Ep. 233 - The Old Ozarks - On the Lookout for Ary New Deal Relics (S2:E3)

Welcome to the Old Ozarks with Dr. Brooks Blevins...

This week, we head out looking for "ary" trace of the Great Depression left on the Ozark landscape — and it turns out, once you know what to look for, you can hardly go "nary" a mile without finding one.

We'll start in Grandpa's hayfield with the hillside ribs known as Mangum terraces, tracing their spread from a North Carolina farm in the 1880s to the terracing craze that swept the Ozarks under FDR's New Deal. Along the way, our short sweetenin' digs up the backwoods twins "ary" and "nary," archaic descendants of "ever a" and "never a" that once peppered everyday Ozark speech.

Then it's on to the long sweetenin': a whirlwind tour of just how much New Deal alphabet-soup labor — the CCC, WPA, PWA, CWA, and NYA — physically remade this region, from state park lodges and courthouses to WPA schoolhouses, Razorback Stadium's earliest bones, and post office murals still hanging in Berryville and Fredericktown ninety years later.

Let's dive into this episode of The Old Ozarks...

What is The Old Ozarks?

The Old Ozarks is your gateway to the forgotten history of the Ozarks. Hosted by renowned historian Dr. Brooks Blevins (the leading authority on the region’s history), this podcast explores the lives, legends, and landscapes that have shaped this unique region.

Whether you’re a native Ozarker, a new resident, or a curious listener, join us as we share the stories that make the Ozarks special and connect us to our past.