Voices of the Ozarks – Margaret Miller

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My name is Margaret Miller. I was a Warnicker. I was born in Iron Mountain Missouri in 1931. My dad was a miner. In 1931, of course, the depression was starting. Iron Mountain was a mining town and there was a strip of company houses across from the mines. We lived in a big house. Then the mines shut down and my dad lost his job. At that point he began taking city people on hunting trips as a guide which provided a good income. He also hunted and fished for food. We also had a garden.

I was the only girl. I had an older brother, Charles, who was eight years older than I was. I was the only girl in the extended family. I was probably a little spoiled. When I was six my younger was born.

I went to school in Iron mountain but often also stayed with my grandmother in Mine LaMotte and would sometimes go to school there. There was no high school in Iron Mountain so my older brother went to high school in Mine LaMotte and would stay with my grandmother. read more

Voices of the Ozarks – Della Rhodes

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My name is Della Starkey Rhodes, my parents were Roy and Nellie Starkey. I was born in 11/1 of 1935 just below Marquand across from the Whitener cemetery. I was born in a two story house in the upstairs bedroom. I don’t remember the doctor’s name.

Our house was on DD HWY but back then it was called Castor River Road.

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My First memories are living a mile down below that where my grandparents lived. My dad built a house there. My grandparents were “truck” farmers. They hauled a lot of lime, farmer supplies and logs.

Truck farming is large fields of product such as corn, beans, and potatoes which are sold. We moved from there when I was 10. My dad bought a 325 acre farm about a mile below that. At the time my dad worked at the mines here in Fredericktown at National Lead. read more

Voices of the Ozarks – Norman Boland

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Norman Boland, born in Desloge, Missouri in 1930. Before that, in Desloge, they lived about a half mile from the chat dump. Before Norman was born his dad worked at the National mine mill. He was laid off around 1930 and worked at the WPA a few days a week but was otherwise unemployed for awhile. Norman eventually had seven siblings.

During their time in Desloge they didn’t have much. They would get out of date food from the dumpster and salvage food that was still good.  He talks about being six years old and going out to play for the day. He’d take off with cornbread in his pocket and pick fruit from trees and bushes.  Norman describes the house they lived in and tells the story of that house burning and getting rebuilt. read more