r/ozarks

One of the Missouri Ozarks' most famous residents, Marideth was a storyteller, a singer & a folklorist.

To me, she always spoke and felt like some living embodiment of a Thomas Hart Benton painting. She could so perfectly discuss those balances between nature and man, or how politics and circumstances could affect the lives of Missouri residents throughout centuries of its history and lore. 

She actually spent two decades as a small town Missouri journalist in West Plains, Later she became a public radio host at KSMU at Missouri State, regularly sharing the local Ozarks culture and folklore, and she played music. Sometimes with the very talented local Ozarks band Blackberry Winter, and she wrote books. 

It was a book signing that lead to her consulting both music and production on an upcoming movie heavily featuring the Missouri Ozarks, set very close to her hometown on the border of Arkansas.

If you haven't seen Winter's Bone, it does an absolutely exceptional job of depicting the determination and grit and beauty of the Ozarks, with an extraordinary story and cast. The film was a breakout role for Jennifer Lawrence, released less than two years before Hunger Games made her a superstar.

And the movie prominently featured a really moving musical example of Missouri Bluegrass by Sisco, who was accompanied by a host of Missouri musicians. It really shined a spotlight and gave a voice to a very unique brand of bluegrass tradition carried on in the Missouri Ozarks.

It was Marideth's appearance & musical contribution to the four-time Oscar-nominated breakout hit movie that made her a celebrity as a senior citizen. 

The movie's success lead to numerous tours, performances and appearances, and Marideth seized those opportunities to evangelize her beloved Missouri music, culture and lore.

Her speaking was honest and entrancing, and she sang like an angel.

Sadly I only came close to having the privilege of seeing Sisco perform live, but I'm one of I'm sure many Missourians who regard Sisco as one of Missouri's most cherished cultural personalities, deserving of a place among the likes of Benton, Twain, Wilder and Truman. she was a grand library of Missouri history now gone, but we're all lucky she recorded so much.

If you don't know Marideth's music or her storytelling, do yourself a favor and have a listen. It'll make you proud of Missouri. I left some links below. 

Here's singing playing "The Missouri Waltz" a cappella like an angel:
https://open.spotify.com/track/2FNzPltbVh0ac59vInEHmW?si=45899214076b42e1

The most recent Farm & Fiddle on KOPN was an extended tribute to Marideth including really interesting and long interviews: 
https://spinitron.com/KOPN/pl/22458519/Farm-and-Fiddle

Here's Marideth Sisco on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1yG8CZoFHTMtR1rYrYzdvF

Here's Marideth Sisco on the Winter's Bone soundtrack
https://open.spotify.com/album/3YZEtKK8JCArRZkHmnh1qE?si=xu1l8XgBT_eQN9maj8q1eg

And Blackberry Winter's "Still Standing": 
https://open.spotify.com/album/5uIO9PIPDbm7FcIRb96Ttz?si=SQK5b_UFQdSiDv4-Fd2vhg
Travelers down Highway 63 may recognize the little farmhouse around Vichy, Missouri that's been defiantly standing for decades, though is now, also, sadly gone.

Here's Sisco's Spotify: 
https://maridethsisco.com/

Here's Sisco's Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marideth_Sisco

And here's one of my most favorite songs of hers:
https://open.spotify.com/track/4oRBSxk4tbm1Qo6SolWrXa?si=682d8be8e4a342c0

Me and a few friends are heading down to the Ozarks soon and will probably spend most of the trip out on the lake after the beach of course. We were looking for one of those floating barriers/cove corrals things that marks swim areas like the one in the picture so people aren't drifting all over the place.

I did see a few online while searching, but figured I'd ask locals first as we want something local and I'm sure people around Osage know what works well around here.

Anybody got recs or experience with any of them?

BLUE-EYED GARGOYLE Seen in the Ozarks After Alleged SUMMONING RITUAL! https://phantomsandmonsters.com/post/blue-eyed-gargoyle-seen-in-the-ozarks-after-alleged-summoning-ritual - A group in the Ozarks allegedly performs a ritual in an abandoned shack. Weeks later, a massive, blue-eyed creature appears on a nearby rooftop.