| Today's Feature Defining American Heritage.
Carthage native Terry Reed says
he wants to hold on to the values he learned
growing up in this area. After several years away
from Jasper County, Reed and his wife Janis moved
back to Joplin and began to rediscover the
advantages of small town America. Recently the
Reeds announced plans to revitalize the Lowell
Davis creation of Red Oak II just outside
Carthage. In addition they put together what they
call the American Heritage Festival ‘98 to
be held at Red Oak II and the Precious Moments
Convention Center.
Apparently reaction locally to
the patriotic theme of the even has caused some
citizens in the area to have concerns about what
exactly the Festival was all about. The Mornin’
Mail sat down with Terry Reed this week and
ask just that, "What’s going with this
thing?" The following is some of the
information gathered during the discussion.
"I’ve been a guest
speaker at many of these (similar
festivals)," Reed said. "I’ve
lectured in Cincinnati, Ohio, I’ve lectured
at MYU, to students. Professors want their
students in Political Science to hear stories,
first hand experiences of government corruption
and cover up. So there is an eagerness to find
the truth or to find information that a lot of
people feel the main stream media doesn’t
bring to them.
"I had to get away from
Carthage to realize how much I liked it. I
thought all of America was like Carthage when I
was a youth. I traveled and lived all over the
world, and it’s strange that here I’m
back. I’ve felt some yearning over the last
several years to get back to my roots. I
don’t know if that’s a process of
aging, or if it’s truly some kind of a force
bringing me back.
"To me Carthage
personifies - the old Carthage, not necessarily
the Carthage now- but the old Carthage
personified the rural American value system, to
the square root. Very self reliant, very detached
from even the rest of Missouri. This was the
little capital of this corner of this little
Norman Rockwell setting that I was raised in. Red
Oak II captures that nostalgic feeling for me,
and others. Lowell Davis has done a great job,
whether it was intentional or not, of really
recording history.
"You don’t realize
how far, in my opinion, we’ve back slid as a
nation until you go to Red Oak II or something
like that. It really rekindles those feelings.
It’s not nostalgic to me, they are feelings
of a better former life. A lot less complicated.
A lot more personable. When people took care of
themselves, they relied less on government to
solve their problems. I hope that people from all
over the country can come to Red Oak II. Over the
years, I’ve got a pretty good look at what
America looks like and its diverse value system.
I think the value system here is worth
preserving.
"Janis and I have been
talking for a long time about our frustrations
with these conventions that we attend. The
constitutional conferences or whatever they may
be. Even third party conferences in St. Joseph or
Dallas. They’re no fun. Especially they are
not family oriented. They are gloom and doom,
where people get together and complain and so
diverse that you don’t know how to use the
information except go home and buy dried food and
go to your basement. That’s not what I want
to do. I’m above ground, I’ve got three
boys to raise. I’m trying to instill in them
a different value system than I think they would
receive without my assistance in school and
elsewhere.
"We wanted to have an
event that would incorporate the best of all
worlds. I hope we’ve put that kind of an
atmosphere together. Where we can have a
Chautauqua kind of event. But hopefully it will
heighten public awareness to the fact that there
are mainstream people. I hope this Chautauqua
brings together the right energy to ignite the
old spirit that’s out there.
"I’m getting tired of
being beat up by my government, as an American.
To hear the government tell it, we’re
illiterate, we’re inferior, lazy, we
can’t compete; we’re all drug abusers;
we’re all tobacco users. You know, after a
while my government, all it tells me is the bad
news. It has to have a ‘war’ on this a
war on that. When’s the last time
you’ve heard the government say anything
positive about Americans?
"It’s time that
Americans realize that they are still carrying
the weight globally. For the financial world;
we’re the hardest working nation on the face
of the earth; we have the highest productivity of
any nation on the face of the earth - in spite of
government regulations, taxation. It’s time
to celebrate, pat yourself on the back.
Nobody’s doing that for us, and I’d
like this event, if it’s successful, and I
believe it’s going to be, to get larger
every year. I’d love to turn it into a
patriotic/Woodstock kind of atmosphere. Be known
annually for a fun time. But yet, deal with
issues.
"I point out when I
lecture, Bill Clinton avoided the draft, was a
hippy and a socialist, yet he’s in the White
House. I applaud him for what he did. He
didn’t fire a shot. He went underground,
joined the system, and penetrated to the level
that he took control. He and his group. We have
to learn to do the same thing. If we disagree
with the way government is functioning, what we
have to learn to do is get as smart as it, and
get back in it not out of it. And learn to
network and lobby like the big guys do.
That’s what I lecture on.
"Each one of the speakers
at the American Heritage Festival, in some way or
another has paid a price for their stance, or
their life-style. And I admire people who pay the
price. I like to think I paid the price in my own
way.
Bo Gritz for example.
America’s most decorated Vietnam Veteran. I
don’t think anybody can question Bo
Gritz’s patriotism. And I’ve talked to
him about this. He feels betrayed. He feels
duped, on why he served. We thought we were
fighting, as soldiers, for the same values system
that our parents fought for in World War II.
That’s a blurry line now. What’s good
and what’s bad."
artCentral Membership Show
press release artCentral
Well, things around here are
going smoothly. When the Membership Show comes
down July 31st we will have logged 5 shows and
featured the work of 38 artists. Is that cool or
what!
Anyone who hasn't been to one
of our openings is really missing out on some
fun. We serve great food and beverages, feature
the work of some of the most talented people
around, and just plain know how to have a good
time.
We have had lots of traffic
this summer. People from all over the United
States come in and poke around even though their
initial reason for being there was to see Red Oak
II. Too bad there's not more going on out here.
Like we've said before, we're
here, we're open and we're HOT!! Well, actually
we're quite cool. And in more ways than one. A
little cool oasis in the middle of a dry, hot
summer. Folks walking around here are sure
thrilled to find out we're cool inside.
We still have some luncheon
tickets available. They are fifteen dollars and
include a great afternoon with Andy Thomas. We
really need your support or we won't be able to
do this type of event out here. Grab some friends
and come for lunch! It's a Sunday, July 26th.
Our Wednesday drawing group has
enjoyed their afternoons out here. Sometimes they
draw inside sometimes outside. Depends, of
course, on the weather.
The Wednesday evening drawing
sessions are going along nicely. They have been
drawing a new model lately and everyone is real
pleased with how things are working out. The
artists that are currently participating in this
weekly exercise are just great. They have been so
supportive. Even when there isn't a model for the
evening they still have a great time drawing
whatever suits them. We want to thank all of our
loyal supporters, especially those who have
helped out at the last minute to oversee some of
the sessions. THANKS guys! Mary too!
We are still looking for
someone interested in being on our board of
directors. Its not hard, just one meeting a month
and we try really hard to keep it short and to
the point.
We could use some help with the
lawn mowing. Anyone just dying to ride a mower
around in the hot sun is more than welcome to
come on out and have a go around our yard.
Know of anyone who would like
to hang out around here on Saturdays? Even just
for a few hours, just for the rest of the summer?
There's plenty of interesting things to watch out
here like Katie riding her horse through the
pond, that pretty white hen with about 15 little
white chicks scurring all around her feet and
those not so comely goslings turning into
beautiful Canadian Geese. Truly there is never a
dull moment around here.
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