Local News
ALL HOOT AN HOLLARED OUT - There ain’t no tired like Hootin an Hollarin tired. Sweet McKinley Thomas was all tuckered out at Hootin an Hollarin last Friday night. Her Nana, Wasola resident Ann Thomas, told the Times, “She ran and ran all day and had a blast. Then around 7, she came and sat down by me - and this is what happened.” We think there are many festival goers who can relate. McKinley is the daughter of Markus and Ashley Thomas, also of Wasola.
The 64th Hootin an Hollarin will be remembered as one of the best ones yet. Held last Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 18-20 on the Gainesville square, the festival drew large crowds each day, filling the town with music, laughter, food and the sound of fiddles and square-dance calls long into the...
Below: When Hootin an Hollarin bed-race organizer Paula Rose learned that 94-year-old Dale Ledford had “always wanted to be in the bed races,” she made it happen Friday. Dale happily took an honorary ride down the track with a volunteer team of pushers. Above: Espy Denton, 2, may be the first hog-calling trophy winner who’s still in diapers. She’s shown delivering her crowd-pleasing performance while holding 1-year-old cousin Mac Butler’s hand for encouragement.
Longtime Hootin an Hollarin Committee chairperson Nancy Walker, now retired as chair, has always said our annual hillbilly festival is fun for all ages, "from 1 to 101."
That age range came close to reality in this year's edition when 94-year-old Dale Ledford enjoyed a ride in the bed races on...
During her first appointment at Michelle's Shear Artistry Salon in Gainesville, Theodosia part-time resident Terry Easley was stunned to learn that she and shop owner Michelle Anderson have a family connection. Terry grew up in Illinois; Michelle grew up in California after being adopted from Korea as a toddler.
Well-known Gainesville hairstylist Michelle Anderson doesn't know exactly when or where she was born or who her birth parents were. When she was a toddler, she was found wandering the streets of a Korean city – she doesn't know which one. She's been told that a police officer picked her up and...
The Ozark County Times took several awards in the 2025 Missouri Press Better Newspaper contest, a statewide competition held each year. Times staffers, pictured from left, are: Feature writer Sue Ann Jones, Circulation Manager and Graphic Designer Regina Mozingo, Editor Jessi Dreckman, Owner Norene Prososki, Delivery Driver Lorene Loftis and Advertising Manager Jenny Yarger.
The Ozark County Times brought home a big honor this year, earning the 2025 Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest coveted first place award in the “general excellence” category, along with 11 other first and second place plaques.
“We’re just so humbled and proud to be recognized in...
This defibrillator, located in the Ozark County courthouse, was used Saturday morning after a woman collapsed and her heart stopped in the alley by the Times.
They say it takes a village to raise a child. Saturday at Hootin an Hollarin, a "village" of amazing people worked together to save a life.
Late Saturday morning, in the alley between the Ozark County Times and Ozarks Healthcare Pharmacy buildings, a woman collapsed onto the pavement. (We're not...
Don’t be alarmed by the hollering you hear coming from the Main stage at noon Saturday. The hoots, hollers, tweets, squawks and tunes are just the sounds of the annual Hootin an Hollarin calling contests getting underway. Enjoy the fun as contestants yip, yell and yelp to bring home the herd, flock...
The 2025 Hootin an Hollarin festival committee, pictured above, includes (from left): Back row: Mollie Smart, Kerrie Zubrod, Lily Branco, Janette McDaniel, Mike Gardner, Doug Hawkins, Dave Bushner, Gabe Blackburn and Barbara Luna. Middle row: Heather Bushner, Jerri Sue Crawford, Heather Gardner, Sherry Ginthum, Dia Premer and Becki Strong. Front row: Linda Harlin, Paula Rose and Nancy Walker. Not pictured: Chris Harlin, Karen Brantingham, Renee Hambelton, Konnie Plumlee and Gary Maupin.
It takes a lot of people working hard all year round to put together a festival with as many components as Hootin an Hollarin. From the bands, to the contests, to the stage decorations and more... each detail is thoroughly discussed and planned with intention. The photo above of the dedicated...
Douglas Hawkins and Heather Luna
The son of Dexter and Nelita Hawkins, Doug Hawkins has lived his entire life in Ozark County - “with the exception of one overnight stay in West Plains on the day I was born,” he joked in his typical lighthearted way. He grew up along Z Highway and still lives within a mile of his childhood home. A...
Drake and Kara Potter with children Rocky and Letti
Editor’s note: The Potters will be recognized on the Main stage at Hootin an Hollarin just before the 2 p.m. parade Saturday, Sept. 20.
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Drake and Kara Potter, the 2025 Ozark County Farm Family, live in Wasola with their children, 7-year-old Letti and 6-year-old Rocky.
The Potters own 308...
Waco, left, and Wylee Grisham stand with their parents, Kiya and Wyatt Grisham, left, and great-grandparents, Larry and Sonja Grisham, in front of the house built by Waco and Wylee's great-great-grandparents, Christy and Alaska Grisham, shortly after they bought the farm near Caney Mountain Conservation Area in 1925. The property is being honored as a Century Farm this year at Hootin an Hollarin.
The land being honored this year as a Missouri Century Farm by the University of Missouri Extension Service is now the home of the fifth-generation descendants of the couple who bought the farm in 1925. Christy and Alaska Kibbe Grisham’s great-great-grandsons Wylee, 5, and Waco Grisham, 2, live...