Preserving the profound and the preposterous: A Q&A with the founders of the ‘Ozarkian Folk Chronicles’

In a quiet area of Pappo's Pizzeria and Pub, Curtis Copeland and Hayden Head shared their mission to capture the "the profane, the profound, the preposterous and the impressive” aspects of Ozark Mountain history before it disappears." They are the genius and voices behind the podcast “Ozarkian Folk Chronicles.”

To preserve the accuracy of what was said, the interview is being presented in a Question-and-Answer format. The questions were asked by Gary Groman (GG) and answered by Curtis Copeland (CC) and Hayden Head (HH):

GG: When did you officially start the podcast?

CC: January 2024.

GG: What was the spark that made you decide the world needed this podcast?

HH: The culture and the environment of the Ozarks are being challenged, and we all need to do our best to try to save the best of what's left.

CC: The history and the people of the Ozarks are complicated... There's such a richness. I think, trying to tell the whole story instead of just trying to tell one slice of it.

GG: Your tagline promises "the profane." How do you define that?

CC: Uncomfortably entertaining.

HH: Technically, the meaning of profane is "before the temple"... something that's outside of what's sacred. And so sometimes you have to tell those stories too... It's profane not in that it's nasty, cause we watch that carefully.

GG: You often refer to folklorist Vance Randolph as the "patron saint" of your podcast. Why?

HH: The books he wrote in the '50s... are so authentically Ozarkian, and he was trying to do what we want to do, which is preserve those stories and the memory of these people before they vanished.

CC: He dedicated his life to collecting Ozark's folklore. He was a non-conformist. He liked to push the boundaries. He used the technology of his day to record the stories, just as we try to use technology now.

GG: In your first video episode, "Headless in Hell," "dowsing rods" were used to look for the grave of the bushwhacker Alf Bolin. How did it feel when the rods crossed? [Episode 96: Headless in Hell: Grave Dowsing for the Bones of Alf Bolin]

HH: I was excited! I hope we can dig there and find out if there are remains.

CC: Think about the coincidence that would be if where two things cross, you plant a shovel, and know the skeleton has no skull. [The episode explains why the skeleton of Alf Boloin would have no skull.]

GG: What are some of your favorite episodes so far?

HH: It had to do with burying amputated limbs... We had the entertainment part, we had the academic part, it was humorous... I've never forgotten that episode. [Episode 12 - Missing Limbs Ozarkian Folklore]

CC: One of the ones where we're actually out in the field. It was one we did on fish gigging on Ozark's Rivers... It was 27° on the James River, a dark night. [Episode 99: Gigging got Suckers with Jacob Mcintosh on the James River]

GG: What is the most impressive story you have covered?

CC: Keith Thurman was a rock star. What I found impressive about him was that, when he broke his neck during a fight sequence while performing in the Shepherd of the Hills show, he kept going. With a broken neck, he continued on, lifting "Doc Hoffman" out of the stagecoach during the performance. [Episodes 15 and 16: Keith Thurmond and the Shepherd of the Hills]

HH: Crescent Dragon Wagon... She was a back-to-the-lander in the very early '70s... She joined the local newspaper there and, as a teenage journalist, went up against [political organizer] Gerald L.K. Smith. It's a fascinating story. [Episode 64: Crescent Dragonwagon and Her Life in the Ozarks]

GG: For over 90 episodes, you were strictly audio. Why did you decide to introduce video?

CC: Audio only was really limiting us. Video broadens the range of people we can talk to, such as crafts persons, by actually showing what they are doing rather than just describing it verbally.

GG: You mentioned broadening your definition of "folk" to include living culture. Why is that important?

HH: If a culture is a living thing, people will continue to tell those stories. We realize that to remain relevant and entertaining, we need to look at the current folk musicians, folk storytellers, etc.

GG: Do you see modern technology as a threat to traditional folklore?

CC: It's definitely a continuation in the evolution. The cautionary tale for me would be... humans actually physically interfacing. I think that is a key component.

HH: Technology is part of that natural evolution of storytelling, as long as we are aware that we've always got to have that human interface.

For more information or to view episodes, go to the website of the Ozarkian Folk Chronicles at https://shows.acast.com/ozarkian-folk-chronicles/episodes. Episodes are available on the Ozarkian Folk Chronicles YouTube Channel starting with “Episode 96: Headless in Hell: Grave Dowsing for the Bones of Alf Bolin.”