The current owners of The Shepherd of the Hills have many more exciting additions for the property and hope to keep it a place that brings people together, just like it did in After all, this impactful legacy has already stood the test of time. Law enforcement had a difficult time and crime was rampant.
A group formed, originally to assist law-abiding citizens. Soon though the group grew so powerful they were bending the laws for their own gain. Before long, they were far worse than the criminals they originally tried to fight against. They terrorized the hills, thieves and murderers who traveled in packs and wore black hoods to protect their identity.
They were recognized by wearing black horned hoods hoods with cork or wooden horns protruding out of the top and with white outlines of faces painted on them. Some of those decorated their horns with red or white stripes.
The Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Drama is the action-packed live reenactment of the famous historical novel by Christian minister, Harold Bell Wright. In , Wright began recording his impressions of the settlers and the events which shaped their lives at his campsite in a corn field on the Ross homestead. The completed novel lay unpublished until , when one of Wright's friends insisted on backing its publication in The Shepherd of the Hills marked a spectacular turning point in Wright's literary career.
The book's success was almost immediate. Millions of copies were sold in several languages, and four movies versions were filmed. Wright's year career as a writer resulted in 19 books, many scripts for stage plays, and a number of magazine articles before his death in The legend Harold Bell Wright began in a novel continues to live in a nationally popular attraction, the Shepherd of the Hills Homestead and Outdoor Theatre.
Several events altered the Roark Valley area in the few years between the penning of The Shepherd of the Hills and its publication. The area became more accessible to travelers and the models for its characters continued their lives. In , J. The published novel came to the Branson area in and was distributed from the Garber post office, where J.
Ross had become postmaster. By , most travelers disembarking from trains at Branson or Reeds Spring asked to see "Old Matt's Cabin", as the Ross homestead was called in the book.
The cabin had been vacated a couple of years earlier, and tourists began taking bits of it until Ross found renters to occupy it. However, the old mill in Mutton Hollow was soon stripped of its siding and most of its equipment. Tourism grew rapidly with the popularity of The Shepherd of the Hills and other business drew on its popularity to further expand the tourism trade.
The Sammy Lane Resort, named after the young heroine in Wright's book, was built on the Branson lakefront. Lake Taneycomo had become a traveler's route through the area when the Sammy Lane Boat Line was launched. The line's boats bore the names of characters from the novel. By about the book's influence in bringing travelers into the region had slowed however, Pearl "Sparky" Spurlock is credited with keeping the legend alive for a numbers of years with her taxi service from Branson over the rugged Dewey Bald Road to the former Ross homestead.
And we know where Danile came from. Right now I am wondering if the book of Daniel prophesied the coming of Christ. So, Daniel was riding up the mountain and met a man on the trail. He stopped to ask him if he knew of a place where he could stay the night and was directed to Mr. Matthew took him in and soon had him tending to his sheep. Now we get to meet the other people who lived in the mountains, and they are all fine Christian folks.
At least there was no preaching, but at the end of the book there is talk of God, not the fire and brimstone kind that I expected, but a God that created everything, a God that was palatable to me. There was talk of the Bald Knobbers, which I did not recall being in this book, but perhaps that was why I picked up that book about them at my childhood library in the first place.
It was said that the government stopped the vigilante group when it realized that they had become just as bad as those that they were trying to stop committing crimes. There were two love stories in this book.
He had come there to get away from the city, from what was bothering him. He finally had to face his own demons. So, why did I love this book as a young girl? The author painted the Ozark country in beautiful colors, the people were wonderful, except for a few, and it was wholesome. And last of all, I still love books about mountain people.
I had given her a paperback reprint but she insisted that it had been edited and was not as good. I began reading them simultaneously and found her accusation to be true.
First, the country dialects have been removed, possibly because they cast those who use them as less educated and refined and also because many of today's reader's don't wish to be slowed down with stumbling through pr I found a edition of this book and snapped it up, knowing it to be my mother's FAVORITE book of all time. First, the country dialects have been removed, possibly because they cast those who use them as less educated and refined and also because many of today's reader's don't wish to be slowed down with stumbling through pronunciations.
