Souvenirs

Hooked on Iffy Taste, Souvenirs

IS THIS THE MOST HIDEOUS SOUVENIR EVER?

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Truman Dam is in the Ozarks, barely. The upper reaches of the reservoir are in prairie country, which have created a very shallow ugly body of water. This is a scene near Clinton, Missouri. Click to enlarge.

Truman Dam is in the Ozarks, barely. The upper reaches of the reservoir are in prairie country, which have created a very shallow ugly body of water. This is a scene near Clinton, Missouri. Click to enlarge.

As the old saying goes – ugly lake, ugly souvenirs. The Harry S. Truman Dam, built by the Army Corps of Engineers on the Osage River, is one of the least economically justified, most ecologically destructive of many useless federal public works projects. It created a banal, windswept, turbid reservoir.

Truman Lake is decent crappie fishing, but it destroyed the most productive spawning grounds in the world of the giant, valuable paddlefish. Now Missouri’s sports paddlefishery must depend on expensive hatchery-raised stockings. This was a tragedy, doubly so as a lawsuit by the Environmental Defense Fund and others predicted these problems. Nevertheless the town fathers of Warsaw, Clinton and Osceola railed against the lawsuit. After several years of litigation, a federal judge refused to stop or modify the dam. The project has been a mixed blessing and former supporters have expressed their disappointment.

In the history of tourist memorabilia, is there anything as god-awful as this Truman Lake souvenir? The color combination splashed on this indifferent, awkward hunk of driftwood exceeds the Fauvist assault on traditional tonality.

Souvenirs encompass a wide variety of artistic merit. On the high end are Canaletto paintings of Venice’s Grand Canal and Van Gogh landscapes of southern France. On the low end, there are displeasing artifacts that are redeemed by the nostalgic, sentimental, or vague way they recall the place visited. In that sense, the unholy Truman Lake rootwad does resonate with the unsightly reservoir it commemorates. It is, we reluctantly admit, a successful if ugly souvenir.

Forest products are put to many trivial and crass uses, but the spirit of dead trees calls out for vengeance for this souvenir of Truman Lake.

Forest products are put to many trivial and crass uses, but the spirit of dead trees calls out for vengeance for this souvenir of Truman Lake.

Thinking perhaps it was prejudicial to have photographed the Truman Dam root abomination on our concrete driveway, I took it inside our garage-studio and shot it on gradated seamless paper. If anything it turned out to be even more deficient of esthetic value. Then it struck me. Perhaps I was unfairly maligning the crude $5 artifact merely because it said “Truman Lake.” Outside our suburban duplex, the low autumnal sun kissed our oil-stained driveway with golden rays. So on a mottled, tobacco colored background I flipped the thing over so the offending identification could not be seen.

Thinking perhaps it was prejudicial to have photographed the Truman Dam root abomination on our concrete driveway, I took it inside our garage-studio and shot it on gradated seamless paper. If anything it turned out to be even more deficient of esthetic value. Then it struck me. Perhaps I was unfairly maligning the crude $5 artifact merely because it said “Truman Lake.” Outside our suburban duplex, the low autumnal sun kissed our oil-stained driveway with golden rays. So on a mottled, tobacco colored background I flipped the thing over so the offending identification could not be seen.

Might this reveal the souvenir to be an adventurous piece of outsider art by an unknown Ozarks faux Fauve? Nah.

Might this reveal the souvenir to be an adventurous piece of outsider art by an unknown Ozarks faux Fauve? Nah.

Click for more information on Damming the Osage. The tone of this book is more objective than this bit of souvenir sarcasm. We sell the $35, all color, 304 page book for $25 postage paid.

Click on the book cover for more information on Damming the Osage.
The tone of this book is more objective than this bit of souvenir sarcasm. We sell the $35, all color, 304 page book for $25 postage paid.

 

Hooked on Iffy Taste, Souvenirs

THE BASKET KING: A ROADSIDE SOUVENIR ENTERPRISE FROM THE PAST

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The Basket’s King’s long emporium is on the south side of highway 54, about 10 miles west of Camdenton, Missouri. This is a road traveled by many Lake of the Ozarks tourists. (click to enlarge)

The Basket’s King’s long emporium is on the south side of highway 54, about 10 miles west of Camdenton, Missouri. This is a road traveled by many Lake of the Ozarks tourists. (click to enlarge)

Delmar D. Davis has been purveying souvenirs to Lake of the Ozarks tourists since 1947. His long, crowded gift shop features white oak baskets made locally. This is a dying craft according to Davis as labor costs make them non-competitive with imports. His store is filled with graniteware, cookbooks, wooden decoupage plaques of wolves and eagles, Frankoma pottery, and out-of-date hillbilly calendars. This combination of authentic folk baskets and tasteless novelties may seem incongruous, but we’ve encountered it before in our survey of American rusticity.

Although Davis’s current stock of locally made hickory baskets is extensive, he told us there were few makers left these days. His crafters can make more money at a job. His prices are reasonable, and don’t include a folk-craft premium though they are authentic old time type Ozark type baskets.

It is a bit disconcerting to find jokey hillbilly, made in Taiwan, novelties just across the aisle from classic pioneer crafts, and we have a high tolerance for such incongruities. It’s a central tenet of our HYPERCOMMON theory that as America’s popular culture evolved without the constraints of high culture it gleefully mixes kitsch and things with esthetic merit indiscriminately.

We bought this attractive small hickory basket for less than $20. (click to enlarge)

We bought this attractive small hickory basket for less than $20. (click to enlarge)

Originally souvenirs were artifacts made by exotic peoples brought back by explorers. In the early days of tourism most souvenirs were items made to sell, but had some resemblance to local craft traditions. Global trade opened the door to the importation of low cost trinkets made in developing countries. Purveyors of locally made souvenirs, like the Basket King, are rare these days. Art and demonstration crafts are still produced here and there in vacationland but they carry a prohibitive price for the souvenir trade, and do not always have a heritage tie-in.

 

Delmar D. Davis, a sailor in World War II and pioneer souvenir seller in the Lake of the Ozarks area, is an engaging personality. Notice to documentary filmmakers – the Basket King would make a great subject.

Delmar D. Davis, a sailor in World War II and pioneer souvenir seller in the Lake of the Ozarks area, is an engaging personality. Notice to documentary filmmakers – the Basket King would make a great subject.

Davis’s billboards are distinctive. If you don’t catch all the writing as you speed down the highway, don’t worry. Another one will soon come in view

Davis’s billboards are distinctive. If you don’t catch all the writing as you speed down the highway, don’t worry. Another one will soon come in view

Of course, Davis Baskets has a “your face here” cutout painted plywood hillbilly. In fact, there are several. Lake of the Ozarks never promoted its indigenous population as much as Branson. But hillbillies weren’t completely unknown as a theme either, especially in the 1950s.

Of course, Davis Baskets has a “your face here” cutout painted plywood hillbilly. In fact, there are several. Lake of the Ozarks never promoted its indigenous population as much as Branson. But hillbillies weren’t completely unknown as a theme either, especially in the 1950s.

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