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was a particularly fortunate discovery, for here was a living example of the old-fashioned
ingenuity that early pioneers depended on in the face of scarcity and isolation.
His father, James Hensley, had
traded 160 acres of land to the west for these 80 acres along the river in 1915 because he
was interested in water power. But being advanced in years when the move was made, the
elder Hensley was able to get only as far as building a mill race before his death in the
mid 1920s.
It fell to Redman, only 15 years old at
the time, to complete his father's ambition. He had only eight years of formal education,
but he also had inherited his father's mechanical aptitude and self-confidence. Over a
period of several years, whenever his farm work allowed, he carefully surveyed the banks
of the river and charted the rise and fall of the waters. At night, he studied science
books he borrowed from a school teacher friend and taught himself the basics of mechanics
and electricity.
Using many parts salvaged from old cars
and tractors, he eventually built an undershot water wheel at the end of the mill race
below his house. The end of the shaft had a beveled gear that transferred motion to
another shaft running uphill to a mill house, turning stone buhrs that ground grain for
himself and neighbors. Later, he connected an electrical generator to the shaft and had a
business of charging up people's batteries for their radios and lights.
After about 15 years, the bearing and
gears of the water wheel finally gave out and the whole thing sort of fell apart, Hensley
said. He substituted a gasoline engine and continued running the grinding mechanism for
several more years. Today only a few metal fragments remain as evidence of where the water
wheel and mill had stood.
Living today without electricity, he said
he would like to generate his own power again. But he wouldn't use water power anymore.
Always reading and experimenting, he's going to see what he can do with solar energy, he
said.
BLAIR BRIDGE
One of the early settlers east of the
river between Guthrie Ford and Blair Ford was James Trump, who moved here from Oregon in
1908. One of his sons, Walter Trump, 93, now of West Plains, remembers harvesting wheat
with a grain cradle and taking it downstream to a mill at Patrick Ford, where Patrick
Bridge is now. He also made his own apple cider. Both the cradle and the cider press are
family heirlooms.
One of Walter's favorite pastimes was
setting trot lines in the river for eels, which were baited with chunks of rabbit meat.
The eels were skinned and fried, just like catfish.
"Those were the good old times . .
. then. I don't think I'd want to see them again," is Walter's assessment.
Once, while crossing Blair Ford in a buggy during high water, his wife had to hold on to
the children to keep them from being swept away by the current. During the drought years
of the 30s, when many springs went dry, he and other farmers would drive herds of cattle
and hogs down to the river for water.
The river had more than economic
importance. When Walter and his brother went to Kansas in the summer to find work during
the wheat harvests, they were always glad to get back and see the beautiful hills along
the river again.
In 1923, after one stay in Kansas, they
returned to an even more pleasant sight. A man named Young had completed a bridge across
Blair Ford, the first on the North Fork River. This was destroyed by a flood ten years
later, however, and until the present bridge was built in 1935, residents had to go back
to fording the river.
One of the people helping to build the new
bridge was Beryl Pettit. He and his wife Betty now run a canoe rental and campground at
Blair Bridge, one of the first on the North Fork.
The image of a tapestry of interwoven
lives seemed all the more appropriate when Betty Pettit explained that she is the sister
of Warren McKee's wife, Naomi. They are both natives --granddaughters of James Trump.
The Pettits, who returned to live on the
river after being away many years, come across as typical, friendly Ozarks people. They
love the land and the river, yet maintain an open, helpful attitude toward the weekend
canoeists. They enjoy serving the 95 percent of river users they see as "good people
who respect the river" and try not to get too vexed at the other five percent.
Adds their son, Pat, "We expect to
see some people let off a little steam when they come here. If I were cooped up in an
apartment in Kansas City all week, I would too. I enjoy seeing them have a good time. They
can't really hurt the river as long as they keep it clean."
He said most of the trash found in the
river gets there by accident when canoes are overturned. Even this small amount has little
lasting effect. "The trouble is we haven't had a good gully washer in two or three
years to flush it all out."
This perhaps summarizes the situation of
the rivers today. The uses people have made of the river -- for food, transportation,
water, power, recreation -- have changed over many generations. But there is general
agreement that the river is there to be used and enjoyed The only question is how much use
the river's limited resources can absorb.
It seems to come back to the kinds of
attitudes people bring with them. If a float trip is thought of as a brief visit with a
good friend and we act accordingly, we are sure to be welcomed back again with a smile.
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