand in the November 14, 1960 issue. It notes that Joe is the subject of an Ozarks hillbilly ballad because he skipped bail and eloped with his wife's niece. These photos and some of the captions are from that Life Story. Other photos were found on the web. The photos were taken by Michael Rougier on October 1, 1960. The last two photos of Joe Hilderbrand and Frances Standridge were taken by an Arkansas Gazette photographer. Following is a transcript of the Life Magazine story:

Over in the Ozarks, where songs and legends grow thick as pokeweed, two new ballads are being sung this fall about Joe Hilderbrand and his mountain sweetheart….even while they are being composed on Ozark guitars, Joe and his girl were being pursued day and night by airplanes, jeeps and bloodhounds in one of Arkansas’ biggest manhunts.

Joe’s troubles started small. In 1958 he robbed a tourist couple of a dollar and two cents on a highway near his home at Chigger Hollow (Booger Hollow). Sent to jail for three years, Joe became a model prisoner, even repaired the state electric chair. Last January he was granted a three-day furlough to see his father, who had had a paralytic stroke. His father got well but Joe took a notion to skip jail. He hid in mountain caves and did a bit of pilfering. The Ozark people began to think of Joe as a hero like Robin Hood, and even the state troopers did not bother him too much because they felt he was not really a bad man.

But this fall when Joe, who is 24, was joined by 18-year-old Frances Standridge, who is a niece of Joe’s 47-year-old wife, he was faced with a kidnapping charge brought by the girl’s father. The troopers closed in, and the balladmakers sang, “Run, Joe, run.”

Though Joe was a married man, there was nothing sneaky about his running off with young Frances Standridge. The couple walked straight up to Ola, who is Joe’s wife and Francis’ aunt, and told her point-blank they planned “to be away for five years together.” Then they walked into the hills.

But that was not the end of Ola’s troubles. The police had a theory that Joe would surrender if they put pressure on his family. So they charged Ola and Joe’s father with helping an escaped criminal and locked them in jail. This struck their Ozark neighbors as a dirty trick so two friends put up $1,000 bail and got Ola and the old man out.

When Joe and his girl took off, thefts began to occur in the hills where they roamed. But what made the mountain folks angrier than the stealing was the fact that the police, during lulls in their search, broke up illegal stills and confiscated rivers of first-class moonshine.

As the manhunt grew more intense, Joe stole eight cars, wrecked some, and jumped from one to another. He and Frances slept in woods that crawled with copperheads and rattles. “But them snakes didn’t bother usuns none,” said Frances. Meanwhile, Joe’s father drove all over in his rattletrap car, stirring up sympathy for his son and begging police not to shoot him. Walking along a creek, Joe and Frances were spotted at last by an airplane observer, who figured where they would be at nightfall and directed their capture. Together they were rushed into Little Rock and locked up. Nobody knows the fate of the lovers, but future ballads will record it one way or the other: "The mean ole troopers kept them apart, and broke the lovers’ bleeding hearts", or more happily, "Now Frances waits at his cabin door and Joe didn’t have to run no more.”
Tattered Joe, after police flushed him, was sent back to the prison farm to serve out the remaining two years of his sentence. He still may be tried for thefts.

Wretched Frances, who says that she still loves Joe, was sent back to her family on $1,000 bail. She faces larceny charges for helping Joe steal a car.

A Twitter-er's Response To Significant Changes In SFG And NWA In The Last Decade


It started with this tweet by Chad Livengood a few days before Christmas:

Springfield & #SWMO residents: What do you think are the biggest changes that have occurred in the city & region during this decade? #SGF
I read and it started to write down some things and got distracted.

Then, this evening, while mapping the blogosphere, I stumbled upon this twitter-er (or is it tweeter) who took the time to respond to Livengood's request and twittered these tweets. Or is it tweeted these twitters?

1. public improvements like completion of US65 past state line. another big public improvement is US 71 from JLN to ROG and imps through eastern JLN. I would include improvements to 412 and around HRO to that list.