I soon set the edited paperback aside and read only from the original volume. Editing dialect out of books changes the spirit of a book. How is the reader to fully appreciate how new-comer "Dad" Howitt was held in esteem by his back-woods neighbors? How is the reader to detect the transformation of Sammy under his tutelage? How is the reader to know why Sammy works so hard to become worthy of her childhood betrothed who has come into fortune, education, and position where she is destined to join him outside the hills of their youth?
Will the reader come to love the hill folks "just as they are" with all that means, as the Shepherd does? Part Cinderella, part Beauty, part Phantom, this story echoes the human drama as Dickens and Hugo wrote. Like Thomas Hardy, Bell writes of that fragile transition from agrarian subsistence to frenzied industrialism. He presents to readers his thoughts on what real manhood and real womanhood is.
Whether or not today's reader agrees is less predictable than it was to those who first read and loved his work. I admit I used about 20 hankies through the last ten chapters. How much that had to do with my suffering from a cold, I'll never know.
View all 5 comments. I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. I found the views on manhood and womanhood to be a bit conflicting at times. The mystery and intrigue kept me interested, and it was nice to read a piece of literature that is such an important part of the Ozarks. View 2 comments. Dec 27, Darlene rated it really liked it.
How often have we seen them, jostled and ridiculed by their fellows, pushed aside and forgotten, as incompetent or unworthy. He who sees and hears too much is cursed for a dreamer, a fanatic, or a fool, by the mad mob, who, having eyes, see not, ears and hear not, and refuse to understand…We build temples and churches, but will not worship in them; we hire spiritual advisers, but refuse to heed them; we buy Bibles, but will not read them; believing in God, we do not fear Him; acknowledging Christ, we neither follow nor obey Him.
Only when we can no longer strive in the battle for earthly honors or material wealth, do we turn to the unseen but more enduring things of life; and, with ears and eyes blinded by the glare of passing pomp and folly, we strive to hear and see the things we have so long refused to consider. What a marvelous, prefect ending! Haven't got anything to say about it all yet.. I'll try writing a real review later. Feb 26, Jade rated it really liked it Shelves: to-re-read.
There is a certain comfort about old tales that doesn't make them necessarily better than newer books, yet it's obvious they come from some special distant place.
I read this one twice because the first time I wasn't paying attention well enough by the end and had way too many questions. I enjoyed it much more the second time and realized it was my distraction and not the book that made it confusing. I was very interested, as I read it again, in how the story would unfold, who really was the she There is a certain comfort about old tales that doesn't make them necessarily better than newer books, yet it's obvious they come from some special distant place.
I was very interested, as I read it again, in how the story would unfold, who really was the shepherd Mr. Howitt, before he came to the hills? And what kind of life would Sammy choose, but even more, what would it mean to her and why would she choose it?
Touching and enduring in its subject matter, The Shepherd of the Hills left me feeling daydreamy and inspired. I also wondered in a good way about the back story, specifically, the lady in the painting. I love the easy touch of imperfection that old tales seem to have, the way Wright seems to have written his story as he knew it, and with composure, even if that means some dialogue may not be perfectly realistic.
Modern day editors might have been snippety with it as in wanting to change or "snip" parts of it , had it been written in this time. It is satisfying to read a "big" tale about the past people, the "Bald Knobbers" of the Ozarks, told with simplicity. Oct 31, Tara rated it it was amazing.
I'm giving this 5 stars in honor of my mother who always told us it was one of her favorite books. She read it in high school. It took me a lot more years to finally get to it, but I agree it's a great read, good enough that I read it through twice in a row. It's an interesting tale with nice descriptions of the setting one of the things my mom still remembers liking about it. Several little scenes leave you on the edge of your seat as to how they might turn out.
There's a little romance, and I'm giving this 5 stars in honor of my mother who always told us it was one of her favorite books. There's a little romance, and some scandal. The honorable characters aren't perfect. They are trying to figure life out just like any of us, and each must face a crux in their lives in deciding whether or not they have courage and strength to take the high road. There are good moral lessons in the training of how to become a "shore 'nuff lady or gentleman" by avoiding shallow frivolities and developing depth of character instead.
