While in junior high, with a deep interest in Branson's early history, my Grandpa Wallace Fullerton shared his memories of some terribly cold winters when he was a young man. I vividly recall the personal memories he shared of Lake Taneycomo freezing solid, and what I found impressive was that it happened several times.
The first bridges to cross the river connecting Branson and Hollister were in 1905—the railroad bridge and trestle, and in 1913—the giant steel bridge at the east end of Main Street for wagons and automobiles. It has been said that the river froze a few times in those years prior to the construction of Powersite Dam, before the bridges were constructed. If the ice was solid enough, a wagon and team could safely cross in the area where a ferry normally would.
Grandpa Wallace told me his memories of January 1940. He had just turned sixteen and a long period of below zero temperatures had everything frozen solid. "I remember a number of folks driving their cars out on the ice and they'd go all the way to Rockaway Beach and back," he recalled.
I was curious to know just how thick was the ice for someone in their car to pull this off? Grandpa said, "Well, it was two feet or close to it. Branson and Hollister had hockey games several times when it froze like that."
Looking through area photos, here are two rare ones courtesy of the Branson Centennial Museum, so let's discuss them.
The 1937 photo is unique. The photographer is on the steel bridge at the east end of Main, and below we can clearly see skaters on the ice. Looking toward the shore I recognize at top center the Sadie H boat at the dock.
Now let's check out the January 1940 photo. Here we have a Branson vs. Hollister hockey match. It was said that the ice was twenty inches thick, and hundreds of spectators watched the game! They lost track of the score in all the excitement, but it's believed that Hollister won.
As we all know, Lake Taneycomo doesn't freeze anymore since the completion of Table Rock Dam upstream in the late 1950s. Lake Taneycomo's water temperature remains too warm, as it's forty degrees-plus all the time due to water releases from Table Rock. This also keeps the current moving.
Warm wishes to everyone as we get through this January cold snap! Now you've seen photo proof of Lake Taneycomo frozen solid.
Happy trails, ya'll!
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