2. Dramatic growth of Hispanic population necessitating Spanish language accomodation in the region. Another is the 'internationalization of SGF/SWMO & NWA. There are 31 languages spoken in SGF Central High, there is a Russian community, a Polish community, a French community, Koreans, etc in Branson, Joplin etc. we saw some of this in the 90s, and while we have had Vietnamese, Germans, & Koreans for decades, the multiplicity is new and while many Hispanics went home w/declines in employment in building trades after the collapse of construction industry, Hispanic & other romantics have grown in NWA to the point that it is on the verge of shifts in politics/spirituality

3. The consolidation of right wing political influence north of AR-MO line in a closed group.

4. The acceleration of urban sprawl in SGF and ASG/ROG/FYV areas and the realization among leaders that the two MSAs are eventually going to grow together into an LA sized metroplex. Of course that realization is only among a select few. Most visible political leaders are oblivious of most issues. the urban sprawl is partly a consequence of fragmented & provencial leadership (economic/social as well as political). The urban sprawl is stressing the water/wastewater resources w/effects that wont be realized until next decade.

5. The topic of political battles in this region in the next two decades won't be abortion or healthcare, it's gonna be water resources/water rights, pollution, planning, etc w/roots of problems in failures in 200Xs.

6. Another change not noticed, but which will become important in the next couple of decades . . will be the competition between SFG/SWMO and NWA/ASG-FYV-XNA-ROG areas to dominate the upper WRV/plateau which also will have its roots in the population growth and urban sprawl of this decade.

7. The downtown CBDs of both SGF and FYV were heavily 'gentrified' in this decade, though FYV was done much better. I would include JLN in that, particularly the 500 block of Main, though not as well as SGF South Street

8. Another big social change, the rise of the Willow Creek-style megachurches (eg James River Assy., Pinnacle Hills, etc) . which transcends traditional church heirarchies and have affected the sociology of the region. with roots in the 1990s, but with the sociological effects becoming apparent in this decade.

9. (a biggie, but not well known) the accumulation of international-grade fortunes & a surrounding community of mini-fortunes infact, if you consider NWA & SGF/SWMO as a future metroplex, our corporate class rivals that of Seattle, SFBay, Cincinatti, Houston, Omaha, Austin, etc. Waltons/Tysons of NWA, the SGF cabal, the Table Rock colony. people know about Bentonville, but are generally unaware of the disproportionate number of megarich in NWA/SWMO. What has changed in this decade is that the world is beginning to recognize SGF/ROG as home to super rich, it is still something of an unknown secret to people in this area.

Pretty insightful and lots of food for thought.

Slumping Sales Tax Slices Springfield's Surplus: More Budget Cuts

City Manager Greg Burris has recommended budget cuts totaling more than $1.27 million to the Springfield City Council following a continued drop in sales tax revenue and other funding sources such as permit fees and payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) from City Utilities. The cuts are outlined in a memo sent to Council today and, if approved by Council, would be implemented immediately rather than at the end of the 2010 fiscal year on June 30.

The second-quarter cuts follow $13.7 million in cuts made thus far in the last two fiscal years — $7 million in FY09 and $6.7 million following decreased revenue in the first quarter of FY10. Collective savings during the second quarter from the City’s ongoing hiring freeze total $645,000. The City is currently down 114 full-time positions, or about 10 percent of its work force.

Similar to last quarter, Burris is recommending the remaining shortfall be made through specific departmental cuts. Those cuts include:

A one-time reduction in the General Fund transfer to the Health Department budget totaling $225,000, much of which will be made up with federal grants, though this funding source is not permanent.
Eliminating a $100,000 reserve fund for Busch Building maintenance.
Eliminating funds for capital equipment purchases by the Public Works Department totaling $100,000.
Eliminating funds for capital equipment purchases for the Public Information Department’s City View channel totaling $100,000. This money was formerly restricted, but is no longer because of cable franchise changes.
Changes to telephone and facility cleaning services totaling $96,500.
Voluntary furloughs totaling $7,000. These furloughs are above and beyond the furlough time required of some employees following the first quarter budget cuts.
Burris’ memo to City Council and attachments detailing the cuts are available on the City’s Web site at www.springfieldmo.gov/cityconnect.

For more information, contact: City Manager Greg Burris, (417) 864-1006.

Worst. Decade. Ever.

Good luck with Politico, Dave. We'll be following you and have enjoyed the notebook..

Jericho To Replace Catanese?


As David Catanese leaves flyover country, Jericho leaves the Morning Show.

Darlene Love

Always Low Prices At Sofa King!

Monday, December 28, 2009

Regarding The Preceding Post, D5thouta10 Made The Following Comments Which Are Deserving Of A Post Of Their Own. So, Behold, D5thout10's Viewpoint:

"First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave.

Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell.

With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities: 1) If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2) If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over..