View 1 comment. Dec 29, Samantha rated it it was amazing. My family and I found ourselves on an unplanned trip to Branson a week ago. While there, at a little store, I found this "gold nugget".
I had never heard of Shepherd on the Hills nor the author before and the back of the book read "Fourth best selling book ever published and second most sold next to the Bible". This sparked my interest. So, I bought it and began reading. The details of each scene were perfect. Everytime I opened it I felt as i My family and I found ourselves on an unplanned trip to Branson a week ago. Everytime I opened it I felt as if I were there witnessing with my own eyes and I felt that I personally knew the characters.
It made me want to live back in those times. I wouldn't say it was a christian book but it was "wholesome", and I recommend young teenagers read it for a good character reading. I am now going to find more books by this author.
Jun 03, Keri rated it it was amazing. Oh books of yesteryear! This book put Missouri and Branson for that matter on the map. For those of you who've never been, you'll fall in love with those Ozarks again and again in this novel.
The people are pure, good and evil is obvious, where "ma" and "pa" comfort you. This book is like eating mashed potatoes and gravy on a cold fall day. This is an outstanding story. Young Matt Grant Matthews is a young, giant of a man living in the Ozarks with his parents in the late s. His parents are hard-working, upright people who have raised him to possess good moral strength. The narrative pits him against the evil forces and numerous trials, which he handles with quiet dignity.
He is the prototype for mankind. His perfect mate physically and morally is his childhood friend. She was promised to another before she knew about love a This is an outstanding story. She was promised to another before she knew about love and compatibility.
Their inter-relationship is one of the several threads which weave the fabric of this story. These two are pitted against a cross section of humankind and struggle with the challenges which beset all good people in that stage of life when they are coming of age.
The narrator is an older, educated man the Shepherd of the Hills who has retired from city life to the bucolic life of the Ozarks to find his moral bearings and resolve issues that have plagued him for years and can only be resolved in this region of the Ozarks. There is a bit of the supernatural involved. The author masterfully lays out to the reader through the narrative those eternal principles which are essential to lead a person to find inner peace.
This is a compelling tale and I highly recommend it to all readers. I especially recommend it to teenagers and young adults. It deserves a solid 5 rating. A true classic. Mar 14, Susan Jo Grassi rated it it was amazing. I'm not inclined to read romance novels but this is not a true romance novel. There is, of course, the love between a man and woman but there is so much more; the love of nature and of God and all his creatures, the beauty of the Ozark Mountains, the peace of a time long past, a time that will never come again.
Most of all this is the story of the love of life. The constant learning, growing and discovering what life is about. What it means to truly live as oneself. There is mystery, fantasy, cr I'm not inclined to read romance novels but this is not a true romance novel. There is mystery, fantasy, cruelty, strength of character, forgiveness and redemption within these pages. I read this book as a young girl but must admit that it means so much more to me now in my maturity.
Apr 14, Kara rated it really liked it. A wonderfully written, mysterious story showcasing the simple beauty of the Ozarks. This story has a bit of everything-- action, romance, good vs. Now I want to go back to Branson and catch the stage-play of this story!
Sep 29, Herthoes rated it really liked it. Wonderful book! Very captivating story set in the Ozarks in the early 's; full of mystery to the end. Dialect a little difficult to muddle through, at times here's a freebie: " 'low" means "thought" but it's worth the wading.
I plan to read the rest of the trilogy that I just learned about. Shelves: lifestyles-deathstyles , doo-lally , lit-richer , film-only , published , christian , summer , bucolic-or-pastoral , forest. I am surprised I haven't read this classic before. I really liked the quality of this old book. I appreciated the character depth presented and the unique and dramatic back story. Sep 22, Elizabeth rated it it was amazing Shelves: art-of-womanhood , classics , spiritual-inspiration , art-of-manhood , self-improvement , comforting-books , religious.
I am overcome by the beauty of this book. I thank my friend Courtney for telling me to read it.
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