June
2

Celebrate 50 years of the Table Rock Dam

Posted In: City News by BroadcastBranson.com


A celebration marking the 50th anniversary of Table Rock Dam and its hydroelectric power facility will be held on Sunday, June 14, with a ceremony at 2:15 p.m. on the overlook across from the Dewey Short Visitors Center on Mo. 165.

The Springfield National Guard Band will kick-off the event. Dignitaries and people who were involved with the dam’s construction will be on hand. It was at 2:45 p.m. on June 14, 1959, when the switch was thrown on the dam’s power facility, said Rodney Raley of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Following the ceremony, activities will move across the highway to the Dewey Short Visitors Center where a film on the development of Table Rock Dam will be shown in the auditorium. There also will be entertainment on the lakeside patio by the Missouri Boatride Bluegrass Band from Branson West.

The dam has created boating, swimming and fishing opportunities for area residents and the millions of visitors who come to Branson each year, said Branson Mayor Raeanne Presley.

“It enhances our quality of life,” Presley said.

The dam was built as a flood control measure. In 1941, Congress approved a series of dams on the White River to prevent devastating damage to thousands of acres of cotton, corn and other crops downstream.

That helped locally, too. Flood control “has allowed additional investments in areas that would never have seen any growth if it didn’t exist,” Presley said.

Raley invites anyone who was involved with the project to attend. Call Raley at 417-334-4101, ex. 3019.

Also, on Saturday and Sunday, June 13 and 14, free 30-minutes tours of the Table Rock Dam Powerhouse will be offered from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visitors must get tickets at the Dewey Short Visitors Center and will be required to sign a statement that they are a United States citizen. And Moonshine Beach is now open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The day use fee is $4 per vehicle. A season pass is available for $30.

Also, Moonshine Beach is now open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The day use fee is $4 per vehicle. A season pass is available for $30.

Who Was Dewey Short?

Dewey Short grew up in Galena, and served 24 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. Galena was a float-fishing center then, and as a young man, Short worked arranging float trips down the James River.

He graduated as valedictorian of Galena High School in 1915, and continued his education. Short was elected to Congress in 1928. In 1929, Empire District Electric Co. announced plans to build a hydroelectric project known as Table Rock. The 1930’s depression derailed the plans. Then World War II delayed funding. But Short kept pushing the project. In 1954, Pres. Dwight Eisenhower signed the bill authorizing the funding, and praised Short for his efforts.

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June
2

Baldknobbers 50th Anniversary

In 1959 four brothers calling themselves The Baldknobbers began entertaining visitors to Branson, Missouri. They called their show the Baldknobbers Jamboree. Fifty years and four generations later, The Baldknobbers are still entertaining audiences with country music and their own distinctive brand of hillbilly humor.

Although the comedy evolves and routines change, there is always a common thread of what makes it work. Hillbilly humor encompasses universal subjects that everyone knows and experiences: happiness, sadness, love, marriage, car trouble…every aspect of daily life.

It was their hillbilly humor that first gave the Baldknobbers popular recognition outside of Branson. Baldknobbers co-founder Lyle Mabe’s comic character “George Aggernite” did television commercials for Empire Gas, which aired at 6:12 PM, during the weather portion of the evening newscast. People from Springfield to Joplin and all over the Ozarks tuned in just to watch the hilarious commercials. Aggernite’s rubbery face, his trouble with pronunciations, and other antics intrigued the audience. The commercials also featured takeoffs of television shows and other commercials, keeping it current and keeping the audience tuned in. Viewers became fans of The Baldknobbers even before they saw the show.

In 2009 Baldknobbers comedians are still adding to the merriment and high spirits that audiences enjoy at the show. Straight-man Bob Leftridge has fresh reactions every night to Stub Meadows’s unbelievable stories and antics. And when “Droopy Drawers, Jr.” and “Hargus Marcel” get in on the act, anything can happen, and often does. The band and vocalists don’t escape the zinging comedy arrows either and seem equally surprised and entertained by the zany hi-jinx.

Tim Mabe, Droopy Drawers, Jr., is the son of Jim and Katie Mabe. The late Jim Mabe was one of the four founders and the original Droopy Drawers. Tim Mabe and other second- and third-generation Mabes are part of the 19-member cast of The Baldknobbers Jamboree. The show is an excellent mix of old and new country music, laced with a sidesplitting, generous dose of hillbilly humor.

Every brand of humor has various common themes. Understanding what makes people laugh, and why a particular subject or story is funny, is a talent, and one that has served this show well. The Baldknobbers brand of comedy touches something in everyone and has the unique ability to let people laugh at just about anything.

Some of America’s favorite humor is physical and the Baldknobbers hillbilly humor scores big in this category. The wild outfits the comics wear contrast to the band’s handsome jackets and the female vocalists’ beaded and sequined dresses. Costume changes were certainly not part of the original show. Outlandish hats and shoes, oversized, too-short britches, crazy plaids mixed with bright patterns and too-long, too-wide ties are a perfect backdrop for Stub’s rubbery-faced expressions and Hargus’s sorrowful look as he relates his latest woes. The expressions on Droopy’s face match his comic getup.

Longtime Baldknobbers fans and new fans alike appreciate the Baldknobbers’ family traditions. Great music, excellent comedy, and honoring God and country make their show popular from generation to generation. Come celebrate 50 years of fun with The Baldknobbers Jamboree!

Join the Mabe family and the entire cast of the Baldknobbers for the year-long 50th Anniversary celebration in 2009. The Baldknobbers Jamboree Show-“The Show That Started It All”-is located on the famed 76 Country Music Boulevard in Branson, Missouri, with performances Monday through Saturday at 8 PM. For tickets call 800-998-8908 or www.Baldknobbers.com

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