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "...it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in having an affair with her, then #2 above cannot be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and will not freeze over."

Old Timers Said It Was One Of The Coldest Days They Could Remember....

You Know What They Say About Guys With Big Feet....


They write like FRRIPPTT WOOOP WOOOP.

Meanwhile, these two kids are facing a dilemma: "Is Santa Real?"

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Waiter! What's This Fly Doing In My Soup?

I Think The Backstroke, sir.

Another One Dies Without Health Insurance....


By Mike Mulhern
mikemulhern.net


In another shot of sad NASCAR news over the holidays, pit crewman Donald 'DJ' Richardson Jr. died of complications from the H1N1 virus Christmas Day, a month after contracting the rampant flu during a Thanksgiving break at his Massachusetts family home.
Richardson, 37, spent the past month being treated for acute respiratory distress related to the flu at Leominster, Mass., hospital.
Richardson, who worked as rear tire changer for Richard Childress' Kevin Harvick team, is an 11-year NASCAR Cup tour veteran, who worked for Andy Petree, Roger Penske and Rick Hendrick.
Childress announced Richardson's passing and issued a brief statement: "All of us at RCR are saddened by D.J.'s passing. D.J. was a gifted tire changer, one of the greatest team players in the business and a valued member of the RCR family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends."
Details of memorial services are undetermined.
During his illness, friends created a website www.getwelldj.com . That site was created, in part, "to help defray the cost of the astronomical medical bills he is facing as a result of his illness. As most of you know, D.J. is an independent contractor or, as we call it in the industry, a 'hired gun.' As such, he is unfortunately without health insurance.....We are asking you to dig deep and make a donation to help offset the hundreds of thousands of dollars of treatment it has already taken..." The website listed this as the fund: Donald Richardson Medical Fund, 494 Merriam Avenue, Leominster, Massachusetts 01453.

Small Numbers Ride Small Bus for Shortened Xmas Light Tour



The heaters went out on the bus. Two little 12 volt motors that run the fans that distribute the radiant heat from the heater core. After 55 plus years the fans bit the dust. There just wasn't enough "ummph" to get the fans to turning when the switch was thrown. When they did turn, sporadically, they weren't strong enough to move any heat and the noise the worn out bearings made overrode any attempt at conversation. Something needed to be done. It is no fun to ride the bus without any heaters.

I took the fans apart to clean the brushes but they were so worn down it was a pointless endeavor.

I got the idea to buy two 12 volt fans and mount the motors and fan blades in the bus brackets. It worked. I spent most of yesterday afternoon retrofitting the fan brackets and adjusting the fan blades so they didn't hit each other when the motors were turned on.

The bus has heat once again. Since I put in two speed motors, the bus has better heat than it has ever had. I didn't know how bad the heat was until I fixed the heat.

Small crowd for the Xmas lights tour. It was just too dang cold. The choice of sitting in a LazyBoy or on a cold bus seat did not require a whole lot of deliberating.

Grandson Austin and Jack's grandson Blake made the tour, as did Sophie who, as the following photo indicates, is going through her Tinkerbelle period.
Fred and Kristie's boys, up from Texas made the ride of which the highpoint was the traditional walk across the Commercial Street Footbridge.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Red Car, With Fenders, Springfield, MO 1968



John knows who these kids are.

I'm fixing the heaters on the bus!

Red Car, No Fenders, Springfield, MO, 1966

Springfield, MO circa 1965. Taken in our driveway at 1822 South National, that's St. John's hospital in the background. The parking garage is now on the location where this photo was taken.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

From My 16 Year Old Nephew In Florida.....



I found these while searching for musical cars to show him.



130 Pounds Of Pot Found On Truck During Stop On I-44

From the SN-L, December 9, 2009:

A Highway Patrol officer arrested a tractor-trailer driver Wednesday on Interstate 44 after stopping him and finding 130 pounds of marijuana in the sleeper berth.

The trooper stopped the driver for a lane violation on I-44 at the 84 mile marker in Greene County. Because the driver’s logbook was inaccurate and he seemed nervous, the trooper asked to search the vehicle. Permission was granted, and the trooper found the marijuana.

The driver is not listed in online court records as having been charged, so the News-Leader is not naming him. The Highway Patrol news release said he was from Mississippi.




Sunday, December 20, 2009

At The Parts Store.....


I recently came into possession of a 1947 8N Ford tractor. I didn't really want it, but I ended up with it.

