The Ozarks Studies Institute, in collaboration with the West Plains Council on the Arts, will facilitate a conversation and storytelling session devoted to mules and their unique contributions to the region.
The discussion, titled “Mules of the Ozarks,” will be held 1 p.m. June 4 in the West Plains Civic Center Magnolia Room. The free- and open-to-the-public event will also be livestreamed via Zoom.
“Mules of the Ozarks” takes place in conjunction with the Old-Time Music, Ozarks Heritage Festival, held June 3-4 in West Plains, Missouri. The Hirsch Feed & Farm Supply mule jump, in which mules compete to leap over a barrier, has been a popular Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival event since 2008.
What to expect
Richie Dement of Centerville, Missouri, a coordinator of the Hirsch Feed & Farm Supply mule jump, will lead the “Mules of the Ozarks” discussion by sharing his vast mule-related knowledge and experiences. He will be joined by Les Clancy, a mule trainer and frequent mule jump participant from Ozark, Missouri.
Matt Meacham, an Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival volunteer and mule jump emcee, will moderate the event.
“We decided to hold this conversation and storytelling session for two reasons,” explained Meacham. “One is that we often hear fascinating, funny and sometimes poignant stories about peoples’ experiences with mules during the Ozarks Heritage Festival and mule jump. This discussion is one way we can record these stories for posterity and share them far and wide.”
Meacham added that the second reason for hosting the discussion is related to the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
“The history and culture of the Ozarks will be featured on the National Mall in D.C. next summer as part of the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival,” he continued. “Regional organizers for that festival – Tom Peters and Craig Amason of the Missouri State University Libraries and Kaitlyn McConnell of Ozarks Alive – are eager to gather input from this discussion to help inform their planning.”
More about mules
The mule is a hybrid animal, the offspring of a horse and a donkey. For decades, mules have assisted residents of the Ozarks with many pursuits, including farming, logging, mining, hunting, and trail riding. The question of whether mules or horses make better draft animals was (and continues to be) a subject of good-natured debate throughout the region.
The bigger picture
The Ozarks Studies Institute, an initiative of the MSU Libraries, seeks to preserve the history and culture of the Ozarks by fostering a comprehensive knowledge of Ozarks people and their heritage.
“Mules of the Ozarks” is part of the University Libraries’ scholarly content leading up to its participation in the 2023 Smithsonian Institution’s Folklife Festival. The festival will feature the history and culture of the Ozarks region, presented in part by Missouri State, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.