I like stuff from 1947. My brother Bob was born in 1947 and I got a 1947 Jeep. I like 1949 stuff also. I was born in 1949. The horsefarmer was born in 1950. He and I are dang near Irish twins.

The Horsefarmer lives in a small house on a small farm just outside of a small town about 30 miles from here. He has a small tractor and drives a small car. As you can see from the photograph, he has a small stagecoach and lots of small horses. I asked him one time why everything he has is small. He just smiled and said it puts everything in perspective. Or something like that.

In this picture, Scott is showing us his motor skills in steering the tractor.

The alternator for the tractor was not on the tractor when I got it. So, I went to O'Reilly's and bought a new alternator for $86.00 plus a $20.00 core charge for a total of $106.00. When I brought in the old alternator, I would get my core charge refunded.

The very next day I brought in the alternator core and got $20.00 put back on my debit card. Are you following this? Gotcha.

I spent two or three day trying to track down pulleys and belts, points and coils, etc for the tractor. I found a belt and found a pulley at Race Brothers. The pulley didn't fit the alternator so I returned it.

I then found on ebay a kit for converting a 8N from 6 volt to 12 volt for $108.00, alternator included. I emailed the seller and asked how much a kit was without the alternator. He replied it would cost $78.00. I bought the kit with the alternator for $108.00 and received it last week.



The kit came with an alternator, belts, pulleys, points, plugs, coil, condenser, everything needed to make the tractor run on 12 volts instead of 6 volts to include mounting brackets and nuts and bolts.

This afternoon, I took the belt back and the alternator back.

O'Reilly's credited my card for $86.00 for the alternator.

I thought I should have been credited $106.00 back on my card.

What do you think?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS: The "War On Christmas" Is Basically Over. Follow The Money.



That GAP commercial seems to have offended a lot of people. So much so, that the American Family Association (AFA) urged its members to boycott GAP, Old Navy, Banana Republic.

I try to stay on top of these things and don't want to offend anyone, but I haven't even started my Xmas shopping yet and where am I going to buy the hooded sweatshirts I traditionally give to my family members? Where am I going to do my Christmas shopping this year?

Gee, AFA, tell me what to do! Please!

What? This just in?!
An urgent message AFA website:

Gap has heard you loud and clear. After thousands of phone calls, emails, and petitions, Gap has just released a very "Merry Christmas" television commercial.

On November 28, Gap's Old Navy division broadcast a television commercial featuring its "Supermodelquins" proudly cheering "Merry Christmas," along with Christmas trees, lights and ornaments. View the commercial here.

As a result of Gap's efforts, AFA is ending the Christmas boycott of the company. Thank you for getting involved!
Oh thank you sweet baby Jesus! Sure, some may not understand the Christmas Jesus as good as the AFA, but because of the AFA,I CAN get the hooded sweat shirts for my family members at Old Navy without feeling guilty for supporting a store that is (or was) against Christmas. Ain't it amazing that by commercializing Xmas and inserting the phrase "Merry Christmas" in an otherwise idiotic commercial the AFA forgives! Just like going to confession, almost! I am going to get hoodies just like the ones the models are wearing in this commercial, that way I will be doing my part in supporting Xmas!:



The AFA tells me that if a company has items associated with Christmas, but does not use the word "Christmas," then the company is considered as censoring "Christmas."

This afternoon, after I finish all the chores the PvtRN gave me to do on a list, I will head out in search of those companies which are censoring Xmas! I will report back here immediately upon completion of my assigned duty.

The AFA has been kind enough to give me a list of stores and how they stand on Xmas:

Companies FOR "Christmas"
Amazon.com
Bed Bath & Beyond*
Belk*
Big Lots*
Books-A-Million
Cabella's
Collective Brands
Costco
Dollar Tree*
Family Dollar*
Dollar General*
H.E.B. Stores
Hallmark*
Harris Teeter Stores
Hobby Lobby*
Home Depot*
JC Penney*
JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts Stores*
Kmart*
Kohl's*
Lowe's*
Macy's*
Meijer
Menard's
Michael's Stores*
Neiman Marcus
Nordstrom
Petsmart*
Pier One Imports*
Publix
QVC
Rite Aid
Sears*
Super D Drug Stores
Target*
Walgreens*
Wal-Mart/Sam's Club*

Companies marginalizing "Christmas"
Bass Pro Shops*
Banana Republic
Barnes & Noble*
Bath & Body Works*
Best Buy*
Gap Stores*
Hancock Fabrics*
Hy-Vee Stores
Old Navy*
Limited Brands*
Safeway
Starbucks*
Toys R Us*
Whole Foods

Companies against "Christmas"
Advance Auto Parts
Aldi*
Barnes & Noble*
Best Buy*
CVS Pharmacy*
Dick's Sporting Goods
Home Shopping Network
Kroger*
Office Depot*
Radio Shack*
Staples*
SUPERVALU
Victoria's Secret* (dang it, this one would have to be on the list. What a condum, I want to be a good steward of my money but I don't want shop here if it is Un-Xian and against Christmas! Maybe I find a Xian shop to purchase Victoria's Secret type items, like this one here. But like this guy, I do have boundaries. Maybe I should just shop off the internet or perhaps meander overAmazon.com. I am sure some of my Xian friends could use a copy of that book, I mean I learned all about that stuff here. It's about marketing, marketing, marketing. And if it takes using "Sweet Baby Jesus" to market it, then that's what it takes!



Your a cold hearted person if your not warmed by these puppies and there warm fuzzy friends, the kitties. I except that some bus riders might not appreciate the sediment expressed in the message but too them I just say remember Tiny Tim!

To read more about the end of the War on Christmas, click here.

Follow the money.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Did I Miss The Christmas Parade?

I Got The Float Finished!

Also, 911- the Cliff Notes, a short primer from Uli Gulje, chronicler of Half Past Awesome.

Also, Makinghomeaffordable.gov

Things I Would Not Know If I Did Not Read The Springfield News-Leader This Morning


Things I would not know if I did not read the Springfield News-Leader this morning:

Buckhorn adds 80 new jobs in Springfield. Shelbyville, KY's loss is Springfield, MO's gain. Shelbyville is east of Louisville, KY on I-64, not the easiest place from which to access the east and west coast markets. Springfield, MO is centrally located on major rail and highway routes with easy access to all market and has traditionally low wages. Sounds like this move was a no-brainer. Throw in tax credits, well how sweet it is!

Speaking of tax credits, does anyone know of anyone who received tax credits for remodeling their houses? I heard yesterday that Bob Dixon received tax credits for remodeling his house, not once but twice. I am trying to track this down.

Paul Mueller idles 150-250workers.

The SN-L (you know, that brick building on the corner of B Street and C-Nut Xpressway) is reporting that the C Street sales tax proposal is on hold if Pricecutter, Janss Lumber and Askinosie Chocolate cough up ten grand. Didn't this used to be called "extortion"? Meanwhile, Eagle Sheet Metal breathes a sigh of relief.

And finally, this gem from the SN-L classified section this morning that I have copied in its entirety (lots of "shouting" in here):

Big Cedar Lodge, Ridgedale, MO, needs 10 temporary dishwashers. CLEAN POTS,PANS, DISHES, SILVER, CHINA, GLASS AND ALL OTHER COOKWARE UTENSILS FOLLOWING PROPER PROCEDURES. KEEP WASHING AREA NEAT AND CLEAN. STORE CLEAN ITEMS IN THE PROPER LOCATION. KEEP KITCHEN AREA CLEAN AND FREE OF DEBRIS. PERFORM ASSIGNED PREP WORK. BE ABLE TO LIFT 75 LBS. ON A REGULAR BASIS. ASSIST WITH THE SORTING AND EXECUTION OF RECYCLING PROCEDURES, PERFORM OTHER RELATED DUTIES AS REQUIRED. LANGUAGE SKILLS: ABILITY TO READ A LIMITED NUMBER OF TWO AND THREE SYLLABLE WORDS AND TO RECOGNIZE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WORDS AND BETWEEN SERIES OF NUMBERS. ABILITY TO PRINT AND SPEAK SIMPLE SENTENCES. REASONING ABILITY: ABILITY TO APPLY COMMON SENSE UNDERSTANDING TO CARRY OUT DETAILED BUT UNINVOLVED WRITTEN OR ORAL INSTRUCTIONS. No minimum education or experience required, training available , 04/1/10 to 01/03/11, 40 hrs week, $7.39 per hour, 2 shifts: 6:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.:3:00 p.m.to 11:30 p.m., 7 day a week rotating schedule. Overtime may be available. Mail resumes to Big Cedar Lodge, Gina Dixon, 612 Devil's Pool Rd., Ridgedale, MO 65739
Mail resumes?